Chimney Liners and Lightning

[johnpma]

This morning I woke at 5am with the roar of thunder in the background. Sky was dark, dark, dark. Went out quick to let the dog out, and while he was doing his business a large low bolt of lightning ripped across the sky above my chimney.......made me think!!

The liner cap is attached to the liner down through the chimney which is then attached to the stove. What in Gods creation would the outcome be if the cap was ever struck by lightning???? My liner cap is about 22' in the air and we are on a mountain......

 

[johnpma]

Here is a home that burned last week whose copper gutter were struck by lightning. It make me a bit nervous that we go through all this thought, and talk about wood burning safety and establish safety precautions to make burning wood safe but we are not protected by one of the most obvious.......mother nature

 

[Ashful]

Wow... fireplace is still standing!

Somewhere there's a mason with a more zeal than class thinking, "I'm going to use that photo in my next advertisement."

 

[begreen]

Sad loss. With copper gutters this was not a run of the mill house.

 

[johnpma]

million and a half gone up in smoke including the animals.......very sad

Not sure what is up with mother nature but the lightning has been very low this season.......and my liner cap stand very proud of my home

Surprised that I see no responses here regarding lightning.....so much talk regarding stoves, sheds, saws, drying wood, hauling wood, liner pricing, liner installs, how-to threads

 

[danimal1968]

This morning I woke at 5am with the roar of thunder in the background. Sky was dark, dark, dark. Went out quick to let the dog out, and while he was doing his business a large low bolt of lightning ripped across the sky above my chimney.......made me think!!

The liner cap is attached to the liner down through the chimney which is then attached to the stove. What in Gods creation would the outcome be if the cap was ever struck by lightning???? My liner cap is about 22' in the air and we are on a mountain......

I posted on this a few weeks ago. I came home on a Friday in June to find the neighborhood full of fire trucks. It turned out the house 6 down from us had its chimney cap hit by lightning, which travelled down the chimney and blew out the fireplace and destroyed their family room. They were home (fortunately not in the family room) and there are 2 fire stations within a mile of us, so the fire was quickly put out, though they had firefighters there for hours inspecting to make sure nothing was smoldering. The house is still under repair.

 

[shoot-straight]

Surprised that I see no responses here regarding lightning.....so much talk regarding stoves, sheds, saws, drying wood, hauling wood, liner pricing, liner installs, how-to threads

i think its because overall little is known about lightening and even less about rods. talk to 10 people, they will tell you 10 different things. lightening rod salesman- well you know what he is going to tell you.

i too am concerned. i live on a hill with a 2.5 story ss lined masonry chimney. if im home and a t-storm comes, we move into the far bedroom just in case. here is my thoughts on installing rods:

my little knowledge on electricity and logic suggest that rods would "attract" lightening. the bolt is looking for a way to ground. why move the ground up into the air? that said, in the winter i sometimes get shocked by my stove via static. how can that be? its not grounded? or is it? my only thought could be that there is some moisture in the bricks, just enough to make it ground.

as i said, if it thought it would save my house, my family and pets, i would install them. however, i truly havent been convinced it will help more than it would hurt. but, im no physicist or electrician (not a good speller either).

 

[firefighterjake]

Pretty sure that the experts say that it isn't so much the metal that "attracts" lightning strikes -- whether it be a metal chimney or copper gutters or a steel roof -- but rather the height of a structure . . . and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

[begreen]

Height and an easy path to ground for the cloud to discharge to the earth.