Thunderstorms and Computers

[bmillerx]

I lost a computer when lightning struck the phone lines. A UPS is the only way to go unless you unplug everything . I have seen lightning blow surge protectors away along with the computer power supply.

BC

[Train]

What this

Can you daisychain surge suppressors?
Yes, but it is not recommended. By connecting all the surge suppressors into one, an overload may occur and trip the circuit breaker. Also surge suppressors protect against AC surges and spikes by way of MOVs (Metal Oxide Varistors) and these devices should not be put in series.

is telling me that if you do that, then you are actually reducing your protection. Like capacitors in series. Not a good thing.

[hongman]

Oh ok, thanks.

I wasnt thinking of doing, just wondered what qould happen if I did

[NielsRb]

I did it, now I'm undoing it.

[Train]

Types of UPS here and here at his page will give a BASIC idea of what to look for in the various models of ups's.

Now the surge protector use MOV's to do the protecting. Now with time, due to being activated by spikes, they tend to break down. So, I replace them every 3 to 5 years. Depending on the part of the country I am living in. and the general area. And as there are a lot of motors in thi local, 3 years is the max I use a surge protector before I replace it.

Now, remember, there is no standard test for the joules measurement as I posted in #40.


4. Energy Rating (Joules)
The joules testing method is not standardized; therefore, purchasing decisions should not be based on this rating alone. However, the higher the joule rating the better the protection. A rating of 600 joules or higher is considered adequate.

[shiva_42]

I am not an electrical engineer, nor do I play one on TV. I am; however, an experienced amatuer radio operator. That being said...

The "online" type of UPS's typically are conditioning the line voltage constantly as they are operating. Some time ago, some of the UPS brands indicated that they produced "sine wave" output... meaning a conditioned electrical wave as perfect as possible. In addition, these had much faster reaction (clamping) times than their offline cousins. It's difficult for me to accurately estimate exactly how LITTLE protection I need, so I tend to buy as high up the price scale as I can afford, figuring too much is way better than too little. For what it's worth, I have used both APC and Tripplite, and believe APC to be the superior product in most price ranges. Protecting the phone line is a must, as it is simply an open door for electrical problems if left unprotected. But, if you fear a direct hit, heed the following:

I had an antenna on a 60' pole outside my office, with the antenna lead running into a socket on the outside, with two sheets of plexiglass and an air space between that connection and the inside connection running to my transceiver. A lightning storm came through the area, so I unplugged my inside antenna connection from the matrix. My tower was struck with (I believe) a direct hit of lightning. The bolt ran down the antenna lead, jumped the plexiglass matrix, ran across the (possibly damp) windowsill, and arced 28" into the dangling antenna lead and literally blew up my radio.

Moral of the story? If you fear a direct hit... unplug EVERYTHING and cross your fingers. You CAN'T be too safe.

Of course, I leave all my computer stuff running all the time, even though I'm in the midwest, and I have an older model APC online UPS running full time, and have been saved a couple of times in the last few years.

Replacement battery averages about $35.00, and I replace it every two years or so.

[Leurgy]

I lifted this from another discussion on Surge Protectors and the insurance they claim to provide. I think it came from this forum but unfortunately I don't know who wrote it or when. I copied it and saved it for future reference and here it is:

As far as that insurance is concerned, think about this: manufacturers rate a surge protector's protection for the bare minimum that they KNOW it will protect against. There's no way that a surge lower than the rated protection will ever get through to your equipment. It's all physics. If it gets through, it HAS to be greater than the protection rating, one way or another. Well, they're not going to pay for anything that was damaged by a surge greater than the protector was rated to handle, so anything that was big enough to get through the protector would void the coverage.

What if it's defective, and fails to protect against a normal surge? Well, there's always some kind of LED or other type of light that gives an indication of whether or not the breaker is working. If that light isn't on, it's unusually dim, or it flashes, then there's something wrong with the breaker. Since the surge protector gives you a visual indication when it's not working properly, the manufacturer sure isn't going to pay for anything you were brave enough to plug into it.

In other words, there's really never a time when you can collect anything. Maybe once in a blue moon someone makes it through the system, but I've never known anyone who has actually succeeded. It basically just lets them put something attractive on the package.

If you recognize that as yours please feel free to take credit.

[greengoose1]

Now that is interesting and I don't remember it. Thanks for posting it Leurgy.

[Train]

Bistro or Kallikru posted that. Boy that has been awhile back, but good to see it surface again.

[jerryctx]

Someone asked about the "insurance" offered by UPSs. Generally, they expect your homeowner's insurance to cover most damages and they cover the deductable. My experience is that they pay (the deductable) with few questions.

I came late to this thread and have only scanned most of the posts so forgive me if I'm beating a dead horse:

1. How much protection do I need? As much as you can afford since you can't predict where lightning will strike. No suppressor or UPS will prevent damage if lightning hits the power pole just outside your house (much less a direct hit on the house in which case your computer is probably the least of your worries).

2. Can I daisy chain suppressors and/or UPSs? No, no, NO. Resistance increases creating heat which can damage the equipment, possibly even creating a fire hazard (although I've never heard of such a fire).

3. If a suppressor costs less than ~$50 US, it probably is close to worthless.

4. I use a UPS because short duration brown-outs are common on all power systems. If it happens while your system is updating the hard drive, nasty things can happen. Since installing a UPS, I haven't had to re-install Windows, nor have I had any unexplained file corruption.