[Talk Host]

Saturday afternoon a lightening bolt struck somewhere in the vicinity. Our power went out for a fraction of a second. Everything returned to normal in one second, except for our air conditioning system. It was off. Even the thermostat was blank. I went to the garage and checked the circuit breakers. They were okay.

Then, I opened the front cover of the furnace and closed it. The system came back on and worked fine. A few seconds later a friend of mine called with the same problem. I told him what I did. He did it, and it returned to normal as well. He was all set to call an air conditioning company for emergency service. WHEW.

I wonder how many people may have been affected the same way, but called a technician instead, thus paying $60. Remember to try this the next time. It may not always work, but it's worth a try.

[Frangyomory]

Here in Cherry Vale Villas, one home was hit on Saturday and lost some appliances. Close neighbors had loss of power but clicked the circuit breaker and back on came everything.

I'd like some advice about lightening rods. Some say they are life saving but others say they draw the lightening. I'd love to hear from someone who has experience and can tell me how it all works. ???

[rt]

Unfortunately, some people in the Villages are very down on lightning rods. That they "draw lightning" is really nonsense. I have been in the Villages for 3+ years now and in that tme I personally know of two homes that were totally destroyed by lightning and several others that were hit and sustained structual and/or appliance damage - none had rods! Of all the homes that were damaged or destroyed I have never heard of it happening to one protected by lightning rods. They have been used successfuly for more than two centuries. In addition it is crutial to also install an arrestor off your main fuse box because lightning frequently hits transformer installations near our homes and rides the power cables into homes. It is also advisable to install an arrestor on both your phone and cable lines. Lightning is an enigma and the best you can do is to protect your home with every technology available so that you can never reproach yourself for not doing enough. Note that most all Villages buildings are protected by lightning rods.

[JohnZ]

Glue a 1 Iron to your roof. Lee Travino said that even God can't hit a 1 Iron. Here's a great marketing/sales idea for folks in The Villages. Lightning rods shaped like 1 Irons......buy now...operators are standing by.....but wait.....that's not all.....buy one regular 1 Iron for your home and we'll send you a mini-1 Iron for your golf cart....absolutely free.

Ok....ok.....this post should be under the July Chuckle topic.....but hey....it wasn't that funny. While lightning is no laughing matter, the chances of you or your house getting hit is pretty slim, like winning the lottery. Which reminds me.....I bought a ticket for yesterday's drawing of Mega Money and I gotta check the numbers. The odds of winning are 1 in 2,986,522 but I'm crossing my fingers anyway (something I don't do during a thunderstorm).

[mcdebbie]

Have a surge protector installed on your outside unit. We have one on both the electrical box and inside the unit. It won't stop the unit from getting hit but it will stop it from getting fried. 8)

[784caroline]

SECO has a surge protection Program where you can either lease their system for $5.50 per month plus tax with a $25 installation charge OR purchase the system outright for $299 plus tax and installation IS included. CAll 352-793-3801

[Ice Cold]

That is a good package. All the surge protection you can get is important here. I have heard central Florida is the lighting capital of the world. Ask what is covered and what monetary reimbursment you can get if the device fails. The AC companies can install a protector on the outside AC unit disconnect that will pay back up to $2000.00 if the device fails, (which I hope it dosn't). Whatever you get, make sure it covers the compressor which is the heart and most expensive part of the AC.

[F16 1UB]

Although still located up north, we have 2 surge suppression units installed at the base of the electric meters. (2 meters) They supposedly protect all major appliances (hard wired) from a spike in electricity. The kicker is that they do not protect computers or other small electrical items. The electric co. technician suggested that I still have those plugged into a surge suppression extension cord. Also the technician informed me that the suppression units installed at the base of the meters have an audible alarm if hit with a spike. My AC unit blew a capacitor twice within 10 days. The repairman said that it was most likely from an electrical spike. Electric company said nothing was wrong with their equipment. No surprise.

Steve
Sparta, KY