HDTV fried d/t lightning this morning
 

Anyone else lose their TV this morning due to lightning strike in Amelia? We lost power twice and when it came back on the 2nd time Mom noticed that her TV wouldn't come on. Also, the power in her bathroom & in the other two bedrooms was off. Called SECO and was told that when lightning strikes close by it sets the GFCI plugs off. So I had to reset the one in the kitchen, the master bathroom & the garage and then reset the breakers which worked. Getting back to the tv, I noticed that the tv was plugged into the wall outlet & not the surge protector. (S**T!). I called LG support & was told to unplug the tv, wait 30 seconds & plug it back in. Still would not come on. He said that the tv most likely was affected by the lightning but is fixable. Gave me the name of an LG certified company named "Silver Springs TV." (TV is out of warranty.) We have SECO's whole house surge protector so I guess that's a waste of money. I can't believe I didn't have the tv plugged into the surge protector that the DirecTV box is plugged into. The worst thing about it is that it's really MY 42" tv; I traded her Samsung 32" for mine so she can see & hear programs better. They always say not to get an extended warranty. What do you think? Can hardly wait to hear the fee to fix the tv. :22yikes:

If you charged the purchase of the TV on a Gold or Platinum VISA card they sometimes double your warranty.

I'm in Buttonwood, and lost the HDMI video output on my AV receiver. Called SECO, and they told me that someone would call Monday so I can file a claim.

These experiences are far more common than we realize - and very costly for the folks who are the victims here in the "Lightning Capital of the World". Those whole house surge protector systems ARE effective. However, you really can't be protected from lightning strikes unless you also have a full, properly installed exterior lightning rod system.

No one likes dropping a couple of thousand bucks on such a system, but it is an important safety device here in TV. At least eight TV homes have been destroyed literally in minutes by lightning strikes which traveled to attic gas lines and caused a gas explosion. Especially for newer folks here who might not know this history, go to our POA website and put "lightning" in the searchbox. There are scads of articles.

Unexpected storm
 

I think it was about 4:30 am that the big lightening strike and thunder occurred. It startled us and we both jumped out of bed to be sure we hadn't been hit. Our in room air conditioner went off for a split second and then came back on. We looked out all windows to be sure none of our neighbor's homes weren't hit. It poured! It was kinda scary as we didn't expect to get a storm last evening. We usually pay attention to the weather and hasn't heard anything about rain. I guess we will always keep our ears out for a storm regardless of what the weather says! Glad everyone is safe.

Rain Amount
 

We received 2.25 inches during the 4:30 AM storm in Amelia and .3 today. Glad everyone made it thru the storm which was right over us in Amelia.

Rain was coming down so fast the water was overflowing the gutters.

The only casualty was our newspaper got soaked.

Lightning fried my TV and satellite receiver last year. During the storm, there was a very loud pop and a burst of light particles near the ceiling above the TV.

I don't have whole-house surge protection but the electricity probably came in through the satellite coax cable, anyway. There are surge protectors that offer both types of protection but I didn't have one.

The satellite company sent a new receiver with overnight delivery and the Best Buy salesclerk said I was the 3rd customer that day in the same predicament.

The good news was that at least flat screen TVs cost a lot less now than they did when I originally bought mine 8 years ago!

Saw Seco Trucks on Odell Circle yesterday, when turning left from Stillwater. They had everyone detour while they were repairing something

Unfortunately I got it on Amazon.com with my Amazon CC.

Thanks! I was going to call them Monday to let them know; didn't know I could file a claim. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I would like to offer a few comments on the above posts regarding lightning and what it can do to your home and electronics.

Surge protection devices are for Indirect Lightning Strikes. For Direct Lightning Strikes such as the one that destroyed the home in Calumet Grove on May 18th you should consider a lightning protection system, i.e. lightning rods by a UL listed installer.

If you only have a SECO surge protection device on your meter you DO NOT have “whole house protection”. This only protects hardwired equipment that you do not plug into a 120v outlet. For things that you do plug into a 120v outlet you also need secondary surge protection sometimes called point-of- use surge protection for appliances and electronics such as TVs, computers, refrigerators, washing machines, telephone answering machines, garaged door operators, irrigation system comptrollers or anything else that you value that has sensitive electronics. Remember Lighting Loves Technology!

And, don’t forget that the coaxial cable for TVs and telephone lines for computers should also be routed through a surge protector.

Florida is the Lightning Capital of the US but NOT the world. Lightning is frequently miss spelled “lightening” which means to take the weight off something as lightening the load.

For those interested in the above and personal lightning safety see the Lifelong Learning College catalog under the science heading.

Does surge protection on the incoming cable line degrade picture quality or slow internet service?

(SIGH) one of the less pleasant features of Florida.

When I got my whole house surge protection from SECO, they sent over a boxful of point-of-contact protectors to plug the televisions and computer in.

I also have the well-grounded lightning arrestors on my house.

I feel pretty safe from lightning. I also have a 2-iron in my golf bag.

I called SECO about filing a claim but she said the surge protector is for the big appliances. Buggyone, I had a free home energy audit done last year & like you, was given a whole box of different types of point-of-entry protectors. The guy put one in for the garage door opener & irrigation rain sensor & box. I had never seen the individual ones before, just the strips. I need to get one for the cart charger...probably at Radio Shack?

I have such secondary surge protectors - which route both electrical and cable through them - on all my TVs. Some TVs go right to the cable outlet, and some through HD or DVR boxes. I see no degradation of signal quality.

Thanks for the info SemiMike.

We are moving to the Villages in October. We were under the impression that the "surge protectors" that we plan to rent from SECO will prevent the above stories I am reading. With that said, what do you Frogs do to protect your refrigerator and microwave? Please note that I am totally ignorant in this field and the only surge protectors I know of have extention cords attached to them. I do know running a major appliance off an extention cord may not be safe. Do you have surge protectors attached to each major appliance?
So any suggestions???

I know I'm coming into this conversation kinda late...but...I live in Amelia also. That lightening strike that knocked out power....and our water the next morning...also fried the sound bar on our main tv. Interestingly enough, we had an electrical contractor (not SECO) come out when we moved in and put in a surge protector on our breaker box. Second surprise...all our tv equipment IS plugged into a $50 (decent quality) surge protector bar!

Our only saving grace is that we had the foresight to get an extended warranty on the sound bar through a company called Square Trade, Extended Warranty Insurance - Extended Warranties - Protection Plans. Their warranties are priced reasonably and (so far so good) they are pretty hassle free if you need to make a claim.

Well, I did include a link to the web site for Square Trade, but I guess we are no longer allowed to post links on here. Just Google it. Sorry.

You may hear that from some of the contract cable techs. However, the official position related to me by a Comcast supervisor is that surge protectors do not degrade the picture quality. I have not experienced any picture degrading on my TVs.

See my 7-3-13 post at 11:19 am. Surge protectors can be purchased from hardware stores, big box stores, electronics stores, and you can purchase from SECO on line from their web site. You can also visit Pike Electric on Canal St in Sumter Landing where there is a display set up in the back of the store for all types of surge protectors

See my 7-3-13 post. Anything that has an electronic processor, which means nearly all electronics these days, and which you value should have secondary surge protection in the form of point-of-use surge protection devices. Lightning Loves Technology! Primary surge protection by SECO on your electric meter is for hardwired equipment. Therefor, you do need a surge protector on your microwave and refrigerator.

Even if you have a surge protector on your TV it could still be damaged if you did not route the coaxial cable through the surge protector. The same principle applies to telephone lines for computers.

My house was hit last year. I DID have the Seco Serge protector. It does not guarantee against a direct hit. Lost 5 televisions, computer, all telephones, irrigation system, garage door opener system, plus lots of outlets and wires and cable. Had to call fire department, electrician,etc. Insurance covered all after deductible. Seco would not cover anything because it was a Direct Hit.

Wow, that must have been frightening! You can bet when I ordered my new tv I bought an extended warranty.

When I called SECO she told me the refrigerator and washer & dryer would be covered. She didn't say anything about the microwave or that a direct hit wouldn't be covered. Guess I'll have to give them a call on Monday to see exactly what IS covered and under what circumstances.

Lightning guy, when I had the energy audit done he didn't say anything about plugging the refrigerator or microwave into a point-of-entrance surge protector. You can bet I'll be asking them about that, too! I don't even know where the microwave plugs in. Oh, more things to worry about. :ohdear::ohdear:

Anything with a microprocessor can be damaged by even a very small surge including the refrigerator and washing machine circuit boards that should be protected by point-of-use surge protectors. The microwave also should be protected and in many homes the plug is in the cupboard above it.