Lightning Strike: Should I replace this PSU? (PICS Inside)

[_Durandal_]

My question follows the pictures below in case you don't want to read the story .

Hey All,

Well, ok, lightning is extremely cool when it stays the heck away from my house and electronic devices! Last week Tuesday a tree (10ft. away from our house) was hit by lightning (see pics below). The strike was incredibly loud, especially considering I was in the basement at the time. My system happened to be on when the lightning struck and that's where the fun began.

You see, I checked the http://www.weather.com and it showed absolutely no green/rain anywhere near my hometown; so, I figured the thunder outside was nothing more than that and decided to leave my system on. Luckily it was plugged into a Belkin 1200VA UPS because when that bolt hit my monitor turned green on all four corners and I heard this constant ringing tone coming from my computer. I immediately shut down my main system and went running upstairs. Needless to say stuff upstairs near the windowsill was knocked on the floor, and as you'll note (and probably laugh at) one of my mom's Hosta's was thrown onto our neighbor's roof.

My question revolves around my Antec True 480W PSU. The system I have it in got juiced, which of course killed the motherboard. I noticed the voltages seem to be dipping a bit low...if I recall correctly the +12V line never dipped below 11.84 under heavy load, but now when I run Prime95 it goes even lower. The picture below shows it at 11.67, but just recently (I'm testing the system right now) it dropped to 11.61V. Should I be worried, or for that matter would you replace it as well?

Thanks for reading as I know this was a somewhat long post, but hopefully you guys enjoyed the pictures along the way .

Lightning: 1, Humans: 0 (What was damaged)
-Sony 36" Trinitron Wega television
-Abit NF7-S Rev. 2 Motherboard
-Belkin 1200VA UPS Battery Backup
-Logitech Z-680 5.1 speaker system
-Sears Garage Door Opener

 

[Sole Conspirator]

I am sure many of us feel your pain. We had a severe thunderstorm here last April and the result was the loss of my few months old Therlmaltake PSU that I loved. At least that's all it took out so I am eternally grateful.

Edit: Holy crap I just noticed your list of what was damaged!

 

[_Durandal_]

I am sure many of us feel your pain. We had a severe thunderstorm here last April and the result was the loss of my few months old Therlmaltake PSU that I loved. At least that's all it took out so I am eternally grateful.

Edit: Holy crap I just noticed your list of what was damaged!

Hey, thanks for the post. The electronics thank you for your sympathy . I'm sure you had that PSU plugged into a surge protector too, which is the lame part. I'm beginning to think that no matter what kind of surge protector you buy it won't help one bit if your house/objects near it take a direct hit from lightning.

In doing some reading I read it's possible for lightning to put out anywhere from 1,000 - 300,000 Amps...http://www.wisconsinpublicservice.com/farm/lightning.asp. So, granted my surge protector could handle up to a 90,000A spike it's no wonder some things got juiced .

So if it were you, would you go ahead and replace the PSU? I obviously don't want to make the insurance company pay for something that's not damaged, but then again I wonder how that strike "bypassed" everything in the PSU and went directly into my motherboard.

 

[Sole Conspirator]

Hey, thanks for the post. The electronics thank you for your sympathy . I'm sure you had that PSU plugged into a surge protector too, which is the lame part. I'm beginning to think that no matter what kind of surge protector you buy it won't help one bit if your house/objects near it take a direct hit from lightning.

In doing some reading I read it's possible for lightning to put out anywhere from 1,000 - 300,000 Amps...http://www.wisconsinpublicservice.com/farm/lightning.asp. So, granted my surge protector could handle up to a 90,000A spike it's no wonder some things got juiced .

So if it were you, would you go ahead and replace the PSU? I obviously don't want to make the insurance company pay for something that's not damaged, but then again I wonder how that strike "bypassed" everything in the PSU and went directly into my motherboard.

Yes, I had surge protector, but a crappy one and this coming from a guy who does this for a living. Doh!
I am not into defrauding insurance companies either but in this case I feel you have a legitimate claim. The only way into your mobo was through that PSU and that leaves it suspect in my opinion.
My experience was the only time I've ever had anything happen to me and I leave all my systems on through even the worst storms. I guess after playing with fire long enough (or even worse, lightning in this case), you're bound to get burned!

 

[_Durandal_]

Perhaps what's even more strange is that at the time of the strike the power stayed on in every room! Now that's definitely what I call weird. It's almost as if things got damaged by the lightning's EMP... .

Oh, and btw, don't know if it matters or not, but the system w/ the damaged board was off when the lightning hit. Go figure. Maybe because it always has power to it (you know, that little red LED when the system is turned off) the lightning thought it would be a good idea to go there first lol.

 

[Vertigo Acid]

Don't you have an equipment protection warrenty with the UPS?

Either way, replace the PSU; It's faulty by virtue of not sacrificing itself for the system.

 

[kronchev]

dont belkin UPS's have a coverage guaranatee? if anything broke while on it id file a claim

 

[_Durandal_]

Don't you have an equipment protection warrenty with the UPS?

Either way, replace the PSU; It's faulty by virtue of not sacrificing itself for the system.

Yes actually, the UPS does come with a $500,000 connected equipment warranty, but I'll have to re-read the policy again. I don't think that includes the UPS itself. Now granted there is a 3-year warranty on the unit itself, but I will also have to check if they exclude acts of God/nature.

Edit: I just got off the phone with Belkin's support and they confirmed that even though the UPS was damaged by lightning it would NOT be replaced...only the equipment connected to it. I think my next UPS will be from a different company if this is their policy...grrr .

 

[_Durandal_]

dont belkin UPS's have a coverage guaranatee? if anything broke while on it id file a claim

I should clarify too, the UPS was hooked up to my main system. The system in question (with the voltages above) comes from my gaming rig which is not plugged into the UPS...they're in different parts of the basement. Sorry for not making that clear before. The system that had the motherboard damaged was just plugged into a surge protector.

 

[Bitchnmoan]

The one on the UPS that was damaged may have taken the hit through a different external connection, such as your modem or LAN cable. If your Belkin has the ports for your data line and you were using it along with the power connections, then I think whatever lightning policy they have oughta take care of it. If your unit does not have a data port protector, then you may be SOL.

To be nice to Mama Nature, you may want to see what you can do to seal up that big wound on the tree. I'd hate to see that the tree died a few years down the road and that you had to have it cut down (or worse, that it fell onto your house). Should be pretty cheap - less than $100 I would think.

 

[Dekar12]

To be nice to Mama Nature, you may want to see what you can do to seal up that big wound on the tree. I'd hate to see that the tree died a few years down the road and that you had to have it cut down (or worse, that it fell onto your house). Should be pretty cheap - less than $100 I would think.

Actually sealing up any wound is worse then leaving it alone.

When trees have scrapes they wrap up the tree with a special paper that breathes to let moisture exit and is treated to keep bugs out.

That tree in the picture looks like it has always had a split from since it was first start growing. Putting anything that is not breathable like tar, varnish, metal, will hurt the tree and cause the exposed wood to rot.

 

[Falls Included]

Edit: I just got off the phone with Belkin's support and they confirmed that even though the UPS was damaged by lightning it would NOT be replaced...only the equipment connected to it. I think my next UPS will be from a different company if this is their policy...grrr .

jesus hell... who cares about the UPS!!!!! get another one for 40 bucks... and then get your self a bunch of new stuff. like probably close to 1500 dollars of electronics, as a replacement...

 

[TheMostWantedPolishTwin]

do you experience any stability issues? if not there's no need for a replacement..

 

[_Durandal_]

jesus hell... who cares about the UPS!!!!! get another one for 40 bucks... and then get your self a bunch of new stuff. like probably close to 1500 dollars of electronics, as a replacement...

Well, first off the UPS that went was over $150 as it was a 1200VA one. And yeah the TV and other stuff is covered so I will definitely be getting replacement parts for anything that was damaged; however, I wanted to let you guys know about Belkin's support so you knew for the future.

If you ask me it's pretty poor of a company not to warrant their product, especially when they say it protects systems against stuff like that...I mean, this UPS isn't even a year old and it carries a three-year warranty...that's why I was somewhat upset. Oh well, APC is getting my money this time around .

 

[Cardboard Hammer]

...

Edit: I just got off the phone with Belkin's support and they confirmed that even though the UPS was damaged by lightning it would NOT be replaced...only the equipment connected to it. I think my next UPS will be from a different company if this is their policy...grrr .

Well, first off the UPS that went was over $150 as it was a 1200VA one. And yeah the TV and other stuff is covered so I will definitely be getting replacement parts for anything that was damaged; however, I wanted to let you guys know about Belkin's support so you knew for the future.

If you ask me it's pretty poor of a company not to warrant their product, especially when they say it protects systems against stuff like that...I mean, this UPS isn't even a year old and it carries a three-year warranty...that's why I was somewhat upset. Oh well, APC is getting my money this time around .

I'd bet that's everyone else's policy as well. The point of connected equipment coverage is to assure to the enduser that the UPS/surge protector, while getting killed by lightning, will be the ONLY piece of hardware that gets croaked in the process.

When lightning hits, something is going to die. It'd be stupid of a manufacturer to offer free replacement of a product that is going to be the one catching the bullet.

If it kept everything that was connected to it safe, you should be glad to buy another, as you've had it proven to you that it really works.

EDIT: When you think about it, it's like expecting a manufaturer to replace for free a bulletproof vest that was damaged in the process of keeping a bullet from going through the wearer.

 

[_Durandal_]

I'd bet that's everyone else's policy as well. The point of connected equipment coverage is to assure to the enduser that the UPS/surge protector, while getting killed by lightning, will be the ONLY piece of hardware that gets croaked in the process.

When lightning hits, something is going to die. It'd be stupid of a manufacturer to offer free replacement of a product that is going to be the one catching the bullet.

If it kept everything that was connected to it safe, you should be glad to buy another, as you've had it proven to you that it really works.

EDIT: When you think about it, it's like expecting a manufaturer to replace for free a bulletproof vest that was damaged in the process of keeping a bullet from going through the wearer.

I completely understand what you're getting at. However, the reason why I said APC will get my $ next time is because I actually called them and asked that very question. Their response was that if the UPS was in fact damaged in the event of a lightning strike, they would replace it (as long as it was still under warranty) along with any other connected equipment that was also damaged at no cost to me.

You can always call and ask to speak with John in tech. support, that's who I spoke with anyhow. I certainly didn't expect them to do that, but the minute he told me that's their policy I knew where my next purchase was going to be. Granted, not every company will do this, but wouldn't I be silly not to take advantage of it if it exists?

 

[LadyJaqie]

I'm beginning to think that no matter what kind of surge protector you buy it won't help one bit if your house/objects near it take a direct hit from lightning.

this doesnt matter if you use an APC product. they cover systems and parts melted for any reason when they are plugged properly into an APC unit. and they back that up, ive seen it in the past. www.apcc.com

I run only APC products now.

 

[LadyJaqie]

. . . . the system w/ the damaged board was off when the lightning hit. Go figure. Maybe because it always has power to it (you know, that little red LED when the system is turned off) the lightning thought it would be a good idea to go there first lol.

okay, thats called soft off. to REALLY turn a machine off, you gotta turn the ATX power switch on the back of the psu off, and for PSU without those, gotta unplug them.

when I first saw the ATX standard, I knew this would casue a *LOT* more spike/surge issues.

 

[LadyJaqie]

I reccommended for any network PC a minimum of this
http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=NET8N

 

[Kendrak]

Yes actually, the UPS does come with a $500,000 connected equipment warranty, but I'll have to re-read the policy again. I don't think that includes the UPS itself. Now granted there is a 3-year warranty on the unit itself, but I will also have to check if they exclude acts of God/nature.

Edit: I just got off the phone with Belkin's support and they confirmed that even though the UPS was damaged by lightning it would NOT be replaced...only the equipment connected to it. I think my next UPS will be from a different company if this is their policy...grrr .

With a smaller surge the ups would of done it's job and died for the good of the system.... that is what they do, hence no replacement. Am ecentialy direct strike.... well there is little, even in the corprate market that can protect aginst that.