Popping during storms

[codyinco]

Just got a new stove professionally installed ... I live at 7,000 feet in Colorado... blower has never been plugged in and haven't even done break in fire yet.

We have had 2 good thunderstorms since it was installed and each time that stove sends out pretty loud snapping or popping noises... like electrical popping noises. Never a direct hit from lightning ...

Sorry if this explanation sucks... I am perplexed and the store that installed it gave me "hmmm... I never heard of that before. "

Any help? Please/Thank you.

 

[semipro]

Alright. I'll take a shot.
If you have a steel flue beyond the roof, perhaps a static is building on it and anything it's connected to (e.g. stove). When the charge gets high enough it discharges from the flue or stove to a nearby grounded object (a small spark is created).
You could test this by bonding the stove/flue to a known good ground nearby with a wire. If the noise goes away, install a more permanent ground to "drain" the static charge.

 

[codyinco]

Alright. I'll take a shot.
If you have a steel flue beyond the roof, perhaps a static is building on it and anything it's connected to (e.g. stove). When the charge gets high enough it discharges from the flue or stove to a nearby grounded object (a small spark is created).
You could test this by bonding the stove/flue to a known good ground nearby with a wire. If the noise goes away, install a more permanent ground to "drain" the static charge.

Someone else mentioned grounding the stove. Is that a common necessity ?

 

[Mech e]

Someone else mentioned grounding the stove. Is that a common necessity ?

Never heard of it, but also never heard a problem like yours. I think static electricity is a good guess. High altitude equals dry air plus wind is a great breeding ground for a static charge. Give the ground wire a try.

 

[peakbagger]

If its a static issue its better to ground it at the source outside the house on the roof. Grounding inside the home is not a good idea as the metal chimney is acting like a large lightning rod and when you ground it in the interior you are welcoming a strike into your home. If you look at common practice for lightning protection is to run aerials and grounding cables along the roof at high points that then run down the outside of the home to a ground rod that is bonded to the house ground. In lightning prone areas I have seen lightning aerials mounted on metal stacks.

If the house is surrounded by trees that are taller than your roof, then its less of an issue as the trees offer some protection from strikes. The general concept is there is cone of protection that starts at the highest point of the tree and then forms a cone at roughly a 45 degree angle expanding downwards to the ground.