Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 27th Sep 2012 19:36 UTC
Thread beginning with comment 536730
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
RE[3]: Umm...Build your own?
by Bill Shooter of Bul on Thu 27th Sep 2012 22:18
in reply to "RE[2]: Umm...Build your own?"




Member since:
2011-05-19
I once lost two microwaves within a period of two months. I put the third one on a surge protector, and it's been running for two years without a problem.
Note that surge protectors degrade over time. Each surge that passes through the varistor will degrade its capacity, and increase the chance of a total failure at the next surge. If your livelihood truly depends on computers, then replacing your surge protectors every few years is a cheap form of insurance.
In fact, if your livelihood depends on computers, then you should not rely on plug-in surge protectors. You should hire an electrician to install a whole-house surge protector.
If you do not install a whole-house surge protector, then the plug-in surge protector will depend on a high-quality ground path. Many houses have terrible ground paths, even houses built quite recently! The problem is that the ground path is never really tested until an emergency occurs. Whereas you're much more likely to notice flickering lights from a bad hot or neutral.
You can now buy Chinese circuit testers for less than $90 on eBay. Buy one and test the ground impedance on every receptacle in your house. If there are any problems, call an electrician and get them fixed. If you use a plug-in surge protector on a receptacle with a bad ground, then it's serving a largely placebo effect.
Also, I've found that a a lot of people, including engineers, do not seem to realize that power strips are not surge protectors. If you plug a computer into a power strip that is not a surge protector, then you might as well plug it directly into the wall. It's not protected from surges at all.
Edited 2012-09-27 21:43 UTC