They told me it would cost me $500 to charge my lightning rods, can I do it myself for cheaper?

Recharging lightning rods involves climbing around on roofs, working with chemicals, and electricity. Do not attempt this yourself if you are not comfortable with all 3 of these!

Lightning rods can only be charged on calm, sunny days, with temperatures between 70.2 and 78.7 degrees and less than 80% humidity. If the lightning rods were originally equipped with glass balls, these must be in place for proper charging.

First you need aluminum pie tins, one for each rod. Poke the tip of the lightning rod through the EXACT center of pie tin, with the tin upright. Then carefully slide the pie tin down the lightning rod until it is approximately 8-15/64" from the tip of the rod. Most rods have a mark at this point to make it easier. Repeat this until all the rods have the pie tins installed.

Locate the ground wire where it comes down from the roof, and goes into the ground. If the rods have been recharged in the past, there should be a connector here to separate the wires, If so, disconnect it. If not, cut the ground wire 18" above the ground (be sure to obtain a connector first, most hardware stores have them, just ask for a Lightning Rod Charging Connector).

Set a fully-charged 12 volt auto battery on the ground near these wires. Connect the Red lead from auto jumper cables to the wire leading up to the rods, and the Black lead from the jumper cables to the wire coming from the ground. Connect the other Red jumper cable to the battery + terminal. DO NOT CONNECT the other lead to the - terminal at this time!

Obtain a large salt shaker, and a water spray bottle, such as a window cleaner bottle. Fill the clean spray bottle with distilled water. Proceed up on the roof. Spray a light coating of water into the pie tin, then sprinkle salt into the pie tin so that the bottom is covered with a single layer of salt crystals. The water should be absorbed by the salt, if you can still see water, you have to dump out the pie tin and start over. Repeat this for all of the rods, keeping in mind you only have about 1/2 hour to do this, or you will have to start over with the whole project!

Back at the battery, connect the remaining Black jumper cable to the battery - terminal, while at the same time making note of the time. Leave it like this for 13 minutes, plus 3 minutes and 10 seconds for each rod. (Example - 5 Rods x 3:10 = 15:50 + the 13 minutes = 28 mins and 50 seconds.) This step is removing any counter-charges that may be present in the system from previous lightning strikes.

While you are waiting, replace the water in the sprayer with 1 cup of distilled water, and add 3 drops of dark vinegar to it. Shake well. Pump the sprayer several times to get this mixture primed up in the sprayer.

When the elapsed time is up, disconnect BOTH cables from the battery. Immediately proceed up to the rods with the sprayer. The salt mixture will be steaming. Carefully spray the salt in each pie tin until it looks wet, but not flooded.

Reconnect the battery, but this time with the cables reversed, so the Red cable is on the battery -, and the Black cable on the +, then stay clear of the rods. The salt / vinegar mixture will start steaming violently, and some of the salt may splash out of the pie tins. After about 5-7 minutes, a huge bolt of lightning will shoot straight up into the sky from each of the rods, starting with the one closest to the battery. After the last rod fires, immediately disconnect the battery!

Disconnect all the jumper cables, fasten the ground wires back together with the connector, and remove the pie tins from the rods after they cool down.

Your rods are now charged, and ready to protect your building! :)

@Onewiseman is on the right track, but forgot that you have to factor in the type of lightning grease the original installers used; it could be ordinary lithium or high-performance battery grease. You may need to hire a certified lightning-rod company to determine this factor for you.

The State Fire Code of New Hampshire has an entire section on licensing for people who are in that business. Your state laws may vary, but you CERTAINLY don't want to D-I-Y.

you don,t Charge them you Change them,

and I have never heard of changing them once there up they stay

some one is trying to RIP you off