Christine Animal Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Just found this advice on the Orange page. Probably everyone knows what they should do when there is a storm, I was unplugging the electricity, but not the phone [:$] Any other tips?http://www.orange.fr/bin/frame.cgi?u=http%3A//assistance.orange.fr/1295.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missy Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 I sure unplug the phone, the computer, the TV, the aerial and the Sky dish when there is thunder and lightening around. Had once lightning fall on the end of the barn about 50 yard from the kitchen door and it frazzled the lot. No electricity for 2 days and no phone for another week. Having learnt that mistake you'd think this household would be alert...Nah!... too simple!...About 3 weeks ago we had quite some thunder and lightning in this area of Wales. OH was on Ebay putting a bid on some kit for his motorbikes, just as it was about to close to get his 'bargain'! He rang me at work and says : 'Our computer's just gone funny...''and?...''I can't see if I've got the item or not!'and?...'No response.... I put phone down... didn't think of it any more... finish day at work and went home!... Big panic, no electricity, no phone etc... The lightning had fallen on our transformer in the field accross the yard.Result new modem, repairs to computer, inconvenience of not being able to see to bookings for 3 or 4 days.... Now BIG NOTICE in office! 'UNPLUG EVERYTHING at the slightest sound of GOD's FART!!'(if the word is censored it is spelt f a r t! OH's euphemism for thunder) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Animal Posted July 30, 2006 Author Share Posted July 30, 2006 Once I was at work in Paris and phoned Jean-Pierre out in the country where there was a storm going on. He suddenly got some sort of shock or explosion in his ear. Never phone any more if there's a storm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tay Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 It is possible to buy a multiprise 'parafoudre' which will protect your phone line and tv. They look like normal socket extension blocks, but have a socket for your tv aerial and another for your telephone. They cost less than €10 and can be bought in most brico shops. It is worth buying a couple of them as they aren't much more expensive than normal extension blocks, and it is much cheaper to replace one of these than a pc, tv and telephone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tay Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 It is possible to buy a 'multiprise parafoudre' which will protect your phone line and tv. They look like normal socket extension blocks, but have a socket for your tv aerial and another for your telephone. They cost less than €10 and can be bought in most brico shops. It is worth buying a couple of them as they aren't much more expensive than normal extension blocks, and it is much cheaper to replace one of these than a pc, tv and telephone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fulcrum Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 You might like to note that the regulations in France for installing a "parafoudre" or over tension device only applies to houses situated in the countryside or where supplies negotiate overhead cabling.If you live in a town and or you supplies come through the ground then you shouldn't have a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 What about the TV aerial, Fulcrum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossumGirl Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 We had a whole house parafoudre put on when we had our electrics redone last year. We'd had one in our house in L.A which was in an area that got terrible windstorms, which used to cause terrible power surges and outages from the trees falling on wires. It worked great and the one here seems to as well. I don't believe it added much to the total cost of doing the work either.PG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Each of our computers is protected by a UPS/surge protector along with phone lines. In our rural area we suffer lots from voltage "irregularities" and can hear the gizmos clicking away merrily. To be ultra safe we still disconnect phone line when storms are promised.Having had a hard disk fried the above was a modest insurance policy.Johnnot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fulcrum Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 [quote user="Cassis"]What about the TV aerial, Fulcrum?[/quote]Don't use one. My satellite dishes are mounted on the ground for safety reasons and don't get zapped by lightning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Roy Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 I always unplug computer and Livebox - should I also unplug the phone line, or is this only if you have a phone that recharges/has a base unit? We have a common or garden basic phone as we had big problems hearing people with the other ones. I have never thought of unplugging it before, can the lightening come down the phone line into the Livebox that way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenniswitch Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Animal Posted July 31, 2006 Author Share Posted July 31, 2006 I always shut all the doors and windows as a girl I worked with told me that once at her parents' house lightning came in through the window, went round the room like a ball of fire and "escaped" into the fireplace and up the chimney. If there hadn't been the opening of the fireplace, what would have happened... Has anyone else ever heard anything like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimportequoi Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Yes, my friend, who is from the Pyrenées, said that her parents always did that as the storms can be particularly violent there and lightning can easily enter a house like through doors and windows. I've seen it too - when I was 12, on holiday with my family and some other friends in the Dordogne, myself and a friend were standing at the side of an open door during a storm and a ball of fire came up the steps, through the door and disappeared up the stairs. It didn't do any damage, but our parents never believed what we saw! My neighbours here in Brittany had their electric box taken out when the same thing happened in their house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenniswitch Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 I live (for most of the year) in Florida, where we see a lot of lightning. Having windows/doors open or closed makes no difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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