Should i unplug hifi during a storm?

Ok very apt....as a storm is approaching London now and could be a biggie!

Seen as i have now assembled a system that has set me back a fair few quid, im not taking any chances and have already unplugged from the electrical socket.

Does anyone else unplug their equipment during a storm with lightening? Or is it quite remote that it would damage your gear?

 

I don't unplug but I have all equipment plugged into power strips and I always turn these off during a storm.

 

Better to be safe than sorry.

I don't always unplug my gear, but I do if I hear a storm could get severe.

 

I live in lightening storm H.Q. , central Florida , power outages occur on a regular basis but individual household damage rarely happen.
I just posted this reply during a violent thunderstorm without any problemsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

 

If it's going to be a thunderstorm, yes. It's not that much trouble to possibly avoid a very sad event.

 

I unplug my Triplight power strip.

 

I live in a block where the TV aerial is on the roof aswell so that tends to get unplugged too! Well, i have not seen lightening like this in London for many years so im glad i did now. Like you guys say...better to be safe for how often it happens in England especially.

 

Well peeps.......after I posted my last message it took me 25 minutes to get back online.......had to system restore.....last time I joke about weather
and electronics!!!

 

Yes, always a good idea. We have rare thunderstorms, and lightning strikes nearby are uncommon, but if you happen to be home or know a big storm is rolling through, it doesn't hurt anything to unplug things or switch off hard power switches. Unplugging is better because huge surges can theoretically jump the switch gap, and unplugging the powerstrip or the gear from the wall avoids that unlikely possibility. That being said, while it's a conservative thing to do, it is also likely that you could leave everything plugged in and you would be very unlikely to suffer any ill effects. The more fragile components are processing chips and the like, analog gear will tend to be plenty resilient, so things like computers or audio processors with lots of computing going on in there are more important to unplug.

 

If there is a big storm coming I unplug the power strips from the wall that host my equipment. Takes two seconds and makes me feel better

 

I always do this in the case of lightning. The stereo and the computer get unplugged completely.

 

Great storm wasn't it, coming back here for thirds... Just unplug the pieces you don't want replaced on the insurance.

 

Good call - my dad had his home business laptop fried a couple years ago even though the bulk of the cables were in a power strip. It was an unlikely source (phone? Cable?) that damaged his system during a severe electrical storm.

 

Like Florandia, I live in the most lightning-prone area of the country. This is the most nerve wracking part of the year for me, too. Unfortunately, I have SO many components interconnected it's almost impossible to protect all of them. Last Summer, I lost a computer monitor and printer in one nearby strike. I love Florida but I hate these damn storms.

 

I always do when there's lightning in the forecast. I've been lucky, but I've known people who had stereo equipment burned to a crisp.

 

Just connect all the equip to the lightning rod ground wire, then wait for the lightning to hit! (no don't do that folks) haha!

 

Back when I was 12 or 13, my dad and I were sitting there on the computer. I think dad mentioned something about unplugging the computer due to the storm. Then we hear this MASSIVE boom, then the computer pops/fries, goes out, and a second later we smell the burned innards of the computer wafting into the room.

 

I love the sound of rain outside while I'm spinning vinyl!

 

I'm by no means an expert, but it seems to me you are turning off your protection just when you need it most. I don't believe your power strips will protect your equipment when they are turned off. They are still connected to the power outlet, leaving you vulnerable to power surges. I believe it's best to unplug the power strips. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
-Bob

 

Time for some "Quadrophenia"!

 

It appears some of you are putting a lot of faith in a lowly power strip, which is not the best device to use for audio anyway.

 

That's not the sound of rain. It's the sound of static.

 

All of my electronics are plugged into surge protectors but when we're having electrical storms or when we leave on vacation, I unplug the surge protectors. Our house is well grounded but I figure not having to file an insurance claim is a good thing.

 

Unplugging is crucial. A nearby lightning strike will dump vast amounts of energy into the physical ground and nearby electrical systems. This can be conducted and induced into your house wiring, including the safety ground. The lightning strike can cause voltage impulses on the ground wire where you would normally expect a zero volt sink. In countries with a mandatory safety ground (well, at least here in NZ) the ground wire is never switched off. Therefore the voltage impulses conducted via the ground wire go straight into the electrical equipment, basically "fed in reverse" onto the ground buss on the circuit board. The sensitive electronic circuitry expects zero volts on the ground buss, so a spike of many volts IN REVERSE can cause catastrophic damage. I have personally seen integrated circuit chips with the tops literally blown off (leaving small craters) from this effect that some engineers dub "ground bounce".
I always unplug my "valuable" (precious?) computer and stereo equipment when I hear thunder approaching. I don't bother with the TV

 

If you can, always unplug.