Good post on protecting a Ham radio station from lightning, but also good for understanding how lightning protection works and how to protect a home from attacks by the lighting throwers in the sky.
So much information has been posted on lightning protection in this fourm you could spend hours going through all the information listed and I would recommend doing so. Use the search engine in eHam and by all means forget the naysayers of grounding. Go to the PolyPhaser site and read their tutorials on lightning protection. Go to Lyncole, Hagar and ICE (Industrial Communications Engineers) and read their tutorials on grounding. There is no short cut to lighting protection. Your whole station and home needs to be addressed as a complete solution. Now if you live in the Northwest you can skip the rest of this article for your chances are very slim you would even see a thunderstorm. For the rest of the county this is an aspect of the hobby we have to deal with. This article is a reader's digest version of what must be done for surge protection and I hope it start you thinking about your home and station.
http://www.eham.net/articles/13461 saved by
pj in
Electrical on 5/20/2010 11:41:59 PM
A good ground is very important, maybe the most important thing, in mitigating lightning damage; the more energy you can divert to ground before it gets into the house or equipment room, the less you have to deal with through lightning and surge arrestors. More importantly, more energy diverted to ground means less can go through your electronics!
http://www.solacity.com/Grounding.htm saved by
pj in
Electrical on 5/21/2010 12:03:49 AM
This is the FAQ for the electrical wiring news group. Tons of questions, including some of the ones below:
Introduction/Disclaimers What is the NEC? Where can I get a copy? What is the CEC? Where can I get a copy? Can I do my own wiring? Extra pointers? What do I need in the way of tools? What is UL listing? What is CSA approval? What impact does NAFTA have on wiring standards and approvals? Are there any cheaper, easier to read books on wiring? Other Resources on Wiring
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/electrical-wiring/part1/ saved by
pj in
Electrical on 5/21/2010 12:07:50 AM
The entire house, built in 1941 before the war, was originally clad in cheesecloth and wallpaper. Downstairs we simply covered over that with 1/4? sheetrock…the historian in me LOVES knowing that cheesecloth and wallpaper are still under there BUT upstairs we ripped the wallpaper off of the walls and slathered in GALLONS of white paint, that old wood drank the paint! It was a MESS to remove the old paper and cheesecloth, a zillion strings to clip but I love the look.
http://www.hollymathisinteriors.com/2010/05/more-wood-walls-in-my-home/ saved by
tara in on 5/21/2010 12:17:16 AM
If you're going to paint or repaint one room or more inside your house, then a paint sprayer can make the job go a lot faster! A paint sprayer is powered by electricity. Once you fill the reservoir at the bottom of the sprayer, all you have to do is to pull a trigger to release the paint.
The best paint sprayer to use inside your house is the airless type. It has less over spray than other types of sprayers.
http://www.essortment.com/home/paintinteriorw_tqnn.htm saved by
pj in
Painting on 5/22/2010 10:39:57 AM
Would anyone be willing to share their cost for spray foam insulation or any estimates they have gotten. Cost per square foot. I have looked high and low and have had little luck. All the contractors I have contacted won't give an estimate over the phone without a visit. We are planning on building a home, there is nothing to see. We are currently in a 40's traditional that is a nightmare to heat/cool. Can't do much without spending more than I will gain in equity. The housing market is junk down here. The price u pay when you live in a small town of 800 convenient to nothing.
http://forums.treehugger.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11145 saved by
pj in
Insulation on 5/24/2010 10:13:52 PM
Top 10 Reasons to buy Foam it Green? Spray Foam Insulation Kitsbr /Just 1 inch seals out air and insulates. R-7 per inch. Sprays on like paint, expands to 1 inch thicknessbr /The easy to use spray foam kit Professional Results, Your Way, Fast.br /Closed-cell polyurethane spray foam kits E-84 Fire Rated Class I Spray Foam Insulation for use in buildingsbr /No CFCs, Penta-BDEs, VOCs, Urea Formaldyhyde Save Up to $1,500 w/ 2010 Tax Credits!br /Green building material: USGBC and Terrapass Quick and Easy No outside source of pressure or power needed
http://www.sprayfoamdirect.com/ saved by
anonymous in
Insulation on 5/24/2010 10:43:25 PM
Tiger Foam? 200 bd. ft. Kit - FRbr /ASTM E-84 Fire Rated Fast Rise formulation for spraying on surfaces. Covers 200 square feet at 1 or 16 cu. ft. yield. All kits come complete with Gun/Hose assembly, extra tips and instructions, but PLEASE read our FAQ PDF file. Thank you.br /Shipping weight per kit = 40lbsbr /br /Price $335.00
http://www.tigerfoam.com/products.php saved by
anonymous in
Insulation on 5/24/2010 10:44:01 PM
Federal Tax Credits for Consumer Energy Efficiency
If you purchase an energy-efficient product or renewable energy system for your home, you may be eligible for a federal tax credit. Below you will find an overview of the federal tax credits for energy efficiency.
Please note, not all ENERGY STAR qualified products qualify for a tax credit. ENERGY STAR distinguishes energy efficient products which, although they may cost more to purchase than standard models, will pay you back in lower energy bills within a reasonable amount of time, without a tax credit.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index saved by
pj in
Entire Home on 5/24/2010 10:49:57 PM
Spray foam can be used as an insulating and air sealing product for residential wall and ceiling cavities. The insulation is sprayed, via special equipment, into wall cavities and expands to fill all the nooks and crannies in a wall cavity. Excess foam is scraped off the studs to form a uniform wall cavity. Spray foam insulation makes it easy to completely fill wall cavities with insulation and to perform air sealing in the same step.
http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inventory/walls/sprayed-foam-insulation saved by
pj in
Insulation on 5/24/2010 10:50:22 PM
Air Krete offers a high R-value 3.9 per inch
? Air Krete flows around obstructions in the wall during installation preventing voids
? Air Krete does not shrink or settle in the wall, which eliminates unwanted air infiltration
? Air Krete will not burn - an important consideration especially in homes with older wiring
? Air Krete repels insects and rodents and will not support mold growth
? Air Krete is a true Green product. It contains no Carcinogenic fibers, no CFCs or Formaldehyde. Air Krete is odorless and free of toxins that may affect the chemically sensitive.
http://www.bauerspecialty.com/insulation/insulation-airkrete/air-krete-cementitious-foam-insulation saved by
pj in
Insulation on 5/24/2010 10:51:38 PM
Blown Cellulose has the higher savings, lower costs
"R-Value" (an expression of heat transfer resistance) is the standard for measuring insulation performance. At R 3.6 to 3.8 per inch, blown-in cellulose insulation is considerably better than fiberglass insulation which has an R-value of about 2.2 to 2.6. But R-value is only one factor in the energy efficiency of a home. Studies of actual buildings regularly show that cellulose-insulated buildings may use 20% to 40% less energy than buildings with fiberglass, even if the R-value of the insulation in the walls and ceilings is identical. One reason for this is the capacity of cellulose to stop air infiltration and heat-zapping convective air currents within your walls and ceilings, which are inherent with most fiberglass insulation.
http://www.aboutsavingheat.com/cellulose.html saved by
pj in
Insulation on 5/24/2010 10:53:44 PM
Spray-on insulation is a powerful and relatively recent plastic material, with an insulating efficiency (rated in R-values) that amounts to the double of traditional insulation products like fiberglass batts/rolls.
Most of spray-on insulation is made of liquid polyurethane or polystyrene, also found in small aerosol cans and used in refrigerators and water heaters (see also, for elements on the environmental impact of this type of insulation: Insulation materials and the environmental issue).
http://www.house-energy.com/Insulation/Spray-Foam.htm saved by
pj in
Insulation on 5/24/2010 10:57:03 PM
Insulation materials play a primary role in achieving high energy efficiencies in buildings. There has been concern over the health impacts of the material constituents of insulation ever since the problems associated with asbestos became apparent, followed by the banning of urea formaldehyde based insulation. Some health concerns have spread to potential inhalation of fiberglass and cellulose insulation fibers and dust. Always wear a proper dust mask when working with these materials.
http://insulation.sustainablesources.com/ saved by
pj in
Insulation on 5/24/2010 11:03:00 PM
Open-cell foam is soft - like a cushion or the packaging material molded inside a plastic bag to fit a fragile object being shipped. The cell walls, or surfaces of the bubbles, are broken and air fills all of the spaces in the material. ... Closed-cell foam has varying degrees of hardness, depending its density. A normal, closed-cell insulation or flotation polyurethane is between 2 and 3 pounds per cubic foot. It is strong enough to walk on without major distortion.
http://www.foam-tech.com/products/urethane_foam/open_closed_cell.htm saved by
pj in
Insulation on 5/24/2010 11:08:30 PM
Sharing Information
Use this form to build a widget you can use to share your information...
Share within your Qrimp App:
Share in a remote site:
Input Form Embed:
Add to Dashboard
If you would like to build your own format to display the shared data, enter the HTML template in this box,
then click the Build Embed button to build your embed script.
close