GregS wrote:

I never even heard of a test. I guess in some areas they don't worry about it.
You would think Florida would be pretty good conductivity compared to
most other areas. Most or all homes around me have a ground on the water pipe comming
into the house. Its a good ground, but the outside rods must be at the box. It
could span the distance of the house.
If you have standard telephone, don't forget to protect the incomming line.
Whatever you get, make use of the insurance. If its such a problem, I would have
the electric company install the device. I can "rent" a device by them at some extra expense.



The test was the ability to blow one of the old screw in 15 amp
household fuses. Sure, the well casing is grounded, but they are rarely
anywhere near the electrical service. Our well was over 100 feet from
the pole pig, and meter. Would you bet your life on a single #12 AWG
safety ground? I wouldn't. The ground rod was at the meter, and had to
be driven 85 feet, before it would blow the fuse.

Some areas of Florida are sugar sand, with VERY poor conductivity.
Lake county is one of those areas. 50 years ago, the sandy land was
used to grow oranges, and had very few residents.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Central Florida is the
lightning capital of the United States. Its quite common for a storm to
have over 3000 recorded strikes, per hour. Systems that are adequate in
safer areas just aren't good enough in a place like this. I have had
battery powered equipment explode from the EMP when a bolt hit the
marsh, 25 feet behind my shop. I had the CRT video dries blown on a VGA
monitor that was not only disconnected, but the video cable was wrapped
around the base of the monitor. I was resetting my computer desk, and
had just disconnected it when the storm hit. Hours later, after the
electricity came back on I had no monitor, or mouse.

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida