Got Your Surge Protector Yet???

[TheScotsman]

Being a recent victim of lightning and power surges, it's probably worth reminding any newcomers that they really should invest in some kind of power surge protector, and also to make sure the phone line is protected too.

Your can buy 4, 5 or even 6 way power connectors which include protection from power surges / spikes and also protect the phone line in a similar way. (Argos do a range.) They guarantee against equipment damage up to several thousand pounds.

See this extract from this week's Langalist............
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Hi Fred: I'm a new Plus subscriber and I resisted the urge to go from "free" to "pay" for awhile, but I'm happy to say I did. The extra info alone is well worth the $10. Anyways, I just read your latest edition about surge protectors.... I'm a technology coordinator for a newly built middle school on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. I ordered APC Surgestations for the entire school last summer when we opened and those $30 surge protectors just saved us about $3,000. We just had a really bad electrical storm the other week... Turns out the storm somehow fried out that surge protector to the point that it was actually burnt! A noticeable odor came from the unit and in fact, you could even see soot marks where each electrical cord was plugged in! The power button was also burnt and black charred pieces of plastic or whatever came out when you turned it over. When I saw that I thought there was no way that the computer and printer could have survived but lo and behold, I replaced the surge protector with another one and they both booted up with no apparent problems! I was truly amazed and thankful that I spent a little more on getting a real surge protector instead of those cheapie outlets. I'm saving that surge protector for next school year to show our teachers how important these things are. Thanks for a great newsletter and keep up the good work! ---Aloha, Kevin Matsunaga

Lightning's power is awesome. And that probably wasn't even a nearby hit: A hit miles away can cause damage like that.
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However if in doubt, take it out!!!! That includes the phone lines - unplug them if you are close to a lightning storm.

[Magnum malum]

I have one on every expesive bit of kit in my house, they are more for power surges than lightning stikes though. If your power cable gets hit by lightning nearby no amount of surge protection will help.

Am looking for something that will protect ISDN line from lightning strikes somewhere on the phone line, some power strips come with normal phone line protection but I can't find one to plug an RJ45 into.

[elcid123]

I've been thinking about purchasing a surge protector, I saw one advertised in a local shop selling computers and associated peripherals it was a 13 amp four Socket block and cost £20.
I think I will have a look at what Argos are selling, I think it is not just electrical storms to be concerned about but also any changes in your household alternating current e.g. fridge’s and other appliances switching on and off. I do have a RGB I think it is called at my electrical meter that will for instance immediately cut the power supply if you sever the electrical cable if you are using an electric lawn mower is this device the same as a surge protector?

[Magnum malum]

No

You can get decent ones from Homebase
Look for one that guarentees your stuff if it is damaged by a surge.

[TheScotsman]

Elcid

I just got a 6 way socket block with phone line protection for £18.99 in Argos. (I think it covers up to £3500 of equipment if there is damage.)

4 ways are obviously cheaper.

[Rainbow Warrior]

Good advice,TheScotsman.

I have a Belkin surge protector which covers the telephone and aerial lines. This one comes with six 240v sockets. The "flash upgradeable" modems are particularly vulnerable to nearby lightening strikes.

The surge strip feeds two UPS's - one which protects my VCR and satellite receiver and the other one for my PC.

If you can afford a UPS, get one - it protects against hard disk and other damage/data loss if the power goes whilst you are doing some crucial work.

Staples sometimes do good bargains in surge protectors.

[Bluetack]

4 way belkin ones are 10 quid at staples if anyone needs one!

I aint got one on! one day i will get round to it!

[TheScotsman]

John - Don't leave it too long:eek:

Well my shiny new v.92 modem has turned up today - another job for the weekend. Pity about the cd's they included - AOL trial, Compuserve trial, Netscape (6.1?):confused:
I don't think I'll be needing any of these:lol

[pudds]

I have six plugs,
speaker,
monitor,
pc,
printer,
scanner,
modem + phone line

How many should i really be connecting to a single socket?
Surely i couldn't buy a 6 way surge protector bung all six in and plug it into a single socket?
I've always figured 2 in each socket which means i'd need 3 surge protectors.

[Leonidas]

It does not matter about plugging all six into the six way line adapter, provided that all together do not exceed 2 or 3Kw.

Most of the things in your list are only small consumption and resitence items so you should be OK.

[TheScotsman]

Yes Pudds - it's right.

You can put all 6 into 1 strip and be nowhere near the load limit. That's what I've got here, except I've a lamp instead of the external modem.

[pudds]

Are you sure abou this? Aren't you overloading the socket?

[TheScotsman]

Pudds - absolutely certain.

I started a thread when we were ezboard and got all the gen from the likes of Ono (Mark) and all.
Also I found a site where you enter your configuration and it calculates the total power requirement.

Everyone's answers showed that all 6 in one strip with a 13 amp plug is heaps less than could be put in. I vaguely recollect it was about 5 or 6 amps total but I could be wrong.

Anyway it is absolutely safe.

[Leonidas]

You wall socket works at 220 V 15Amp and upto 3Kw +.

So long as alltogether your items do not amount to more than any of these you are all right.

Speakers upto 3Amp.
Monitor around 3Amp
PC maybe 3Amp has own protection
Printer maybe 2Amp
Scanner maybe 2Amp
Modem / phone negligable <1Amp

14 Amp maybe 15.

But not all will be pulling Amperage at the same time.

So you should be well below the upper range (do not forget it is maybe rated as 15Amp but that will leave a safety margin of 3Amps above that)

[TheScotsman]

Pudds
There's even an 8 way with surge protection !!!
http://www.jungle.com/show/EM276H/8691/1/

[pudds]

I'm a bit confused about the fuses. If my printer is 2 amps why does it have a 13 amp fuse?

[TheScotsman]

Pudds
If you are still worried about it, use this ups configurator to see what rating you need roughly.

http://www.upsonic-power.com.au/calc.asp

[pudds]

Mine gets me needing 675VA which is 2.8 AMP's :confused

[Bluetack]

Well dont be! 2.8 amps is less than 13amps, you're sorted :lol

Pudds you would be supprised what it takes to get to 13 amps!

[pudds]

Leonidas got it at 14 amps.
Doesn't matter i believe you all now :lol, think i'll get one soon as i can.

[Bluetack]

i would be supprised if you set up was drawing that much current Pudds!

I once set up 6 BBC's 6 monitors and 6 monster hard drives! the whole lot running drew only 4 amps! 14 amps is a lot of current!

[Leonidas]

My quote of 14Amps was meant top illustrate the maximum each item would pull working flat out.

As most of them will never work flat out the drain will of course be a lot less.

And as i said how many will be working at the same time.

If you are doing something that needs the speakers, you are not going to be using the printer or scanner.

If you are using the scanner and maybe the printer you will not be using the speakers.

:lol

[onomatopoeia]

Some of those figures quoted by Leonidas are a bit high

Look at the number of Watts consumed. 13 Amps is about 3200W

PC = 300W
Monitor = 200W
Printer = 70W
Speakers = 5W
Scanner = 50W

3 Amps total. That's more reasonable

[Rainbow Warrior]

"If my printer is 2 amps why does it have a 13 amp fuse?"

Some manufacturers don't know why fuses are there. The fuse is supposed to protect the equipment. I half suspect that they often deliberately put in a higher rated fuse in the plug and a lower rated one somewhere in the equipment.

In event of a short circuit, power surge etc, the internal fuse blows, external fuse may be OK. End result ... you go and buy a new bit of kit :lol

Me ... cynical ... no !

[Leonidas]

Virtualy all plugs come with a 13A fuse fitted.

You have to replace that with a fuse nearer the Amperage you require for the device.

[elcid123]

Well I bought a surge protector today from B&Q, it is a six gang block and will provide me with £3,000 of insurance against electrical storms peaks in the household power supply e.g. fluorescent lights, fridge’s and so forth switching on and off.
Has anyone actually thought of unplugging appliances before an electrical storm is overhead?

[Seaboarder]

Hi
Up here in the Highlands we get quite a number of power cuts in the winter especially and electrical storms are not uncommon.
So I kill two birds with one stone. I use an UPS (uninterrupted power supply)manufactured by APC. All computer related power and telephone lines go through this box. It is protected against lightening and as an added bonus if there is a power failure I have sufficient time (about 15-17 minutes) to shut down my PC.
This costs more than your anti-surge plugs but removes the worry of lightening strikes etc. I bought my unit about 2 years ago and then it was about £90. I believe they are much cheaper now.

[elcid123]

Where can I buy an UPS? Does it require a professional to install this device such as an electrician?
This sounds a much better option overall than a surge protector.

[Rainbow Warrior]

Search for BackUPS at http://www.simply.co.uk/

or UPS at http://www.ebuyer.com/