Barn fans & Thunderstorms.. on or off?

[Boomer]

I'm thinking about putting box fans in the aisle way on a thermostat to come on automatically above 80F to help my horses be more comfortable this summer. They have free access to the aisle.

One boarding barn I was at always turned all the fans off if a thunderstorm came up... is this necessary?

I work during the day so running home to turn fans off during a t-storm isn't going to happen.

[Jaegermonster]

I shut everything off here when a T Storm comes up. Our house was hit a couple of years ago and it blew the phone jacks and outlets out of the walls and set the carpet on fire.
I can only imagine what might happen in a barn.

[JellyBeanQueen]

Hmm thats a good question. I have fans in my horse's stalls (they can come and go in and out of thier stalls if they want) they are plugged in a Ground Fault Circut something or another. Its supposed to help keep lightning from short cirucutting every thing. I am not a electricity person...it kind of scares me.

At the barn where I work I know we do turn off fans, and other major electrical outlets.

[Commander Cody]

I turn mine off, always have.

[kdow]

I work during the day so running home to turn fans off during a t-storm isn't going to happen.

One of my friends used to have the lights and various other things in his house hooked up so he could turn them off and on over the internet. (Yeah, my friend is a MAJOR geek. :) )

Anyway, I suspect that probably means there's some way of setting it up so that you could have remote control over the fans - maybe something that sits in the circuit that powers the fans that you could call into and just kill the power to the whole circuit. (Normally that'd mean having an internet or phone line run to the barn, so it might not be cheap. Though now I suppose maybe you could get something that'd run off a mobile phone...)

If there's enough interest, I'll ask my friend if he has any ideas how it could be done relatively inexpensively?

[spotmenow]

Off. And don't forget the fence charger, too. Our local fencing company told us that they get fried very easily, even with the surge protectors.

[IsolaBella09]

Definitely off.

[camohn]

No fans here......stone bank barn stays cool...........but I do turn the fence charger off. We have fried a couple in the past, even with surge protectors (as well as the phone jack in the barn).

[Boomer]

One of my friends used to have the lights and various other things in his house hooked up so he could turn them off and on over the internet. (Yeah, my friend is a MAJOR geek. :) )

Anyway, I suspect that probably means there's some way of setting it up so that you could have remote control over the fans - maybe something that sits in the circuit that powers the fans that you could call into and just kill the power to the whole circuit. (Normally that'd mean having an internet or phone line run to the barn, so it might not be cheap. Though now I suppose maybe you could get something that'd run off a mobile phone...)

If there's enough interest, I'll ask my friend if he has any ideas how it could be done relatively inexpensively?


Hmm... that's pretty cool. I do not have a phone line any more - I am wireless all the way 'round: internet (thru cell phone), alarm system (cellular dialer - house only) and cell phone.

How much does it cost to do what your friend did?

Looks like based on the other responses I'd better only turn fans on when clear skys are predicted.

[BornToRide]

Ditto - off.....I am curious - does your barn have a lightning rod? In Germany all buildings are required to have a lightning rod because they tend to get a lot of violent thunderstorms in the summer too.

[Equibrit]

Why would turning off anything help. The wire is still there for current from lightening to travel up - whether it's on or off. The best thing you can do is to provide a ground so that if you are hit by lightening it can go to ground harmlessly.

READ this; http://members.cox.net/pc-usa/station/ground2.htm

[Dirty Little Secret]

I usually turn everything off- too worried about my ancient barn burning to the ground. A house nearby did just a couple of weeks ago.

[BornToRide]

What to do - WV University (http://www.wvu.edu/~exten/depts/cewd/wvdemr/Disaster%20&%20Emergency%20Management%20Resources%20(PDF%20Fil es)/32.%20Section%204.3%20Thunderstorms%20and%20Manage ment%20Measures.PDF)

[jazzrider]

One of my friends used to have the lights and various other things in his house hooked up so he could turn them off and on over the internet. (Yeah, my friend is a MAJOR geek. :) )

Can you send him to VA? I want that! :winkgrin:

We don't turn things off, anymore than we do up at the house. Storms blow in so quick, even on bright, sunny days. If we did try to manage it -- it wouldn't be consistant since we both work.

[ThoroughbredFancy]

My BO usually turns the fans off/unplugs them when she suspects a T-storm is on the way.

[Boomer]

Ditto - off.....I am curious - does your barn have a lightning rod? In Germany all buildings are required to have a lightning rod because they tend to get a lot of violent thunderstorms in the summer too.

Nope - I live in the South.

I didn't even need a building permit to build the house! There are "supposedly" regulations in the county, but the only inspectors available are city inspectors and there are not enough of them. This translates into "no permit needed".

But I did have a city inspector certify that I built to code - they will work on the side for a fee off regular hours.

I did have to pull a waste permit for a septic/waste water system.

[kdow]

Nope - I live in the South.

I didn't even need a building permit to build the house! There are "supposedly" regulations in the county, but the only inspectors available are city inspectors and there are not enough of them. This translates into "no permit needed".

But I did have a city inspector certify that I built to code - they will work on the side for a fee off regular hours.

I did have to pull a waste permit for a septic/waste water system.

I would suggest looking into getting a lightening rod system put in if you're worried - my brother just got one put in after the house across the street from him got struck by lightening. (They had some damage too, just from it being so close, I believe.)

Anyway, I'll poke my geeky friends and see how much they think it'd cost to set up some kind of remote power strip, basically. I can see how being able to turn things off and on in the barn would be pretty handy anyway. (Like if you have appliances in the tack room that you're worried might have been left on. Call the 'tack room power' number, turn off power to everything plugged into the strip, there you go. Just don't plug the fridge in to it. :) )

[Nes]

You usually turn off fans because they don't have grounds (the third lower pronge on your plug) and so if they get hit by lighting you can fry small electronics like fans.

At my old barn the owner used to throw the breaker for the entire barn at night and during lightning storms (regardless if anyone was riding in the arena, or working in the barn...). One of the most insane things I've ever seen anyone do. Hubby is an electrician and has assured me there is no reason why you would ever want to do that.

Believe it or not, this is what your breakers are for. If you're electrical has been properly installed you don't have to worry about it if you are hit by lightning, but if you're REALLY worried (because you're in a large open space and/or the highest point for awhile), consider having a lighting rod installed on your property.

[Gry2Yng]

Why would turning off anything help. The wire is still there for current from lightening to travel up - whether it's on or off. The best thing you can do is to provide a ground so that if you are hit by lightening it can go to ground harmlessly.

READ this; http://members.cox.net/pc-usa/station/ground2.htm

Big portions of that article were over my head, but I think I got the bottom line.

[Nes]

I forgot to add, if you have fans and are worried about them being shorted you because you don't have grounds on the plugs - you can always plug them into powerbars that have breaker trips in them. Thats what I do around the house :)

[Equibrit]

http://members.cox.net/pc-usa/station/ground2.htm

Q: But I thought my house wiring is grounded?

A: Not for lightning! Building electrical grounding is for one purpose only: equipment-fault protection from 120v and 240v. But nearby lightning can cause surges of THOUSANDS OF VOLTS to enter via the power company lines, or it may be induced onto your house wiring from a nearby or direct strike. This energy can travel on your house wiring, and may damage or destroy anything plugged into AC, telephone or cable lines. The home electrical ground system by itself cannot prevent this. Neither does grounding and bonding the outer case of each piece of equipment protect from induction on the wiring or power surges coming in from a nearby strike on utility lines. EMI on wiring can only be controlled from careful application of surge suppression.

Q: O.K., and I use "Surge-Protectors" on critical equipment, so I'm o.k., right?

A: NO! Not if your "surge protector" is the standard "power strip"! The slow-clamping but high-voltage protection provided by MOV (Metal-Oxide Varistor) power strips all shunt surge voltage directly to AC (third wire) ground.

[BornToRide]

Nope - I live in the South.

I didn't even need a building permit to build the house! There are "supposedly" regulations in the county, but the only inspectors available are city inspectors and there are not enough of them. This translates into "no permit needed".

But I did have a city inspector certify that I built to code - they will work on the side for a fee off regular hours.

I did have to pull a waste permit for a septic/waste water system. Oh I got that you did not live in Germany :winkgrin:

[Amwrider]

I boarded at a barn down the street from my current location and I remember seeing sparks shoot out of fans when the barn received a nearby hit from lightning.:eek:

My current barn has lightning rods on it but I still try to turn off the fans when I know a storm is coming in.