Should one ground a clothes line

[Midniteoyl]

That's where this "single point grounding" code has me confused. For years code said a ground block was required anywhere a cable entered the house. The satellite/cable guys knew that and ran a piece if wire down to a separate ground rod. As I understand it now, it all has to come back to a single grounding point that serves as the ground for the house where the main service is.

Floating ground - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[aczlan]

I guess some people don't realize that the clothes line is a high tensile steel cable, covered in vinyl.

Correction, SOME clothes line is a high tensile steel cable, covered in vinyl. Other is a cotton rope with a poly core.

Aaron Z

 

[Loadstar]

Faraday cage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Why is that linked to my post?

 

[Loadstar]

Correction, SOME clothes line is a high tensile steel cable, covered in vinyl. Other is a cotton rope with a poly core.

Aaron Z

My clothes line is about 50 years old and is solid copper wire. It is pretty tough.

 

[Coyote machine]

Lightning is a completed circuit to ground via ANYTHING the lightning may 'strike' which is highly random in it's predictability of chosen ground.
Lightning actually meets at some location between the actual ground, (earth) and the 'bolt' coming from the sky. Virtually invisible feelers are sent into the sky in an electrically charged atmospheric condition where they are met by their electrical counterpart and boom one has a lightning strike.
Lightening will travel via any conduit available and blow out all kinds of circuits, given the right set of circumstances. For example, my wife showed me a picture of her friend's yard where a recent electrical storm with lots of lightning hit a tree in her yard, care to earth and ran along the ground, tearing up the grass until it hit the casing of the well. It did NOT blow out the well or it's wires, but it did fry the cable modem inside the house.
Things like underground lines, cable, tel, underground utilities often get fried and sometimes they don't, but proper paths to ground for all possible conductors is just best practice regardless of potential site specific outcome.
My wife's uncle had a ball of fire (from lightning), come down his chimney and burn it's way across the living room floor in one storm- so anything can happen- remember we're talking mother nature here and we all know how predictable and consistent she is, right?!

 

[Dr_Zinj]

... Kind of reminds me when people say it's that 1/2 of rubber tire that saves you from lightning in a car. ....

The fact that you're safer in a car from lightning strike is more due to the metal cage around you than any grounding. The car body acts as a Faraday cage to conduct the charge around the outside of the car to where it can finally go to ground. If you were standing next to the car with a hand on the car, and a foot in a puddle, you'd become the shortest path of least resistance.

 

[Coyote machine]

A state trooper's cruiser was hit by lightning. It connected via one of the antennas and blew out one tire on it's way to ground, (earth).

 

[Loadstar]

The fact that you're safer in a car from lightning strike is more due to the metal cage around you than any grounding. The car body acts as a Faraday cage to conduct the charge around the outside of the car to where it can finally go to ground. If you were standing next to the car with a hand on the car, and a foot in a puddle, you'd become the shortest path of least resistance.

Here is my original post your referring to.

"Lightning just traveled through how many thousand feet of insulating air. You must have some really awesome disconnect switches if they stop lightning LOL. Kind of reminds me when people say it's that 1/2 of rubber tire that saves you from lightning in a car."

I never say that tires save you. I was implying it's laughable to me when people think that.

 

[dmccarty]

The fact that you're safer in a car from lightning strike is more due to the metal cage around you than any grounding. The car body acts as a Faraday cage to conduct the charge around the outside of the car to where it can finally go to ground. If you were standing next to the car with a hand on the car, and a foot in a puddle, you'd become the shortest path of least resistance.

I once was driving down I75 south of Tampa and I drove into the worst lightning storm I have ever seen. There were bolts striking the ground all around, and since the highway was elevated over the swamp, I was looking down into the trees as the strikes hit. This was not a bolt every 5-10 minutes, but a bolt every 15 seconds or so, at best. Never thought I would hear again from the loud thunder, if I survived at all. Now, I knew I was supposed to be protected by the car frame, but in a storm like this, that knowledge was not real comforting. I felt very, very, very infinitesimal as Thor was playing.

Since I am still here, I guess the car was able to out run the bolts! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[buickanddeere]

My solar powered clothes dryer is grounded via the chain down to a buried anchor . I don't understand these people who install a clothesline pole without a brace.

 

[techman]

If the line is of any length and metal, grounding it can prevent a charge buildup that occurs in the atmosphere when thunderstorms are present. You have little to no risk if not grounded, but if there is storm activity in the near area and the wife goes out to collect the wash, she might get a nice static jolt from it.

Some other general comments. Large metal towers, etc that are grounded generally make it less likely that lightning will hit. they drain off accumulated charge in the air reducing the likelihood of a strike. Pointy spikes help if mounted on the pole/tower. Like lighting rods on buildings, they are not intended to "take" a strike, but rather drain atmospheric charge to prevent strikes. A direct strike will likely vaporize the wire grounding the lightning rods. Likewise on transmission towers you will always see two relatively thin wires running along with the main conductors, usually at the top. They are ground wires and act as a charge drain to protect the tower and power wires. They create a ground envelope around the main wires and drastically reduce the chance of a strike hitting the lines.

Insulation Coordination in Power System | Electrical Engineering





paul

 

[Midniteoyl]

Why is that linked to my post?

Because you had this : Kind of reminds me when people say it's that 1/2 of rubber tire that saves you from lightning in a car. ..

 

[Midniteoyl]

Here is my original post your referring to.

"Lightning just traveled through how many thousand feet of insulating air. You must have some really awesome disconnect switches if they stop lightning LOL. Kind of reminds me when people say it's that 1/2 of rubber tire that saves you from lightning in a car."

I never say that tires save you. I was implying it's laughable to me when people think that.

I got that.. just linking to the theory as to why..

 

[Loadstar]

I got that.. just linking to the theory as to why..

I figured you did, I was just checking. I was hoping I wasn't taken as a insulating tire theorist lol

 

[Midniteoyl]

Nope.. not by me at least

 

[Industrial Toys]

I made the false assumption that ALL clothes lines had a steel core. Maybe the other would be safer. Do they last?

I was thinking more about the thimble used to insulate the guy wire. While this works to prevent high voltage from a transmission line from livening up the guy, I conceed it may be of little use to insulate the clothes line from ground in a lightning strike. Although I would rather a strike flash over the insulator at the far end, going to ground, then flash over to something at the house.

I still have my radio tower and repeater shack here on the property from when I was active in Ham radio, UHF repeaters (before cell phones!). I believe I installed some eight or so ground rods, with a farady cage around the wooden radio shack, a single point ground system with polyphaser lightning protection on all transmission, phone and hydro lines. Must say, I never had any damage what so ever.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Clothes line is up. I found some great (apparently the next fad in Mennonite Clothes Lines) big spoked, welded steel powder coated pulleys, with bearings. Big one at far end is maybe 22 inches! Cost a small fortune!

Got an old double stainless steel sink that I buried some four feet deep as a guy anchor. Try ripping that out of the ground in the next hundred years.

Grounded the guy wire (from the SS sink to the bolt that holds the pulley.

Then the horrible thought hit me about the vinyl insulation on the clothes line!

Oh well!