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electronics vs storms
- Thread starter SkinnyJoe
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2005
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- 2,662
It's hard to say. They're good insurance and certainly better than a computer plugged directly into the wall or into a power strip. But when high dollar electronics are at stake, I never trust anything.
I'd unplug. But at the same time, I would never run a computer without a surge protector. My computer is on a surge protector and my entertainment center (stereo, ps2, Wii, TV, etc.) is on one. When a storm comes up and I'm at home, I unplug. When I'm not at home, I just put my faith in the surge protectors.
If I go out of town for more than a few days, I unpluig everything.
I'd unplug. But at the same time, I would never run a computer without a surge protector. My computer is on a surge protector and my entertainment center (stereo, ps2, Wii, TV, etc.) is on one. When a storm comes up and I'm at home, I unplug. When I'm not at home, I just put my faith in the surge protectors.
If I go out of town for more than a few days, I unpluig everything.
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2006
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- 42,943
Depends on how big a hit the power system took from the storm and on how good the surge protector is. Unplugging is absolute, but you have to remember to do it. the surge protector is always on duty.
- Joined
- May 19, 2007
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- 7,745
65535 is right, often the powersupply will take the hit and blow out, but protect the rest , and its a 50$ part.
There are two kinds of surge protectors, the one you want is the kind that will cut power when the suppressor fails (I don't remember the type off hand) But it will say so on the packaging. The GE power-squid is like this. Plus any high end surge protector comes with pretty decent insurance so if it does fry your gear, you get an upgrade, just keep receipts.
best option of all is a surge bar and a power conditioner, but that can get $$$$$
There are two kinds of surge protectors, the one you want is the kind that will cut power when the suppressor fails (I don't remember the type off hand) But it will say so on the packaging. The GE power-squid is like this. Plus any high end surge protector comes with pretty decent insurance so if it does fry your gear, you get an upgrade, just keep receipts.
best option of all is a surge bar and a power conditioner, but that can get $$$$$
Surges can and do kill equipment that's not protected. But to be fair, basic $10-20 surge protectors are really glorified power strips, and will be useless against any surge that's sufficient to kill a highly regulated computer power supply... much rather any that can get through the power supply and kill the rest of the computer.
Expect to pay >$50 for a good surge protector... but for a computer you might as well purchase a decent UPS, such as Cyberpower or APC. For bigger equipment (sound systems/large screen TVs) I recommend getting a dedicated voltage regulator (AVR) (excellent Tripplite units can be had for ~$120-150). It's a small investment to keep thousands of dollars worth of equipment safe, and Tripplite AVRs carry $20-50'000 warranties against any equipment connected to them... so they act as insurance as well.
A good AVR may be $100-200, but it is worth it.
Some recommendations:
Surge Protector: Tripplite Isobar (8 outlets) $52
UPS: CyberPower 1000VA/600W UPS (9 outlets) $110
AVR: Tripplite LC1200 1200W maximum draw, 4 outlets (shipped as black) $104
I have experience with the various models of all three products, and have been universally happy with them.
Example: my parents' cable box kept dying due to really flaky power supply at their house. They have an audio system, and a 50" plasma plugged into the same grid, so naturally we were worried about expensive losses. After installing the AVR - no more problems, no dead cableboxes, etc...
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Don't forget to protect the phone line if he is still on dialup. Also, sometimes people will still have their modem connected to the phone line after upgrading to broadband.
+1 on getting a quality surge suppressor / UPS. An $8 plug strip is not going to cut it.
+1 on getting a quality surge suppressor / UPS. An $8 plug strip is not going to cut it.
Don't forget, a surge can pass through your network or phone cables and perhaps even USB -- so anything plugged into your computer should also be connected to the surge protector! If you have a cable modem, for instance, the cable modem should be plugged into the surge protector, and the coaxial cable from the wall should go into the surge protector before passing to the modem.
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2005
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- 1,836
Pretty much agree with what has been said. I have always used a medium priced ($30-40) surge suppressor for both my computer and my home theater set-up (including both the power and the cable inputs). Still, I lost a stereo ampifier during a lighting strom last year so they are not total protection.
I may check into that product Gnis mentioned. Sound like a good investment to protect what I have invested in computer and A/V equipment.
I may check into that product Gnis mentioned. Sound like a good investment to protect what I have invested in computer and A/V equipment.
a few years back I lost 2 brand new PC's to surges despite having a top of the line battery backup with AVR. The surge was coming over my Cable Coaxial line, through the cable modem and out into my motherboard. I got a $15 RCA surge protector with Coaxial in/out and it solved my problem. Surges can come over just about any line, and even if you have the best AVR it won't mean much if your cable or DSL line is unprotected.