The Democrat-sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1906-1935, 1908-05-14

oho Biouhu dioHB bDe COmD OF bn0
building to the ground again. If
on dwelling, 1t must be 80 placed
that the chimney from the cook
stove can be protected. In a two
story house having a one.story
kitchen the danger is less from the
high chimneys, for during the
thunderstorm season they rarely
having issuing from their throats
the column of hot air that light
ming loves, but the cook stove, like
death, has all seasons for its own.
The old instruction that rod
must not be bent in circle hav-
ing radius of less than foot
need not be observed, tor Prof.
Monroe Hopkins, lightning rod
expert of the navy, finds that volt
ages up to l, 800, 900 travel rod
bent into series of w's as cheer
fully as straight one.
A rod should not be run over
porch because of the liability of
the human body to draw stroke
from 1t as does the cow from the
wire fence.
The holdfasts should be of ma
terial that cannot rust, and should
keep the rod at distance of an
inch or two from the roof or wall.
The practice of holding wire
cable on building by driving iron
nails through it ia bad. Copper
being electromagnetic to iron a
galvanic battery is formed when
rain water gets between it and the
nail and the mai head is soon eaten
off.
The lower five feet of barn rod
should be boxed to protect it from
wagons and from animals which
might use it for scratching post.
When a lightning flash jumps an
open Joint in rod it makes a
heat like that of an electric arc
lamp, which is four to five thou
sand degrees F. This is more likely
to result in damage to the rod
than to the building, bat is rea.
son for holding the rod from the
building.
A cluster of points should be
placed above each cable and chin
ney and the space between clusters
on the roof comb should not be
greater than 20 feet. The tips
should be plated to keep their
points bright and sharp so that
they will prevent strokes by max.
ing easy the escape of induced
electricity. But they must be
heavy enough to stand bolt of
ordinary power without melting.
The state fire marshal of Wis
consin, Mr.. Purtell, after gather
ing the statistics of the 90 farm
mutual insurance associations of
the state for last year, said in his
annual report:
"Their report showed a light
ming loss on unprotected buildings
of $685. and but $95 on build
ings which were protected part
of this being from damage to
lightning rod points, one company
stating they now have Is points
which had been struck but in no
instance had the building been
fred
The two ends of the rod must
go near enough to the underground
water beds to be in earth that is
always moist. In most situations
this can be done with a spud. If
the building is an expensive one
mass of iron, load of charcoal or
copper can should be secured to
the end of the rod. A rod should
not be grounded on the upper side
of bank barn because of the diff
Guilty in reaching permanently
moist earth. Last summer a stroke
went down Il rod go grounded and
following chain from the wall to
"a cow, killed her. Independent
grounds are preferable to water or
gas mains.
Professor Henry of the United
States Weather Bureau insists
that "the system of protection be
devised and erected by thorough
ly competent person.
The idea that rod that is bro
ken off above the ground is a
source of danger is foolish. "If
the grounding is bad the lightning
1