[RESOLVED] Need a New Surge Protector

[Doc]

After plugging in a vacume cleaner into a surge protector (my wife needed to clean) my surge protector decided it had enough and shut down never to start again.

As I need a new surge protector I am wondering what are the minimum requirements that I need to protect my desktop, scanner, printer, modem, monitor, etc... I would like guideline on joules, max amps etc... If there is one that I can also use with the phone line that would be good too.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Doc

[Midknyte]

You should really get a UPS, not just a plain surge protector. I usually go with APC, but you can at least use their configurator if you decide to buy another brand.

http://www.apc.com/template/size/apc/index.cfm

[Steve R Jones]

Joules — This number defines how much energy the surge protector can absorb without failure. A higher number indicates greater protection and longer life expectancy because the device will divert more energy elsewhere and will absorb less energy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surge_Protector

[jerryctx]

An often overlooked feature of surge protectors is how close together are the outlets. Many devices have large plugs that can prevent use of close by outlets.

I second Midknyte's suggestion that you use a UPC. They start under $50 and provide

1. Surge protection
2. Time to gracefully shut down when the power fails
3. Smooth the momentary brownouts that occur often without your noticing but which can scramble a disk when they occur during a disk write

[Steve R Jones]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong - but isn't there a little known secret that surge protectors are only good for ONE shot. Meaning that if it protects you from one "surge" it then looses its ability to protect again?

[Doc]

Living in NYC I have felt that I needed a UPC as we do not suffer from brownouts and other electrical problems that smaller communities do. When we do have an electrical problem it is usually a blackout which occurs about every 15 years.

Because of this I have always felt that I did not need a UPS. When you add the fact that this is my home computer which I only use maybe 1-2 hrs a day, it is doubtful that even if I loose power that I will be around.

In looking at UPS, I am seeing that the majority of them have a Joules rating of 400 or lower and for what I have connected, will only provide about 2 min of reserve time. All of this for about $100 or more.

For half the price I can get a surge protector with a much higher Joule rating. I may be missing something here but for me the electrical grid I am on, a surge protector seems the better deal.

Thanks for the info and keep it coming..

Doc

[jdc2000]

Link:

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...duct_Id=329545

[bistro]

I prefer a UPS, but one that specifically states that it also has power conditioning...takes care of minor spikes and drops in power as jerryctx mentioned. Some do, some don't. Read the features mentioned on the box first.

As for lightning strikes/electrical surges, most will just blow the fuse in a surge protector; the fuse can be replaced in the better models. But if the surge is big enough, it can fuse the fuse which results in infusing the fuse material to the material surrounding the fuse and then the surge protector wil re-fuse to work after that.

Another thing...please tell the wife that most common surge protectors were not designed for the wattage a vacuum cleaner requires. Most standard vacuums pull at least 800 watts...a heavy duty cleaner can take 1100+ watts. If you have other stuff plugged into the protector AND a hvy duty vacuum, you very well could exceed the max wattage allowed(avg. 1875 watts for a medium surge protector). Better to plug the vacuum directly into an outlet. Thus endeth the wattage sermon for today....

[Doc]

Thanks for all of the information.

I have decided to get a surge protector only(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812107196) as the price was right. While I may have minimal spikes and drops I have not noticed any problems. Like I said before, living here in NYC we have a consistent power grid. Outside of the City is a totally different story.

Thanks for all of your suggestions.

Doc

[jerryctx]

living here in NYC we have a consistent power grid

... as do most American cities. The brownouts I referred to have nothing to do with the power utility. They occur when your (or your neighbor's) AC / washer / drier / central heat / oven / etc. switches on, Not to mention the neighbor who is building a hot rod in his garage starts his arc welder.

Depending on where you live in NYC there may be no garages near by but the other events do occur and do cause voltage drops in your home. I don't mean to berate you for deciding against a UPC but I am concerned that others who read this thread understand the issue.

Edit - Only the computer and monitor need to be on a UPC. Printers, scanners, etc should be on a surge protector so you don't need an expensive UPC. As to two minutes of reserve time, they come with software that automatically shuts down so two minutes is sufficient.

[Train]

After opening a surge protector and cross checking the part number for the mov, got a surprise and a half. Yes, a 240 v item in a 120 surge protector.
Not good in my book.


Freezer, AC unit and the like cause all kinds of problems. Made enough money because of them.

[westom]

I have decided to get a surge protector only.

Why? What is it doing for you?

Take a three dollar power strip. Add some ten cent parts. Sell that 'protector' in a grocery store for $7 or the same device elsewhere for $25 or $150. Why? Many will recommend it without learning basic electrical concepts. Then recommend that same protector, selling for more money, only because it is more expensive.

Remove the entire protector circuit. Power strip must still work. Plug the entire protector circuit into a power strip outlet or into the other duplex connector. Circuit is still unchanged. Vacuum connects directly to the wall receptacle with or without a power strip protector.

Some other myths. If load on a power strip from an 800 watt vacuum and other appliances is too much for a power strip, then it is also too large connected directly to a wall receptacle.

Worst recommendation from so many was that UPS. Let's look at a UPS output when protecting from low voltage? Two 200 volt square waves with a spike of up to 270 volts between those sine waves. Completely acceptable to any computer. But harmful to motorized appliances. This paragraph bluntly says one thing - many if not a majority have no electrical knowledge. But have heard and automatically believed myths about UPSes.

BTW, frequency of brownouts in NYC is similar to that in the suburbs. How often do suburban lights dim to 50% intensity? About the same as it happens in NYC?

Where is 'power conditioning'? Because a sales brochure claims subjective 'power conditioning', then it does something? Did we not learn from Saddam's WMDs? That 'power conditioning' claim comes from the exact same logic - knowledge without learning underlying facts and numbers.

Loop a power cord a few times. Also called power conditioning. So near zero as to do nothing. But just enough above zero as to claim 'power conditioning' on a sales brochure.

Same person also believes a fuse, that takes milliseconds to blow, will stop surges that are done in microseconds. He also thinks a fuse will stop what three miles of sky could not. It is also a 'facts' that exists only due to urban myths. Fuse will never stop surges. Fuse is to save human life AFTER the initial damage has been created.

Any surge protector good for only 'one shot' is selling a scam. Either the protector earths a surge with no damage to the protector; or that protector quits leaving a surge to confront the appliance. That 'one shot' myth sells reams of $3 power strips with some $0.10 parts for $25 or $150.

One posted a critically accurate fact. A protector does not stop or absorb surges. Surges must be a connection to something that will absorb energy. Where would a protector divert surge energy into? If located on the breaker box with a short connection to steel I-beams, then energy is harmlessly dissipated in earth. If connected too close to the appliance (ie vacuum), then a protector many simply connect that surge destructively through the appliance.

That power strip protector does nothing for the OP. But if it did, then plugged into any other wall receptacle on the same circuit means protection to that vacuum is unchanged.