Surge Protectors

[UncaDanno]

Does anyone know if surge protectors ever "wear out"?

Here's the situation: we have had a satellite dish with two receivers for about six years now. Both receivers are plugged into surge protectors (bought at the same time).
We have not had any problems with the satellite equipment, despite numerous violent thunderstorms, until two weeks ago. Lightning hit somewhere nearby and the surge shattered the telephone junction box on the utility pole, knocked out one telephone line, both satellite receivers, and tripped the circuit breakers to the well.

A couple of days ago, the power went out again due to a "jack" opening at a transformer a couple of miles away. Both receivers were taken out again.

I suspect that either:
Enough surge is now getting through the protectors to fry the receivers (but not anything else plugged into them), indicating surge protectors going downhill.
Or there is a short to ground somewhere on the dish itself that channels the surge directly through the receivers.

The satellite fix-it folks say the problem is in the surge protectors. I say it ain't. No big deal to me as far as expense of repairs since we lease the equipment so repairs are on their nickle. The real problem is that we have to do without reception until repairs are done and the Boss Lady is anxious that she's going to miss FOOTBALL.

[HAL9000]

Yes, they can lose their effectiveness over time as you may get small surges on a fairly regular basis and never know about them.

[mike breck]

I agree.

In fact, as I understand it, you should certainly replace them after they take a known major hit.

Under normal usage, a safe rule to go by is to replace them when the warranty period expires or every two to three years.

However, unless they have taken a major hit, it might not be necessary to throw them away. You could always use them on less critical pieces of equipment that up until that point have had no protection at all.

HTH

[cuffs007]

most definitely replace the surge protector.... i had mine 4 yrs. before it took a hit and became unstable... get the one with the highest joule and "let-through" rating you can afford...

good luck

[Aeryn]

You definitly need to replace them after you know they've be hit. Some of the new ones have lights that tell you when to get a new surge strip because of a surge/burnout.

[glc]

I would trust critical equipment to nothing less than a TrippLite Isobar. If it's $20 or less, it's not high quality.

[UncaDanno]

Thanks, everyone.

The general consensus seems to be what I suspected: they lose their effectiveness after some use. And even though these guys have a fairly high joules rating, they have been in service for six years.

Sounds like time for a shopping trip. Anybody need anything while I'm out?