SS Class A chimney

[gdk84]

Okay, so here goes question number 2!

My Class A chimney stick out about 4 feet about my roof almost at the peak. During the summer months we get our fair share of t-storms rolling through. So it was brought to my attention the other day, my electical service is grounded, my telephone, cable, my SAT dishes on the roof are... so what about this piece of metal that sticks up heigher than anything else?? It doesnt make me want me to be ANYWHERE near that stove during a lighting storm, as id like to keep the sparks inside of it! . Anyone ever heard of grounding a metal chimney before? Has it even been done!? I guess it does make some sort of sense if you really think about it!

 

[leeave96]

You might load the stove with firewood and in the event of a lightning strike, you'd have a fire in the stove faster than using a super cedar.....

Good question - I don't have a clue, but I know that the ss liner from my chimney stick far above anything else on my roof too!

Bill

 

[jimbom]

Good question. I have never really thought about this. I have two metal flues that exceed the peak of the roof by a little bit. One has a conductive path directly to the concrete basement floor. The other to a zero clearance fireplace on the upper floor. No air terminals on either. Note to family, "Stay away from the stove during lightning storms."

Thinking back, my grandfather had a farmhouse on the top of a hill. My mom remembers the house getting hit by lightning and the rain putting out the fire then getting the inside of the house wet. Guess that is why they got a system. They had no electric power or phone, but he had a complete lightning protection system including air terminals on the brick chimneys. When we were little, my cousins and I got our hides tanned for trying to climb up the down leaders and breaking some of the standoffs. The copper on that house is probably worth a fortune. I should go out there and take a look.

 

[Mad Tom]

I had ball lightning come down the chimney and settle in the stove. It has been burning in there for 2 years straight. 725F stove top even in the summer.

 

[yooperdave]

good question and something else to think about when the insomnia sets in during the summer stormy nights! is the pipe the highest thing around the area or do you have tall trees around your house?? the old family home has a masonry chimney on the outside of the house. there are tall mature maples, oaks around the house and taller then the house/chimney, but the lightening still found the chimney. no damage to house but chimney was replaced from the ground up. sorry i couldn't answer the need for a grounding bond of some sorts.

 

[burleymike]

I have thought about this as well. We get 3-5 thunder storms a year so I don't think about it until we are having a storm. Hopefully my exterior masonry chimney would take it down to the ground.

When I was 9 or 10 the house down the road from my parents got hit on the chimney and it blew the top foot of brick off along with the clay liner.

 

[begreen]

When lightning wants to strike, it doesn't have to be metal.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/57630/

If you are in an area of frequent lightning strikes, a well grounded lightning rod system may be in order.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/14438/

 

[jimbom]

I had ball lightning come down the chimney and settle in the stove. It has been burning in there for 2 years straight. 725F stove top even in the summer.

Give me what he is drinking.

 

[begreen]

I had ball lightning come down the chimney and settle in the stove. It has been burning in there for 2 years straight. 725F stove top even in the summer.

Give me what he is drinking.

I suspect that would be white lightning!

 

[jimbom]

I had ball lightning come down the chimney and settle in the stove. It has been burning in there for 2 years straight. 725F stove top even in the summer.

Give me what he is drinking.

I suspect that would be white lightning!

I laughed.

 

[webby3650]

I had a friend that had a lighting strike, he has a 35' SS lined masonry flue. It blew the trim ring off the wall and cracked the poured concrete basement wall from the thimble to the top plate! It then killed every appliance, ceiling fan, and light bulb in the house! He then bought a Blaze King and all his problems were cured. Seriously, this happened and it was real bad. :bug:

 

[gdk84]

I had ball lightning come down the chimney and settle in the stove. It has been burning in there for 2 years straight. 725F stove top even in the summer.

Give me what he is drinking.

I want that stove . Like i said it was brought to my attention in a recent conversation at work. We where talking about grounding and than this came up. No one really had an answer! So i figured id bring it up here! With a masonery chimney you really dont have a choice because its non metalic and obviously cannot be grounded.