Voltage drops as it leaves the power source. So the closer you are to
the panel the bigger, and quicker the surge is going to be. When
lightening hits a breaker panel, I have seen the result of this, it
can blow it right out of the wall, and destroy circuits and boxes
near by, or even start a fire, but by then the wire the surge is
traveling down has often been destroyed so what goes down the circuit
will be diminished. Normal shorts or power company surges might trip
a breaker but not fast enough to stop all the surge. However, as the
surge goes down the circuit it will dissipate quickly and I am
guessing that is why they say thirty feet.
When you are running wire through a building thirty feet is
nothing. When you are going around corners, up into junction boxes,
around things, you use up a lot of wire. When I want to figure out
how much wire I will need to buy for a particular job, I will measure
it, and then double that amount.
At 09:42 AM 10/30/2013, you wrote:
I just noticed in the manual for a surge protector.
"Do not install this device if there is not at least 10 meters (30
feet) or more of wire between the electrical outlet and the
electrical service panel."
Ignoring the fact that this makes more plugs in people's houses
unusable with surge protectors, I was wondering if some can give a
layman's explanation of why this would be. I believe it has
something to do with the surge protector blowing up or catching fire
if it absorbs a massive hit, but I'm vague on the whys and wherefores.
T
