Power Surge.....

[jcountry]

Well.

This should be a hoot!

Just got some kind of crazy ass surge which looks to have destroyed most of my electronics and appliances. I don't understand what happened-not a single circuit breaker popped, and everything was on surge protectors, but looks like most stuff from the fridge to microwave to the DVR and a couple of TVs are trashed.

Wondering if anyone has had this happen before. Where to start? EMC or general electrician, or what?

This is gonna suck.

 

[medium187mph]

Time to find that spare $1k and call your homeowners insurance agent in the AM....

 

[medium187mph]

I feel your pain, got back from D.C. and my hvac wouldn't come on.

Called a tech and found it was struck by lightning... quick $1k gone but sitting pretty cool on a new system

 

[SMLEshooter]

Well.

This should be a hoot!

Just got some kind of crazy ass surge which looks to have destroyed most of my electronics and appliances. I don't understand what happened-not a single circuit breaker popped, and everything was on surge protectors, but looks like most stuff from the fridge to microwave to the DVR and a couple of TVs are trashed.

Wondering if anyone has had this happen before. Where to start? EMC or general electrician, or what?

This is gonna suck.

Hmm... didn't realize you were that close to me... i assume you're on Upson EMC, because i just went through the same thing. Realized what was happening and threw my main breaker.

 

[jcountry]

Well.

Power is back.

It may have been some crazy brown-out. Very odd, but most stuff is now working fine.

Fridge and AC are working again. Lights are good.

I'll check on the more sensitive stuff in the a.m.

 

[SMLEshooter]

Yep, back on. They lost a leg. Voltage coming in was only 72 volts, so most stuff wouldn't run... some stuff would. Very bad for appliances and electronics.

 

[jcountry]

That was cray cray.

I have never seen a brown out. I unplugged everything until it came back up.

Stuff seems to be working now, though.

Looks like a false alarm . (Thankfully)

 

[jcountry]

Thanks for the explanation.

I understand DC pretty well.. AC is just magic land. I have tried to figure out what is happening, but I don't have a clue. I can wire a ceiling fan, but that's about the limit of my ability.

 

[Sowega86]

Well.

This should be a hoot!

Just got some kind of crazy ass surge which looks to have destroyed most of my electronics and appliances. I don't understand what happened-not a single circuit breaker popped, and everything was on surge protectors, but looks like most stuff from the fridge to microwave to the DVR and a couple of TVs are trashed.

Wondering if anyone has had this happen before. Where to start? EMC or general electrician, or what?

This is gonna suck.

A neighbor had a tree struck by lightning and my utility connections going to the house were in close proximity. A surge came through and took out my VCR but spared the TV even though everything was connected to a surge protector. The cable guy came and said that the VCR being taken out spared everything else. I believe that my old surge protector wasn't sufficient (had low Joule rating) to protect everything. I've since replaced all of the surge protectors with higher Joule protectors and haven't had any more issues.

Btw, unless your appliances and fixtures are damaged and exceed your homeowner deductible, don't call your insurance agent. They track all claim calls whether or not a claim is paid. Claim calls or inquiries can follow your policy for years and that information is shared with other insurance companies. Folks who file frequent claims unknowingly increase the risk assessment of their homes which may make it hard to sell or even become too expensive to insure. I carry a $1K deductible but it would have to be a catastrophic claim before I call my agent. I'll do my best to self-insure everything up to that.

 

[jcountry]

A neighbor had a tree struck by lightning and my utility connections going to the house were in close proximity. A surge came through and took out my VCR but spared the TV even though everything was connected to a surge protector. The cable guy came and said that the VCR being taken out spared everything else. I believe that my old surge protector wasn't sufficient (had low Joule rating) to protect everything. I've since replaced all of the surge protectors with higher Joule protectors and haven't had any more issues.

Btw, unless your appliances and fixtures are damaged and exceed your homeowner deductible, don't call your insurance agent. They track all claim calls whether or not a claim is paid. Claim calls or inquiries can follow your policy for years and that information is shared with other insurance companies. Folks who file frequent claims unknowingly increase the risk assessment of their homes which may make it hard to sell or even become too expensive to insure. I carry a $1K deductible but it would have to be a catastrophic claim before I call my agent. I'll do my best to self-insure everything up to that.

Thanks for the advice!!

I have heard the same thing about insurance. Most people aren't aware of that.

Insurance is just legalized extortion. You have to have it, but they charge you for things like this (inquiries about stuff which could happen) and stuff like credit (which has absolutely no bearing on your claim risk) which should be illegal.

I'm all for capitalism, but insurance companies are lying, cheating bastards-and laws should be made to ensure that people actually get coverage they are paying for (and are not getting charged for imaginary risks.)