Talk of The Villages Florida
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Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)
-   The Villages, Florida, Non Villages Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-non-villages-discussion-93/)
-   -   What's more dangerous, lightning or motorcycle? (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-non-villages-discussion-93/whats-more-dangerous-lightning-motorcycle-120804/)

Shimpy 07-19-2014 04:33 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lightning (Post 909600)
When a stroke leader begins its millisecond journey down to earth from the thunder cloud it is seeking the least resistance path to ground. It makes no difference if a structure has electricity or not the strike may cause a fire in combustible materials. In 1752 Benjamin Franklin did his famous kite experiment that led to the birth of lightning rods. Lightning was a problem for the colonists and the Europeans as well. Lightning rods were first installed on buildings in Philadelphia in the summer of 1752, and would soon be adopted in some European counties as well. Franklin reported years later that his own house was struck and saved by his own invention.
Interesting........Last week I had lightning damage twice in the same week. My computer got hit and it most likely came in thru the cable. I also lost my sprinkler timer/controller. I had it replaced and called Seco since I had a whole house surge protector installed and was told each electronic item had to have an individual surge protecter. So.....I had a surge protecter they sent me and plugged my new sprinkler/control into it. That same day it got hit again. I wouldn't have known it but my garage door wouldn't open and is on the same GGI outlet which was tripped. After resetting it my door opened, but the timer was dead. Seco came to my house to file a claim and after checking out the surge protector told me the protector was good and the surge from lightning probably came in through the water pipe and the claim would probably be denied. He also told me of many refrigerators that were hit coming in thru the water line supplying the icemaker. It's interesting because the sprinkler guy told me lots of luck filing a claim with SECO because they can claim many reasons why they are not responsible.
I'm not saying we don't need lightning rods on our homes but in my last two experiences they wouldn't have helped. I would guess lightning rods would protect your home from total damage of the home but not the devices in it.

Villages PL 07-21-2014 01:44 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lightning (Post 909481)
Research and history has demonstrated that Lightning Protection Systems (LPS), commonly called lightning rods, do work if they are designed, installed, and maintained according to the national standard on lightning published by the National Fire Protection Association in NFPA-780, Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems. 2014 edition. Studies have shown that when they don’t work as designed it is due to a lack of maintenance or neglect over time. LPS have no moving parts and only three components; air terminals, down conductors, and driven ground rods – usually 3 or 4 of 8 ft in length. Homeowners with LPS should have the installer check them out every 3 to 5 years but immediately if you have added on (including a pool cage), re-roofed, had extensive landscaping around the foundation, or if you believe that you took a lightning strike.

If you want to learn why they work you should go to the NFPA website and bring up NFPA-780 that is a read only format. Then go to page 57, Principles of Lightning Protection that addresses research models, the positioning of air terminal, the physics of lightning attachment, and the cone of protection.

Here are other references:
• The Art and Science of Lightning Protection by University of Florida professor Dr. Martin Uman, that can be found in The Villages Library.
• The Basis of Conventional Lightning Protection Technology by the federal interagency user group.
• The Report of the Committee on Atmospheric and Space Electricity of the American Geophysical Union of the Scientific Basis for Traditional Lightning Protection Systems, chaired by Dr. Vladimir Rakov of the University of Florida.
• American Metrological Society also published a position paper on LPS that can found on line
The National Fire Protection Association is an industry trade group. So it makes sense that they would naturally promote lightning protection systems. It's hardly an unbiased source on which to base one's research.

Lightning 07-23-2014 09:28 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Villages PL (Post 910997)
The National Fire Protection Association is an industry trade group. So it makes sense that they would naturally promote lightning protection systems. It's hardly an unbiased source on which to base one's research.

The point is there is solid scientific data that has been developed by academia and the users (those who need the protection) over the years to support the efficacy of lightning protection systems. The NFPA is a private non-profit national consensus standards writing organization. They develop standards on over 400 subjects that are used throughout the country and around the world. In effect they develop model standards that are often times adopted by authorities having jurisdiction such as the federal government, states, and municipalities. This saves the various governmental agencies from researching and developing their own codes. The two most widely used are NFPA-70, The National Electric Code and NFPA-101, The Life Safety Code that provides safe egress from buildings and structures. Some firms such as Disney voluntarily adopt all applicable NFPA standards because they do not want preventable fires injuring their guests, property damage, and downtime. You will note that all buildings at Disney have lightning rods. The NFPA is a major reason why the number of fire deaths and property damage has declined over the years.

graciegirl 07-23-2014 11:16 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Villages PL (Post 910997)
The National Fire Protection Association is an industry trade group. So it makes sense that they would naturally promote lightning protection systems. It's hardly an unbiased source on which to base one's research.

I felt very much enlightened when Lighting came to our village meeting and presented his very helpful information on the types and kinds of lightning. There are several. This man does this as a public service. When he moved to Florida he became concerned about the dangerous lightning strikes and contacted the University of Florida for information. He does not promote ANY company to install rods, but he can tell you how to tell if it is a good company. There are a lot of inferior people doing this.

Lighting writes a regular column for the POA newsletter.

RayinPenn 07-24-2014 04:52 AM
Years back I can remember a young couple - she was a stunner. I mean the guys would admire her with their mouths agape...what beautiful girl! Her boyfriend or husband was very good looking too..yeah guys I can say that too.. Young beautiful and in love...

I hadn't seen him in a while and when I did he was walking with a stiff leg? I inquired to a friend. "He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident." Same fellow, but his disability was taxing on him - gone was the glow....

Motorcycle I don't think so..

Lightning 07-29-2014 09:10 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 912427)
I felt very much enlightened when Lighting came to our village meeting and presented his very helpful information on the types and kinds of lightning. There are several. This man does this as a public service. When he moved to Florida he became concerned about the dangerous lightning strikes and contacted the University of Florida for information. He does not promote ANY company to install rods, but he can tell you how to tell if it is a good company. There are a lot of inferior people doing this.

Lighting writes a regular column for the POA newsletter.
Thanks Graciegirl for your continued support. If there are those that would like to learn more about lightning rods, surge protection, personal lightning safety, and debunking of nine myths about lightning see page 49 of the current Lifelong Learning College Catalog.

Miles42 09-09-2014 10:15 PM
If you hide in a closet and hope to live a long life, what's the point?

Bonanza 09-10-2014 12:45 AM
Uhhhhh . . . Is there a real correlation between lightning and motorcycles???

How 'bout a motorcycle with a lightning rod attached?
Or -- how 'bout a motorcycle under a tree on a golf course?
Or -- how 'bout being in a car with steel belted radial tires?

Hmmmmmm . . .

Villages PL 09-11-2014 11:29 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Miles42 (Post 935737)
If you hide in a closet and hope to live a long life, what's the point?
If you go outside during a thunderstorm, get hit by lightning and have to spend the rest of your life confined to a bed, what's the point of that?

Villages PL 09-11-2014 11:37 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 912427)
I felt very much enlightened when Lighting came to our village meeting and presented his very helpful information on the types and kinds of lightning. There are several. This man does this as a public service. When he moved to Florida he became concerned about the dangerous lightning strikes and contacted the University of Florida for information. He does not promote ANY company to install rods, but he can tell you how to tell if it is a good company. There are a lot of inferior people doing this.

Lighting writes a regular column for the POA newsletter.
Is he associated in any way ($$$) with an industry trade group or other local group of businesses? It certainly sounds like the information he provides is likely to stimulate sales.

Lightning 09-16-2014 04:42 PM
Our intent is to educate and as can be seen on this web site there is a need for factual information about lightning living here in the Lightning Capital of the US. We do this as a community service and have no revenue stream from any source. Unlike most instructors at the Lifelong learning College we do not realize any income. The charge for Lightning Tips for Villagers is solely for the rental of the classroom at the high school.

australianpirate 12-13-2014 01:08 AM
Did you know that you're ten times more likely to be killed riding a moose than you would be feeding a giraffe, so the moral of this entire thread is... When riding a moose, always wear a helmet. And when feeding a giraffe, just shoot it in the head.... I think. I don't know... In fact I don't know what or how this helps anyone in life, but if you have nothing better to do than to sit and read made up statistics all day, you're better off dead. Cause that's where life will bring you very soon anyway. Evenon a motorcycle or getting struck by lightning. Wouldn't it be odd to be struck dead by lightning while on a motorcycle? Weird

eremite06 12-13-2014 08:43 AM
I got struck by a golf ball while riding my motorcycle.


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