The idea of sitting in someone’s yard when they are away can sound like the ultimate vacation. No campground fees, free electricity and water, mowing the lawn once in a while and watering some flowers – must be nice!
Oh, wait, that’s while providing security with your presence and checking the house twice a day.
On our way to our first yardsitting commitment this spring, our fifth wheel was bumped in a minor collision. The ladder was broken and the rear bumper area was damaged enough that it had to be in the shop for a week to be repaired. During that time we stayed in our friends’ house.
There was a quick thunder shower in the area on Sunday afternoon and lightning hit a generator at the substation eight kms away from our location. The result was a huge BANG followed by a short sizzling sound and seven hours without electricity.
The power surge damaged everything in the house with an electronic component (security system, motherboard and controls for furnace, motherboard for on-demand hot water heater, water softener, hard-wired smoke alarm, wi-fi, two televisions, etc.) and every surge protector in the house was fried. Several of the neighbors also had damage to the electronics in their homes.
Over the next two weeks we experienced the “other side” of housesitting. It was difficult to email friends on vacation in Europe to tell them their belongings were damaged. The first reply was, “Hey you guys, April Fools was two months ago!”
We looked through the house with an electrician and made an initial report to start an insurance claim. Then we phoned the respective companies and arranged for repairs so the house would be operable for the owners’ return. Many calls and several visits later, the water softener and hot water heater were back in operation.
It has now been two months since that eventful day. The last report was that the damage had reached at least $8,000.00. There is now a surge protector installed at the entry box for the entire house to prevent another such event.
A significant blessing involved in this story is that our fifth wheel was held up at the repair shop over the weekend because an employee had called in sick on the Friday. Consequently it was not on site at the time of the surge and was spared any harm. We picked it up on Monday and were able to live in it, hot water and all, while the house damage was being repaired. There was a shocked response when I asked the tech to thank his employee for calling in sick!
The experience made us take a hard look at how our RV operates. We have always used surge protection on the piano and computer, and unplugged both during thunderstorms. Now we are using more precautions and planning ways to build in more protection for the entire RV, all the time. Meanwhile, we unplug and go solar when storm clouds begin to roll.
A power surge is one experience we hope not to repeat!
