OK, that was too close ! (updated with tips)

[Glennbear]

The majority of my working career was spent in public safety, Police/Fire/Rescue so I consider myself a pretty safety minded individual. Today I was working in the shop when a brief but violent thunderstorm rolled in. I decided to keep on working using the logic that the shop was just as safe as the house since they are only six feet apart and of the same construction. What I did NOT consider was the fact that unlike the house the shop has a 16 foot x 7 foot metal door across the front!!!! :eusa_doh:As I bent down to pick up a drawer from the stack by the overhead door there was a nearby lightning strike and a lovely blue flash and loud crack as electricity passed from the door to the shop floor slab over the rubber door gasket. So much for me being safety minded. :slap: Immediately therafter all shop work ceased and I retreated to the house. :gar-La; With the prevalence of "pop-up" thunderstorms this time of year I wish to remind all of the immortal words of the shift sgt. on the ancient TV cop series, "Hey! let's be careful out there". NOAA has posted some lightning safety tips online: http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/overview.htm :wsmile:

 

[buildintechie]

Re: OK, that was too close !

Glad to hear you didn't get hurt. It also is worth mentioning for those who work in an attached garage, don't lean against your car in a thunderstorm also...electricity has been known to jump objects.

 

[Dragon]

Re: OK, that was too close !

:icon_thum Looks like us firefighters are Johnny-on-the-spot with this one. Had a few close calls myself over the years. Most recently about a month ago we had one of those pop-ups here and a bolt hit real close and fried the old TV. Had to go get another one and now when we get a little thunder in the area we make sure all the expensive electronics are unplugged from the wall period.

Lightening is so powerful it can jump open spaces and run looooong distances via anything that will conduct electricity. We rolled up on a downed power line once and could actually "feel" the tingling before we even stepped off the truck. Needless to say, we moved the engine and cordoned off a wide area until Duke arrived.

Safest advice I know of for a thunder storm is don't even THINK about taking a chance. That's when it's gonna make sure it has your undivided attention. Good post to remind everyone, thanks.

 

[Trent Mason]

Re: OK, that was too close !

Sorry about the close call Glenn. From a guy who has been in two houses while they were struck by lightning, I can tell you that it is a powerful and dangerous thing. :swoon: Stay safe everyone. :thumbs_up:thumbs_up

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Re: OK, that was too close !

With the prevalence of "pop-up" thunderstorms this time of year I wish to remind all of the immortal words of the shift sgt. on the ancient TV cop series, "Hey! let's be careful out there". :wsmile:

Glad you weren't any closer to that door. I remember the TV series you're talking about. That was Sgt. Esterhaus on Hill Street Blues. Good show. I always like that line.

Bill

 

[RandyJ]

Re: OK, that was too close !

Glad to hear you are safe, Glenn. I got noisy around here earlier too. I just stayed in the house like a good boy!:gar-Bi

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[sawduster]

Re: OK, that was too close !

Imagine that ....after all those times in the past you should have been struck ! :rotflm::gar-La; :slap:

seriously , I'm glad yer OK bro. i absolutely love working in my shop during a storm with the rain serenading me on that metal roof :eusa_danc

.....maybe not so much now :nah:

Thanx for the wake up :icon_thum

 

[Charles Lent]

Re: OK, that was too close !

Glenn,

The National Electric Code requires grounding and bonding, but I don't think they say anything about metal garage doors, and they should. I had lightning strike a pine tree very close to my shop some years ago. It charged the metal skinned entrance door just as it did with your garage door, but jumped upward from it cutting two slots in the roof soffiting just above the top corners of the door and then jumped into the BX power cables just above it. From there it arced between the case and Neutral of the shop's breaker panel and then traveled the shop power cable underground to the house and then through the crawl space of the house to the main electric panel on the opposite end of the house. Both TVs in the house worked afterwards, but their screens needed degaussing. They are both about 3 ft above the shop power cable. Our Alaskan Malamute was on the floor in front of one of the TVs and she jumped and yelped when it hit, so I think she got shocked too.

Since then I have added a ground rod to the shop's electrical panel (now required in latest NEC) and I ran a #6 ground wire to one hinge of the metal door to give it a better way to travel next time. You might want to consider grounding the track of your metal overhead door the same way. It won't help for a direct strike, but should drain off any stray charges from nearby strikes so they don't arc to the floor, your wiring, or your sawdust pile.

Charley

 

[LeftyTom]

Re: OK, that was too close !

C'mon Glenn, you're just telling us how you must be living right. :mrgreen:

 

[ehpoole]

Re: OK, that was too close !

Glenn,

The National Electric Code requires grounding and bonding, but I don't think they say anything about metal garage doors, and they should.

:widea: Funny, I was just thinking the same thing after reading the OP post! I have extensive lightning and surge protection (due to lots of sensitive electronics that cannot be shutdown during storms, e.g. servers, UPS, etc.) -- including 5 10' copper-clad ground rods -- but never once have I thought about our steel garage door. Guess I'll be investing in some #6 or #4 copper to ground each track of our overhead door.

Thanks for sharing! And :qright5: you for adding to my project list!

 

[Glennbear]

Re: OK, that was too close !

Glenn,

The National Electric Code requires grounding and bonding, but I don't think they say anything about metal garage doors, and they should. I had lightning strike a pine tree very close to my shop some years ago. It charged the metal skinned entrance door just as it did with your garage door, but jumped upward from it cutting two slots in the roof soffiting just above the top corners of the door and then jumped into the BX power cables just above it. From there it arced between the case and Neutral of the shop's breaker panel and then traveled the shop power cable underground to the house and then through the crawl space of the house to the main electric panel on the opposite end of the house. Both TVs in the house worked afterwards, but their screens needed degaussing. They are both about 3 ft above the shop power cable. Our Alaskan Malamute was on the floor in front of one of the TVs and she jumped and yelped when it hit, so I think she got shocked too.

Since then I have added a ground rod to the shop's electrical panel (now required in latest NEC) and I ran a #6 ground wire to one hinge of the metal door to give it a better way to travel next time. You might want to consider grounding the track of your metal overhead door the same way. It won't help for a direct strike, but should drain off any stray charges from nearby strikes so they don't arc to the floor, your wiring, or your sawdust pile.

Charley

Thanks for sharing your story Charley it definitely got me to thinking. I am familiar with the NEC requirements for bonding around swimmimg pools but bonding the door never occured to me. My shop panel already has a grounding rod attached to it but now I will be breaking out the roll of 6 gauge and tieing in the door tracks also. I certainly do not need to be replacing the electric door opener because errrant electric charges used it as a path to ground. :no:

 

[Glennbear]

After reading Charlie's post about uncontrolled electricity whizzing around his property I decided to bond/ground my metal overhead door. After moving stuff out of the way I tried to open the door to make sure the opener was not already fried and pushed the opener button.....NOTHING !!! :cry_smile After a few minutes of cussing and checking the breaker I glanced up at the ceiling outlet and there was a yellow light indicating the GFCI outlet had tripped. :icon_thum I had forgotten that I had installed a GFI up there at the suggestion of my electrician/author/guru Rex Cauldwell even though the NEC did not require it. He suggested a GFI to possibly prevent lightning induced opener damage, I guess it worked!! :gar-La; So for all of you folks who have metal garage doors and/or openers a couple tips:

1) Ground the tracks as Charley suggests.

2) Feed the opener through a GFCI outlet.:wsmile:

 

[Bigdog72]

All the homes I build get the garage opener tied in to the GFCI as a standard. Trying to get homeowners to remember to check the GFCI if their garage door won't open is another subject altogether.