Power Strip Surge Protectors - Example comparisons

[visiblegorilla]

Drill 'em out! Whaddaya, scared?

 

[larrymoencurly]

but considering we are talking about protecting pc's im surprised there is no mention of battery backups with line conditioning and surge protection, what are your opinions about those compared to standard surge protectors fpr pc's and hope electronics?

My unqualified opinion is that they should protect better, but only because there are almost no battery backup supplies being made by tiny companies that do put virtually no engineering into their products. And I would expect real uninterruptible power supplies (those that run the load from a battery, rather than switch from line to battery when the AC goes out) to protect well because they put more stuff between the AC outlet and computer and cost more. OTOH a few cheapo backups that switch from line to battery have no line conditioning, just 3 MOVs.

Be sure any surge protector is labelled "UL 1449" on back because that means it contains at least 3 MOVs. Many protectors without that certification have only 1-2 MOVs inside. UL issues a different certification number for backup supplies.

Don't trust user reviews for surge protectors unless the user has actually tested the product with high voltage surges, like Dr. Frankenstein.

 

[c627627]

Links?

 

[visiblegorilla]

Got it:

 

[jazon1]

And in franks Words...

 

[visiblegorilla]

LMAO

 

[Culbrelai]

Hmm... according to the Mythbusters... computers don't get fried when lightning hits your house... so what would a power surge even be? I always thought that's what surge protectors did, if your house got hit by lightning that it would protect all of the stuff conected to it. Is a power surge when the power goes out for whatever reason when your computer + other stuff are on (which I also heard is bad for computers, abrupt cessation of power) and then comes back on?

Heh, I even got a screenie of their computer working from that episode, XD. ATI Rage =P

 

[Culbrelai]

Their computer wasn't on when the house was hit, but right after they turned it on along with a TV also connected and they both were fine.

 

[c627627]

Once in the 1980s, lightning hit and it fried my Commodore 64.

What fried my Commodore 64 at the exact time the lightning hit then?

 

[Mpegger]

Just my $2; A properly grounded house (which some may consider overkill with what I consider properly grounded) would have enough protection already in place to protect equipment against surges, including most lightning strikes.

 

[Bobnova]

Proper grounding is excellent, but without a mechanism to ground surges, proper grounding won't help until the voltage gets high enough to jump a gap in the breaker box.

 

[jazon1]

+1 to what bobnova said ill also ad i used to be a electrician journeyman i would say only about 1 out of 10 homes that i worked on are actually properly grounded with a 8 foot copper clad aluminum rod pounded all the way into the ground which is what "code" specific's in most states, the majority of homes i have worked on had ground attached to copper water pipes running through the house or just chunks of random metal hammered a foot into the ground and only used 16/18 gauge wire that would melt almost instantly on a lightning strike.

 

[Mpegger]

Hence why I said "properly grounded house" .

Minimum 2 ground rods properly installed, 4 gauge (or 2) copper wire running from the rods to the main box, and a whole home surge arrestor installed in the main too.

Wish my home could be that good. Currently, the main is grounded to the incoming copper pipe from the street. It's about a 10 foot run about 3 feet underground (meets code), except that it's entirely under pavements/road. So the only contact with moisture is more then likely only the water in the pipes itself.

 

[c627627]

Bobnova, what about Notebooks, do they have any protection or is it a good idea to carry around one of those mini surge protectors to use with laptops, this one is ten bucks:
http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-BZ103050-TVL

 

[Bobnova]

Nooo clue. I'd have to rip one apart.
See if you can convince the OCF Editors to send me some to destroy

 

[c627627]

All I can do is make sure the bosses consider this request.


I have just acquired a Belkin unit. The meaningless numbers you speak of, there are some differences.

Tripp Lite claims 2160 Joules vs Belkin's 3000 Joules, however:


1. Tripp says Clamping Voltage 150 V vs Belkin's Clamping Voltage 500 V

2. Tripp claims Max Surge Amps 144000 vs. Belkin 135000.


Interestingly, the tiny spec on side of the box has info not available on web site specs for Belkin. It has both coax and phone protection so:
Max Energy Dissipation 3850 Joules
H-N 1860 Joules ; H-G 915 Joules ; N-G 915 Joules ; Phone line 160 Joules.


All meaningless or do the numbers tell you anything b/w the two units?

 

[Bobnova]

Don't plug the Tripp unit into a 220v socket, that's for sure.
Other than that there is no way to know anything about them without first knowing whether their numbers are even vaguely honest.

 

[c627627]

So let me get all this straight finally.


So don't use power strips listing clamping voltage less than 220V in countries with 220V sockets? And other than clamping voltage info being useful in a way you just said (and not important if it's used in USA only, right?), other than that, we are talking about a situation like those $5 power supplies listing meaningless wattage ratings in their specs, all other numbers are completely meaningless on power surge protectors, because there is no standard?


But at least we kind of knew that certain PSU brands were more reliable than others. I am surprised on the entire internet, there isn't a page talking about brands for power surge strips, like we've always talked about PSU brands, and we kind of know what's what with PSU brand names. Anyway, thanks for your input.

 

[Bobnova]

The clamping voltage spec seems more likely to be correct than the others, plugging something that becomes a dead short at 150v into a socket that puts out 220v isn't going to end well.

Of course, "120v" AC peaks at 172v, so already we've run into questions as to what exactly the spec is talking about. 150vAC RMS? 150vDC? 150 vMice? Who knows.
Odds are decent that it and the 500v clamping unit clamp at the same voltage. If not, definitely don't plug it into a 220/240v socket, it'll treat that as a surge and explode.

With no regulation, no standards, and no testing (beyond the UL testing, which tests for safety not accuracy) the numbers can be made up, exaggerated, falsified, breathed on, perfectly accurate, totally imaginary, etc.

Brand wise I'm sure some are more honest than others. I can guarantee it even. What we don't know yet, because nobody tests them, is what brands are the honest brands.

Much like the cake, the numbers are a lie.

 

[larrymoencurly]

The UL 1449 sticker should indicate the clamping voltage, and the lowest I've seen is 330VAC, and I'm guessing that's RMS or peak voltage, not peak-to-peak. When Consumer Reports tested surge protectors, about 10-15 years ago, one unit rated 400V provided better equipment protection than some with a 330V rating.