Warning about Surge Suppressors

[SARGE]

That time of year when most of the country has or will soon experience thunderstorms. Locally, we've had several in the past month, and my service calls have found many fried modems, computers, and routers. Alot of them were behind "surge suppressors".

I use these devices on all 3 pc's, but ONLY as a convenient place to plug everything in and the ease of turning them all off at once. When the thunder boomers are on the horizon, everything (pc-wise) gets unplugged from the wall as well as the telco jacks. I've seen too, too many unhappy folks who thought a suppressor would save them.

I know a business must leave pc's plugged in - that's the nature of their business. From my experience, and common sense, NOTHING in a surge suppressor will stop the super sonic speed and power of lightning - I don't believe they're designed for that type surge. I had a business customer whose building was hit by lightning. When I got there, he had a stack of 56k modems stacked up on the floor - fried. Being the control center for a title company, he was dead in the water, even with surge protectors on telco line.

Moral of the story is these "suppressors" offer false security to many unsuspecting folks. If the jolt comes through telco line, it can (and will) travel right to your modem and beyond.

[jamesrpm]

Thanks Sarge a good reminder
And if you are using the plug in strips turn them over and look at the back of them. We've seen 2 that caused burn marks where they were sitting because of over heating.
I install whole house surge protection in most new construction but that is only good for wires slapping together or tree limbs shorting them out. All of them exclude protection from lighting strikes.

[HAL9000]

There is a device available, but at the moment I couldn't tell you what the name of it is. A guy that I have done a lot of work for here in Regina developed it and it can stop a direct lightning strike in it's tracks. Of course, this kind of protection comes at a price and for the businesses he installs it into, it ain't cheap. Home users can have it put in for about $300CDN.

[Hot Rod]

I also tell home users that at the first sign of a thunderstorm, unplug power at the wall and unplug the telephone cable. Surge protectors should be replaced every year too. They lose their effectiveness over time.

[TwoRails]

Hi SARGE,

Yep, people get complacent. I remember when the average suppressor was about 900 J. Seems like your lucky if it's rated at 300 J. Can't even find (locally) a 1200 J anymore.

People see "Surge Suppressor" and figure all is good, and good enough to act as a lightning rod! It cracks me up, and reminds me of the news story of an insurance company spending Major Dollars on a study to find out why Honda and other little cars get creamed when hit by a pickup or van. They, in their wisdom, learned that the little cars are just not made to withstand the impact from a larger vehicle. Dooh !!

TwoRails

[jamesrpm]

And if you are interested here is a good article on how surge protectors work.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/surge-protector.htm

[TwoRails]

That was some good reading, jamesrpm !!

[pam123]

You're absolutely right!
Surge protectors are for ordinary stuff, not lightning strikes.
Unplug in storms!
And, if a storm is predicted and you won't be home, unplug before you leave.

[smokealotapotimus]

Sorry for reviving a dead topic, but what do you all think of Belkin surge protectors that are supposed to be able to stop lighting strikes, and only cost around $20 USD?

[TwoRails]

Originally posted by smokealotapotimus Sorry for reviving a dead topic, but what do you all think of Belkin surge protectors that are supposed to be able to stop lighting strikes, and only cost around $20 USD?

Hi smokealotapotimus,

I'd say I doubt it.... do you have any links for research?

I guess if you think about it, an extention cord would stop lightning: it would blow apart before it could travel down the cord....

TwoRails

[SARGE]

Originally posted by smokealotapotimus Sorry for reviving a dead topic, but what do you all think of Belkin surge protectors that are supposed to be able to stop lighting strikes, and only cost around $20 USD?

If you fall for that, get them to put it in writing with a guarantee to replace all devices damaged. Common sense says a $20 surge suppressor won't stop a super sonic lightning strike. I wonder if they have oceanfront property in Arizona?

[glc]

If you are in a lightning prone area, I would not use anything less than a TrippLite Isobar and a line-interactive UPS is preferred.

[RobH]

I know they wont stop a direct lightning hit,but I have seen packaged supressors on the package say they will guarantee your equiptment up to 1500 bucks.I know they wont-but I guess most folks would never try to cash in on it.
I seen what a direct lightning strike did to a local golf club house a couple of years ago-burned every club in the house-turned em black!

[smokealotapotimus]

Well, this
is what I'm talking about. Even the basic $20 outlet has a $20,000 "connected equipment warrenty".

[glc]

Yeah, and I hear that Belkin is really bad about paying up. Stick with the reputable majors like APC and TrippLite.

[audiyoda]

Originally posted by smokealotapotimus Well, this is what I'm talking about. Even the basic $20 outlet has a $20,000 "connected equipment warrenty".

Don't believe it. The only company I've aware of that will backup their gurantee is Monster Cable. Their top of the line computer system surpressor/UPS is $169.95 -- although I use the Home Theater powerbar rated at 2775 joules. It's behind a Monster UPS as well. Got the setup for my Home Theater as well as my office and studio systems. can't be too careful.

-Craig

[smokealotapotimus]

Thanks for the heads up. I was trying to explain to some people that normal surge
protectors, especially cheap ones, arent meant to take lightning strikes. They proceeded to tell me that they have a Belkin, and all the $20,000 warrenty stuff.

[HAL9000]

I don't know about thier surge supressors, but APC stands behind their UPS's. I had one client suffer major damage to a $10,000 server and got coverage on it. His insurance paid out the initial claim, then APC paid out to the insurance company removing the claim against their insurance so the premiums don't go up.

[SARGE]

But do they pay to replace it or just "current market value"? If the latter, I say we get short-changed severely. DL's Gateway cost $2000 3 years ago. Probably worth $200 now.

My bottom line is - unless you must leave pc on 24/7, unplug it when thunder boomers arrive. Even if it is insured, the hassle of claims and waiting ain't worth it.

[HAL9000]

They went with replacement value, both the insurance company and APC.

[smokealotapotimus]

Thanks for you help, I forwarded all the information i could get outa the replies. And I also still like to reinforce the point that unplugging is the best deterent.

[Vladiator16]

Been quite a few lighting storms here in the Great Lakes region. Luckily I've been home when storms have been going through.

I ALWAYS pull the plug on the surge protector and PULL it as far away from the socket as possible. Remember lightning surges can leap from the socket!!!

Vlad

[Colonel Sanders]

So h, how do UPSs stand up to surges? We got a lot of PCs all on UPSs and over the years haven't lost anything yet. Could a UPS provide good enough protection?

Logan

[glc]

Only a line interactive UPS stands a chance against a healthy surge. I don't trust just a standby UPS.

[highrisemech]

I think I posted this once before. A surge supressor will give you limited protection. Obviously the higher the joul rating the better the protection. But if it is a high enough power spike even a surge supressor will not be able to hold it back.

[Colonel Sanders]

GLC, how do you tell the difference between line-interactive and standby?

Logan

[Jenni]

What about cable lines? The cable co. says it's grounded, not to worry about it, but I've always unplugged it from the TV and now from my modem whenever it gets bad.

[glc]

Line interactive UPS's are advertised as such. The inexpensive units you find at retail stores are all standby type. Look through the product catalogs at www.apcc.com and www.tripplite.com .

[piasabird]

A surge protector does nothing in the event that lightning sends a surge of Electricity straight down the cable or phone-line into your Modem/nic/cablemodem/PC.

[smokealotapotimus]

Most surge protectors have a Line-In/Line-Out for dialup I believe, not sure about highspeed interents though.