NON-Stop thunder in town

[leilaniguy]

The rain, very common, thunder not so much.

[knieft]

quote:

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Originally posted by AKpilot

We got hit by lightning too, blew our Inverter...... : Guess we are in line for parts as lots of folks are in the same boat as us!

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That sucks.

We have finally, about a year ago, got these lightning "fuses" installed on our off-grid solar system. I have no idea if they would actually work (and still unplug the batteries and DC switches when lightning is about) but maybe they will save an inverter in the future. They are canister-like things that shine blue to show they haven't blown. Need at least two (before inverter and before home circuit breaker) and in our situation three since we have two separate arrays feeding the charge controllers. $80 each if I remember correctly, so it is kind of pricey "insurance". But having blown two inverter boards (and two week old forklift batteries) over the years from lightning I am giving them a go...

Cheers,
Kirt

edit: substituted charge controllers for inverter

[Kapoho Joe]

I put a lightning pole/rod up the 2nd year after I arrived. Peace of mind.

[alaskyn66]

Grounding the house and having a lightning arrestor lightning rod might be a good investment.. considering the uncertain climate changes on the horizon.

..Bad boys,Bad boys what we gonna do...let ya out on bail for a buck or two...

[Tink]

I know the challenges of ground rods in what is called dirt (rock), but seems it would be wise to have two ground rods, one between array and inverter, just before the blowout fuses, and the other connected to house main, separated by at least 6 foot distance.
The ground rod between the array and blowout fuses would take the brunt of a power surge once the fuses did their job protecting the equipment.

Community begins with Aloha

[MarkP]

I completed installation of my new inverter and charge controller during the storm. I have 3 of the Midnight Solar Surge Protection Devices, one on the PV circuit, one on the AC out, and one on the AC in. They were about $85 each.

Any idea if the galvanized steel of the catchment tank would make a ground? I painted mine with Zophar asphalt paint to protect it from against corrosion but as I was installing the bottom rings I remember lamenting that the paint was probably getting scraped off against the sand. I suppose one should only consider the possibility if the tank was not painted.

[alaskyn66]

I don't know nothing about metal conductivity but copper is a better conductor of electricity than galvanized from what I can find. Do a simple search for copper vs. galvanized for grounding ... and there are more links than can be posted. With good explanations as to why.

..Bad boys,Bad boys what we gonna do...let ya out on bail for a buck or two...