Riddle me this...

[crackertoes]

Long story, but we had a massive surge of power go through the house and it took out numerous things, but there's no rhyme or reason as to why some things blew and some things didn't. To wit, on one power strip I have a laptop, monitor, desk lamp, radio, extension cord with iphone and another laptop plugged into it. The surge took out the radio, (http://www.dcwstore.com/radios-Crosley- ... radio.html) but nothing else.

Where can I get my radio fixed?

[planosteve]

Long story, but we had a massive surge of power go through the house and it took out numerous things, but there's no rhyme or reason as to why some things blew and some things didn't. To wit, on one power strip I have a laptop, monitor, desk lamp, radio, extension cord with iphone and another laptop plugged into it. The surge took out the radio, (http://www.dcwstore.com/radios-Crosley- ... radio.html) but nothing else.

Where can I get my radio fixed?

See if you can remove the back. There may be a fuse you can replace. If you really want to try and have it repaired try The Factory Service Center in Richarson.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Factory-Service-Center/192162844181087

[crocmommy]

Where did you get that toaster fixed?

[LibraryLady]

Where did you get that toaster fixed?

LOL

[jellowrestling]

'Toes, I don't have an answer to your question, but after having several of these episodes in my old house, I had a whole house surge protector installed in this one. It was relatively inexpensive (couple hundred bucks).

[glenn/dallas]

In 1984 my house was hit by a bolt of lightening. Fried everything that was plugged in, had no problem ignoring surge protecters as if they were not even there. State Farm was very fair and quick to write a big check. (four large screen tv's, no flat screens then, toaster, Mr Coffee, numerious lamps, clocks, the house thermostat, electric garage door opener, ceiling fans and lights, etc etc etc)......and so on

[jellowrestling]

In 1984 my house was hit by a bolt of lightening. Fried everything that was plugged in, had no problem ignoring surge protecters as if they were not even there. State Farm was very fair and quick to write a big check. (four large screen tv's, no flat screens then, toaster, Mr Coffee, numerious lamps, clocks, the house thermostat, electric garage door opener, ceiling fans and lights, etc etc etc)......and so on

I don't think anything can save you from a lightning strike except a lightning rod.

[millergrovesue]

I don't think anything can save you from a lightning strike except a lightning rod.

I wonder how well they work. If they were perfect wouldn't you think they would be standard issue on all houses?

[jellowrestling]

I don't think anything can save you from a lightning strike except a lightning rod.

I wonder how well they work. If they were perfect wouldn't you think they would be standard issue on all houses?

I don't think anything can be perfect against a lighting strike, which is typically about 5 gigajoules (explosive power greater than a ton of TNT), but lightning rods have a long track record of effectiveness.

I suspect that there are two reasons they aren't standard:

1. There is extra cost associated, and
2. Most people think that lightning rods "attract" lightning. For example, there is a house near Brown Trail in Bedford which has a huge stand-alone lightning rod in the yard, apparently in the belief that this will draw the lightning away from the house. In fact, the lightning may hit the house anyway, and then the lightning rod in the yard will be useless. The purpose of the lightning rod is to provide a path of least resistance when the lightning strikes. The lightning rod provides a path-to-ground; without it, the massive energy can cause low-resistance materials (like roofing) to explode/catch fire, and/or it can travel through the wiring of the house, frying everything in its path.

I could be mistaken, but I believe that lightning rods ARE standard on commercial and government buildings and schools. If they aren't standard, they are in wide use.

[jellowrestling]

I thought to look up some info on lightning strikes. Apparently, the air around a lightning strike gets hotter than the surface of the sun. !

[BigTex]

We could put a stop to that if we all used recycleable bags at the grocery store.