Static spark on top of house!

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Thank you for jumping in. I have tried the breaker trick - meaning that I have shut off the main. No dice. We do have a flood light approximately 10 or 12 feet to the right of the spark on the corner of the house. I failed to mention that our gutter downspouts have had vibration - but we grounded those off and are no longer vibrating. Also, aside from the bad tv reception inside, our phone reception contains static.

We have had an electrician come out and inspect. He then proceeded to give us a top notch detailed response - "I dunno...I'd move if I was yall..." (Yeah, we live in East Tennessee). Without shelling out $70 for a hick to come out just to shrug his shoulders, I would love to figure this out on my own. We do not want to move, there has got to be a solution.

What about just draping a rubber mat over the area? Would that help?

Thanks again for your dimes...
 
What about just draping a rubber mat over the area? Would that help?
not likely

If we assume its something caused by the powerlines.
What would help is to do this (wear gloves). caulk the joint then put a screw in the face and draw the fascia trim tight together. This will do two things. It will draw the two pieces together making a connection that wont arc and it will also be more weather tight.

It wont solve any other issues.

Did your electrician look at grounding at your main? Inspect the incoming power lines? Give any opinions on the transformer or utility service?

I would call the utility, tell them there are issues.
 
...caulk the joint then put a screw in the face and draw the fascia trim tight together. This will do two things. It will draw the two pieces together making a connection that wont arc and it will also be more weather tight...

Personally, I would screw a jumper wire between the two and solder the screws for a solid, permanent contact. The arcing, if not stopped, could be a fire hazard if something burnable got in there.
 
Personally, I would screw a jumper wire between the two and solder the screws for a solid, permanent contact. The arcing, if not stopped, could be a fire hazard if something burnable got in there.

Thanks guys! Do you think that would conquer the bad tv reception? Also, are there special types of gloves to perform a job like this? Not the handiest when it comes to electricity....
 
zero effect on the tv. It would just stop the arcing at that location. If our assumptions are correct its not really anything that can hurt you. Dry gardening gloves would even be fine. We could be wrong tho, cant see it from here. Soldering would give you the best connection. Personally, I think its overkill if indeed it is just sorta like a static thing happening. probably even a tap with a hammer will bend the metal enough to stop the arcing. Just a guess.

Maybe the electrician was right, start looking for someplace to move to.
 
zero effect on the tv. It would just stop the arcing at that location. If our assumptions are correct its not really anything that can hurt you. Dry gardening gloves would even be fine. We could be wrong tho, cant see it from here. Soldering would give you the best connection. Personally, I think its overkill if indeed it is just sorta like a static thing happening. probably even a tap with a hammer will bend the metal enough to stop the arcing. Just a guess.

Maybe the electrician was right, start looking for someplace to move to.

nah - that's the puss way out...and i ain't no puss. thanks for the suggestions though.
 
Who's power lines are these? If they are the TVA's I'd call them and explain your situation and I bet they would come out and see whats going on for free.
 
If you stop the arc the static on the tv etc. might go away. It's a simple solution. Watch for the arcing to possibly move to another joint. You might need more jumpers between all the sections of siding.
 
If this guy isn't worried, you shouldn't be....

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIjC7DjoVe8[/ame]
 
Who's power lines are these? If they are the TVA's I'd call them and explain your situation and I bet they would come out and see whats going on for free.

Funny you suggest this. I did call TVA, and a gentleman came out. He was stumped and hadn't seen a problem like mine before. He told me to ground off my utility box.
 
If you stop the arc the static on the tv etc. might go away. It's a simple solution. Watch for the arcing to possibly move to another joint. You might need more jumpers between all the sections of siding.

Thanks Joe - We had a huge ice storm not too long ago. It was great, no bad tv reception! Why do you think rain and ice take away the problem?
 
The arcing spark is creating radio noise, much like the brushes in electric motor. The ice/water probably acted like a short to bridge the gap. Eliminate the arcing and the noise should go away. That doesn't mean you don't still have an issue, but you can watch TV.
 
You said it stopped when it rained. I would think the water makes the conection to ground. Is the TV better when it rains. If yes make sure all metal on outside of your house is grounded.. This is very low voltage or you would have had dammage by now.
 
I wouldn't worry about how high the voltage is nearly as much as I would be worried about the amperage.

Call the electric company to come out and take a close look. No matter what, it's their problem. Whether it's coming from the electric lines above you or from your own meter. It's still coming from them.

They wouldn't like the publicity they would get from burning down your home.
 
It opened for me. I thought this was a pretty convincing paragraph:

WIRE FENCES Barbed wire and woven wire fences insulated from
ground on wood posts can assume an induced
voltage when located near power lines. If you are
having a shock-related problem, call BPA for an
investigation. The fence may need to be
grounded if:
it is located within the right-of-way;
it parallels the line within 125 feet of the outside
wire and is longer than 150 feet; or
it parallels the line 125 to 250 feet from the
outside wire and is longer than 6,000 feet.
These fences should be grounded at each end
and every 200 feet with a metal post driven at
least 2 feet into the ground.
 
Apparently people don't remember the days when people living near power lines wound copper wire on a wooden barrel and buried it in the ground under the wires to get free power. Eventually the power company found out where the "leak" was.... :)
 
Yes, good read regarding BPA's regulations and services. They even come out and investigate and even ground the problem! Too bad they are in Oregon and I am in Tennessee. TVA (my local utility company) came out and scratched their asses. Looks like I will have to tackle this one on my own. Wish me luck!
 

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