got one of those invisible fences?
Aug. 13th, 2008 01:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkitoutGot lightning?
Think hard about whether you should keep it.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/archive/x390643786/Another-dog-fence-channels-lightning
http://www.livinglakecountry.com/MukwanagoChief/Story.aspx?storyId=779855
http://www.pluralsight.com/community/blogs/fritz/archive/2005/07/05/12914.aspx
(In the above, there's the main entry story, and in one of the comments there's a second story.)
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/9309730/detail.html
This next one does _not_ involve damage to a house as a result of a dog fence/lightning combination, but does describe damage to the fence during lightning storms. Twice. Lifetime warranties on the fences seem to be good for covering these. Further in the article, the "expert" chuckles at the idea that a surge protector would do any good at all.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/24colct.html
I've heard of something similar happening here in town, which is what prompted the googling.
The wording on the FAQs for the products is suspiciously careful when answering the is-it-safe-during-a-lightning-storm question. The internal and/or external surge protectors are plugged (heh); often there's a lifetime warranty on various specified system parts if damaged by lightning. But there's no discussion of whether, in the event of lightning being channeled to your home and your home being damaged, the makers of the product will pony up to fix the problem.
Think really hard. And maybe talk to whoever you get your homeowner's insurance from. They might have an opinion about the safety of that invisible fence -- and whether they'd exclude coverage of resulting fires.
In the meantime, here's a really entertaining site you can waste time at:
http://www.struckbylightning.org/news/dispIncidentdb.cfm
You really gotta feel for the people who had a car accident and then had a near-hit. Geez. Not their lucky day. Or maybe it was -- maybe they should buy a lottery ticket. Neither of the two events killed them.
Think hard about whether you should keep it.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/archive/x390643786/Another-dog-fence-channels-lightning
http://www.livinglakecountry.com/MukwanagoChief/Story.aspx?storyId=779855
http://www.pluralsight.com/community/blogs/fritz/archive/2005/07/05/12914.aspx
(In the above, there's the main entry story, and in one of the comments there's a second story.)
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/9309730/detail.html
This next one does _not_ involve damage to a house as a result of a dog fence/lightning combination, but does describe damage to the fence during lightning storms. Twice. Lifetime warranties on the fences seem to be good for covering these. Further in the article, the "expert" chuckles at the idea that a surge protector would do any good at all.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/24colct.html
I've heard of something similar happening here in town, which is what prompted the googling.
The wording on the FAQs for the products is suspiciously careful when answering the is-it-safe-during-a-lightning-storm question. The internal and/or external surge protectors are plugged (heh); often there's a lifetime warranty on various specified system parts if damaged by lightning. But there's no discussion of whether, in the event of lightning being channeled to your home and your home being damaged, the makers of the product will pony up to fix the problem.
Think really hard. And maybe talk to whoever you get your homeowner's insurance from. They might have an opinion about the safety of that invisible fence -- and whether they'd exclude coverage of resulting fires.
In the meantime, here's a really entertaining site you can waste time at:
http://www.struckbylightning.org/news/dispIncidentdb.cfm
You really gotta feel for the people who had a car accident and then had a near-hit. Geez. Not their lucky day. Or maybe it was -- maybe they should buy a lottery ticket. Neither of the two events killed them.
irrigation systems, too
Date: 2008-08-13 03:07 pm (UTC)Apparently, anyone who has ever done maintenance on a golf course.
I tend to think of sprinklers as outdoors-only, but often the control panel is indoors (I should know this; the condo had one).
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2527317490075849709hFtPMl
I gotta say, if people worried about sprinkler systems and pet fences the way they do about batteries in hybrids, the discourse would look a lot different than what I'm seeing.
oh, never mind -- just get a sprinkler system instead!
Date: 2008-08-18 03:04 pm (UTC)In this one, the nearby lightning strike followed a propane line into the house, where a fire started. The family was camping and not at home. Their sprinkler system (apparently installed by previous owner; they thought about removing it but had not) saved their structure.
It's no wonder so many people get toasted in Florida every year. This stuff is not safe; when you have a lot of it, things (and pets and people) get hurt.