atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Outside Plant OSP Construction gas tube or solid stater

I need to put in a protection terminal at a location that has been lightning stuck many times before I took them and twice since.
They are reluctant to rods .

So i am running my ground to a ground stake
and putting in either solid state or gas tube protectors.

Question is solid state or gas tube which is best and fastest.
It appears solid state ,but would like a reccomendation.

Gas always works. I have a coal mine with a Mitel and all 300 off prem lines were solid state protected. After replacing both the protectors and many, many station modules, I reverted back to gas.

The solid state protector is technically faster, however, in the environment here, the lightning is seldom a one strike hit. At the mine, it is not unusual for a 4 or 5 multi strike hit which basically shorts the solid state units and they pass all that energy right along to the equipment being protected. Gas is a little slower, but reliable.

Make sure your "equipment ground and the electrical supply service ground are at the exact same potential. Even a milli-ohm difference is enough to cause back striking. I have seen lightning actually follow a "ground" wire to the equipment because there was a resistive difference between the electric service ground and the Telco/equipment ground. Also, be extra sure the serving electrical transformer is fully grounded. If the power is coming from a pole mount transformer, and, as is often the case, the solid copper ground wire is either missing or cut, you open your equipment to extremely dangerous conditions.

Rcaman

The LAST thing you want to be is the best ground, because then all the BAD electrons go through your system from 3rd-pin-pwer-ground to chassis ground to your ground stake. I'm here to tell you, you WILL be replacing a lot of parts!!!!!!!!!!!

After the second go-round I used one of the 3-to-2 adapters that used to come with power tools for using 'grounded plugs' with non-grounded outlets. Remove the little tab and then your ground is isolated better. Not perfect, but it worked for me. Third time around it destroyed their entire computer network, but the phones were fine as froghair! I TOLD THEM THEIR BUILDING GROUND WAS NON-EXISTENT!!

Agree with other that a common ground potential is a must.

I've had good luck with both gas and solid state. Use the lowest voltage you can that doesn't produce a false trip.

National Electrical Code: [800.40(B)(1), 810.21(F), 820.40(B)(1) and 830.40(B)(1); 800.40(D), 810.21(J), 820.40(D), and 830.40(D); 250.50, 250.52 and 250.94. Also IEEE Std. 1100.

For those of us who used to work OSP, The NESC Grounding methods for electric supply and Multi-grounded systems is considered the authority.


Rcaman

Yes, everyone here is correct....no grounding difference at all. Have their electrician megger their ground and YOUR ground to verify the equalized grounding of your equipment and the electrical. If there is no difference all voltage induced will rise and fall equally...no potential for discharge damage.

Be careful that no one has attached to the cathodic grounding (lightning rods' ground) of a building. It could "backdoor" your lightning protection/ground.

I prefer gas...we used them on copper circuits that were in power generating plants. Gas "resets" easier and quicker and does not fail as quickly as solid state.

Just my humble opinion.

Thank you for all your responses.

We are replacing all gas arrestor with solid state IDC when ever possible.

Sorry for bringing up an old thread but, I will be connecting two buildings about 200 feet apart via an underground conduit. We have almost no lightning strikes out here.
I will be connecting digital phones and paging.

curious if I should use the solid state for the digital pairs and the gas for the paging pairs.

I am less concerned about lightning since it is a very low chance of that playing an issue (especially repeated hits) but rather preventing false trips.

I have always used Gas before but I am entertaining going solid state since I have had issues with the gas in the past and ran across the solid state ones and they say that is recommended for digital circuits. "They" being discount-low-voltage.com - no I don't buy from there, but was the first to pop up on a google search.