Chad Fabry Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 Schedule 40, 3-inch steel pipe. The overhead stranded triplex was completely blasted away save for a 2 foot piece dangling from the pole. This building is a hundred feet from mine. Click to Enlarge 162.71 KB Click to Enlarge 177.33 KB Click to Enlarge 139.26 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 Electrical service riser? Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted September 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 Yes, service riser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 Being so close to the utility lines with nothing but the utility super lag fuse on the xformer primary to stop it, the power is available to vaporize considerable metal, shoot drops of molten metal out and cause serious flash-burns on anyone who happens to be around. The utility has instrumentation at the power plant that records these short circuit spikes. More than once, at a forge plant where I once worked, they would call and ask if everything was ok when our 1,000 amp, 480 V buss duct would short out. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 So how does it feel to win the lottery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjr6550 Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 I am looking at the photos on my phone. It appears that the strike was near the ground. I like how the current melted the pipe and left the coupling intact. Quite a few years ago my chimney was hit. Bricks flew about 150 feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Amaral Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 Sound made: "frrzzzzintISHLAPP" (Courtesy Don Martin Mad Magazine/1960's) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 I am looking at the photos on my phone. It appears that the strike was near the ground. I like how the current melted the pipe and left the coupling intact. Quite a few years ago my chimney was hit. Bricks flew about 150 feet. So this was a lightning strike? Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted September 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 The thread title is "Lightning Art" Is that too subtle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 I was thinking it was a quote from a movie. "lightning, Art!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 The thread title is "Lightning Art" Is that too subtle? That sort of damage is typical of a short between an ungrounded SE conductor and the metallic conduit. It isn't typical of a lightning strike. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted September 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 The thread title is "Lightning Art" Is that too subtle? That sort of damage is typical of a short between an ungrounded SE conductor and the metallic conduit. It isn't typical of a lightning strike. Marc The top of the mast was completely gone and, as I stated earlier, also missing/ vaporized was about 50 feet of stranded triplex. It wasn't on the ground, it was gone. I assume the triplex was hit. I can imagine a scenario where that occurred and subsequently the insulation on the SE conductors was compromised inside the riser. Edit: Notice that both sides of the riser are gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 A lightning bolt is characterized by extreme voltages which can translate into extreme energies developed if the resistance of the path is high. That's why brick explodes when hit: It is not a good conductor. Triplex and the steel conduit are both excellent conductors and 'grease' the path for lightning currents to safely reach the earth where it dissipates. That's why lightning rods, braided cable and ground rods of lightning systems remain undamaged by even the greatest of strikes: their conductivity is excellent. I can see how a lightning strike may have initiated the short in the triplex but only the ensuing fault current in the triplex itself could have vaporized that much metal. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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