{"id":3324,"date":"2012-07-19T15:47:54","date_gmt":"2012-07-19T22:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rustybolt.info\/wordpress\/?p=3324"},"modified":"2012-10-15T21:36:55","modified_gmt":"2012-10-16T04:36:55","slug":"2012-07-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rustybolt.info\/wordpress\/?p=3324","title":{"rendered":"2012-07-19 Surge Protectors – Just Say NO"},"content":{"rendered":"

Surge Protectors – Pros and Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was just sitting there, working on something, when I heard a loud BZZZT and immediately I smelled smoke.\u00a0 I couldn’t tell where the burning smell was coming from.\u00a0 I became concerned to the point of panic that there would be a fire breaking out any second.\u00a0 I couldn’t see any smoke, but after several minutes of sniffing, I managed to track down the source of the smell.\u00a0 It was a surge protector under the desk, and I immediately unplugged it and took it apart.\u00a0 There in pieces inside, all burnt and blackened, was the MOV (metal oxide varistor), which is the part that is supposed to protect against surges.\u00a0 It had failed catastrophically, and burned and blackened the inside of the power strip.\u00a0 Fortunately the power strip case was made out of metal, not cheap plastic like most power strips are made nowadays.\u00a0 I think that if it had been plastic, it might have caught on fire.<\/p>\n

This is not the first surge protector that I’ve seen burn up by itself, with no reason other than it just failed on its own.\u00a0 I opened up another power strip that had also burned up, and in that case, no one was around at the time.\u00a0 Fortunately it didn’t catch on fire.\u00a0 One lesson to be learned from this is to always buy a surge protector that has a case made of metal, so it won’t catch on fire.\u00a0 This will probably add considerably to the cost, but after I tell you the rest of the story, you may change your mind.<\/p>\n

Surge protectors have been around since the early days of the telephone, over a hundred years.\u00a0 Only in the last few decades have they been widely introduced in power strips.\u00a0 If you go to the store such as Radio Shack or Best Buy, you may see a regular power strip for less than ten dollars (U,S,), but you look at the surge protector power strips and they’re $19.95 or more, on up to over a hundred dollars.\u00a0 Think about this: the two or three MOVs that they add to a regular power strip cost less than a dollar, and the difference in labor to add them is probably even less.\u00a0 Then why do they charge so much for the surge protector?\u00a0 It’s because the sales droids convince the uneducated customer that their TV, stereo, PC or whatever will burn out if they don’t buy a surge protector.\u00a0 Manufacturers do not<\/strong> recommend that their equipment must be connected to a surge protector.\u00a0 The stores sell TVs, etc., at razor thin profit margin, and then they make back millions of dollars selling the accessories such as surge protectors, batteries and USB cables at a thousand percent markup.\u00a0\u00a0 Just say NO to crook stores and sales persons.<\/p>\n

If you look at the surge protector package, you might read some rating number that’s in the thousands of Joules.\u00a0 This number is supposed to give some information to the consumer about how well the surge protector is supposed to protect. I shall tell you how the surge protector is supposed to work.\u00a0 Have you noticed how I have been using the phrase ‘supposed to work’ instead of ‘works’?\u00a0 I’ll explain this as I go on.<\/p>\n

The surge protector has the MOV connected across the wires.\u00a0 Each MOV is about the size of a nickel.\u00a0 This device is supposed to act like a short when the voltage gets too high, and let the surge pass through itself, while absorbing the Joules of energy in the surge.\u00a0 Well, it’s only the size of a nickel, and if the surge is too powerful, then the MOV will fail, and could burn up with the same smoke and results that I described above.\u00a0 When this happens, the MOV does not protect any more.\u00a0 It has died, and your surge protector is now worthless, but it still functions as a power strip.\u00a0 If the surge happened when you were not around (most likely it did), then you don’t know that the surge protector is worthless.<\/p>\n

By the way, I should add that the surge protector does nothing to protect against sags or brownouts, which can damage your equipment, too.<\/p>\n

But how big are the surges?\u00a0 Will they always be less than that number they gave you on the package?\u00a0 Probably not; they will most likely far exceed that.\u00a0 Most of the electrical damage is cause by very powerful surges caused by lightning during a thunderstorm.\u00a0 These need to be eliminated by a surge protector that is built into the power lines where they come into the building.\u00a0 That location has a good ground to allow the surge to travel into the earth.\u00a0 When the surge protector was introduced to the telephone system, they were installed at the point where the telephone enters the building.\u00a0 This point is an important point to remember.\u00a0 That point has a good ground, connected to a stake driven into the ground or a metal cold water pipe.<\/p>\n

Socket To Me<\/strong> – Most surge protectors are plugged into a socket that is dozens of feet from a good ground, and this causes the surge protector to become less effective.\u00a0 In fact, some houses used to have two pronged outlets, and the outlets were removed and replaced with three pronged grounded outlets, and they then have a poor or nonexistent ground.\u00a0 You have an expensive surge protector that can’t do its job because of the adverse conditions that it is in.\u00a0 And the good ground connection is the most important part of surge protection.\u00a0 I saw a house where the electric meter and breaker panel at the main entrance used a cold water pipe for the ground.\u00a0 But the old house had metal pipe that corroded and was replaced by plastic pipe.\u00a0 Now the house has either a poor ground or no ground.<\/p>\n

One other important item.\u00a0 The manufacturers of TVs, PCs and other devices powered from the electric system have done testing on their products and in general they do not sell equipment that is vulnerable to surges.\u00a0 Take for instance the typical PC power supply.\u00a0 The power input to the power supply has extensive filtering to not just keep out surges, but to keep the interference generated inside the power supply from getting out into the rest of the electrical system.\u00a0 If you read the label on the equipment, you may see a rating such as “100 – 275 VAC”, which means that the TV or PC can handle more than double the standard voltage of 120 volts AC that is found in the U.S.\u00a0 If you put 275 volts AC on a\u00a0 surge protector,\u00a0 it will fail.<\/p>\n

Read the Fine Print<\/strong> – I have read some of the fine print on the packages of surge protectors.\u00a0 Often they warranty that their surge protector will protect, and pay some sum to repair or replace the equipment that is damaged.\u00a0 What the fine print does is make the conditions so restrictive that it is doubtful that the consumer will be able to collect on the insurance.\u00a0 The important thing here is to read the fine print before you buy a surge protector, or suffer the consequences.<\/p>\n

Other alternatives – The surge protector is just a minor method of protecting your equipment.\u00a0 There are other ways of protecting, such as a UPS, uninterruptible power supply.\u00a0 This UPS generates power when the electrical system goes dead.<\/p>\n

Another way to protect is to route the electrical power through a transformer.\u00a0 These typically have filtering to reduce any incoming interference, spikes in the electric supply.\u00a0 But they do not protect against sags or brownouts.\u00a0 These other methods are of higher technology than a cheap surge protector, do a better job, and consequently they cost more.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong> –\u00a0 This all boils down to my opinion: I am not an anti-surge strip fanatic, I’m just telling the truth: surge protectors are not what they are made out to be.\u00a0 I recommend you don’t buy a surge protector power strip.\u00a0 Use a regular power strip instead.\u00a0 If you must buy one, never, ever buy it from a retail store.<\/p>\n

Update Aug 25<\/strong> – My ex co-worker asked me “So what does one do? Unplug the TV?”<\/p>\n

If you’re going to unplug anything, unplug the surge protector.\u00a0 Assuming that you have the TV plugged into it.\u00a0 That way, the TV and<\/strong> the surge protector won’t burn up if there’s a surge.<\/p>\n

I know what I am doing.\u00a0 I learned from the School of Hard Knocks – Experience.\u00a0 I don’t use a surge protector because of the fire hazard, and if the TV or anything else goes out on account of a surge, I’ll just replace it (or more likely repair it if I can get the parts.\u00a0 Most likely the fuse on the circuit board is blown and it will cost less than a dollar for the fuse.\u00a0 At least there will be no surge protector to catch fire and burn down the house.<\/p>\n

The other choice I would make is to have an electrician install a surge protector at the main breaker panel where it can be properly grounded.\u00a0 This can cost hundreds or even more than a thousand dollars.\u00a0 That’s why most people think it’s better to buy a surge protector power strip.\u00a0 Better, at least in the short term, for their wallet.\u00a0 Just make sure they read the fine print on the surge protector’s warranty.\u00a0 And make sure their homeowners insurance is paid up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Surge Protectors – Pros and Cons I was just sitting there, working on something, when I heard a loud BZZZT and immediately I smelled smoke.\u00a0 I couldn’t tell where the burning smell was coming from.\u00a0 I became concerned to the point of panic that there would be a fire breaking out any second.\u00a0 I couldn’t <\/p>\n

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