cable laying on the ground...Lightning problems ?

[skip555]

just finished running the cable on a job where our only choice was to run the cable underneath a remodled 1913 house with a very limited crawl space.

anyway the cable bundles voice and data are laying on the ground in some spots and I'm wondering if I should be concerned about them picking up surges from nearby lightning strikes.

Cable is all under the house from ofices to the equipment room nothing exposed .

 

[curlycord]

What are the odds of lighting?
I would say that even if the house next door gets hit then you would be fine.
Some old house's also have lightning rods at the top with a copper cable leading from it to the ground so if it has that then even safer ~Will Nortel soon be NoTel??~

 

[Lundah]

Considering it's under the building, I don't think lightning would be a concern. What you may want to worry about, however, is if a rat or some other rodent wiggles it's way into the crawlspace and decides to have your cabling for lunch.

 

[skip555]

Curlycord

chances of lightning prety high here in S fla the "lightning capital of the world Plus the building has a radio tower in the back .

Lundah

critters are probably not much of a problem the openings are pretty well sealed.

my question is when the lightning bolt hits the ground or hits the tower and is shunted to ground is there a potenial for it to enter cable laying on the ground ?

 

[daronwilson]

There is always a potential. Keep in mind that when you shunt a high voltage to ground, it does in fact increase the potential (raise voltage) on the ground momentarily.

Besides, it's not particularly good wiring practice to lay the cables on the ground, much better to keep them strapped up at regular intervals (4-5').

So yes it would be better protected if the wiring were strapped up off the ground.

Good Luck!
It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com

 

[mnmcomm]

Being under the house, they are in the cone of protection of the building. As far as lightning, the ground will be a much better conductor, hence the name. Only worry about it as much as if you were standing outside, on the ground, when one of those regular spring thunder boomers you get in S FL comes through. If you do get a strike close enough to go through the ground to those cables, that strike will be affecting ALL of the electrical systems in the home-High and Low voltage. There will be a lot more things to worry about when that happens.

I feel for you brother. Here in FL we are lucky to even have a crawl space. It is kind of hard to hang cable when there is limited crawl space. I am in central FL, and have used 'nature's cable tray' on remodel jobs. It is better than 'wrapping' cable around the exterior of the home.

........Ahh, to be able to use a full basement for the first floor locations, like they do up north, would be heavenly....... (Wakes up from dream/nightmare, when the snow starts falling)

As for longevity of the cable, it should be fine. Critters are the main cause of failure, wether the cable is hung up or not. For some reason, cables are like cocaine to rats especially. Numerous pest control guys have told me that over the years. Matthew Masi RCDD