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Idalia and Power Issues

I had started another thread on whole house surge protectors and the value of using them in combination with plug-in surge protectors. Forty-eight hours after I started that thread the weather models all started forecasting it would go over my head sometime Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

I’m going to use this thread to keep track of any power problems I experience.

My power protection:

  • Siemens BoltShield in the panel
  • Furman with SMP, LiFT and EVS in the HT rack
  • Three APC UPS used for PC’s, telecom and nightstand
  • External gas-discharge tube on coaxial Internet
  • 3’ of fiber to air gap the modem from the router
  • Ethernet isolator before HT network switch
  • Tripp Lite Isobar surge strips in a couple of locations.

Of course, the ideal situation is to unplug everything before a major storm, but that only works if you know they are going to happen.

I'd like to ask this thread to stay focused on Idalia and any power related issues you suffer as a result.

erik_squires
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erik_squires OP
15,737 posts
 

An SPD, (Surge Protection Device), will do nothing to protect from Utility Power surges, overvoltages, caused the high winds and storm water of the storm. SPDs only protect from high voltage transients lasting in a duration of a few milliseconds. Voltage surges, overvoltages, caused by the storm will last far more in duration than a few milliseconds.

Not always true. Furman protectors with Extreme Voltage Shutdown (EVS) provides protection against lower but longer lasting voltage issues than the surge protection feature (SMP) .

These voltages can be otherwise undetected until equipment starts to fail.

Also, of course I will turn things off from power strips and breakers if the storm gets bad near me. For now I need it working so I can keep up with the news.

erik_squires OP
15,737 posts
 

One of the unexpected joys of living here is when your UPS kicks in and the power glitches and then 2-4 seconds later you hear a "boom" sound. Pretty sure they just lost another transformer.

Weather wise we are doing really well.  There was minor street flooding, and light wind, but no lightning today, which is a surprise.

bolong
385 posts
 

Equally interesting is what happens to all the battery powered cars in the storm surges.

erik_squires OP
15,737 posts
 

Equally interesting is what happens to all the battery powered cars in the storm surges

@bolong I thought Tesla's were powered by lightning?? Should definitely leave those plugged in during a lightning storm to maintain maximum battery life.

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