Re: Surge Protection?

["w_tom" <w_tom1@xxxxxxx>]

   If you think a surge protector is going to stop or block what three
miles of sky could not, well then, of course a surge protector is
useless. Never saw an effective protector sold in Kmart, Staples,
Circuit City, Sears, Radio Shack, Best Buy, or Walmart. So many
inferior brands promote a scam on retail store shelves by telling half
truths.  Two components of a surge protection system are a surge
protector AND surge protection.  Yes, protection is a 'system'; not
some box sold on retail store shelves.  Some protection 'systems' don't
even include a surge protector.  A wire from the incoming utility to
earth ground does same as a surge protector.  But that other component
- earth ground - is essential for every protection 'system'.  No short
connection to earth ground means no effective protection.  Plug-in
UPSes forget to mention that.

  Since they are not selling effective protection, those plug-in
protector manufacturers sell their grossly overpriced protector with
woefully too few joules.  Then when the grossly undersized protector is
destroyed by a transient, the naive human will assume, "the protector
sacrificed iteself to save my ....".  The naive human will then
recommend that ineffective and grossly overpriced product to friends
AND buy another.

  Effective protectors 1) earth the transient (don't stop, block or
absorb it) and  2) remain functional after the transient.  Especially
noted point two.  A protector destroyed by the first transient was
undersized causing a naive human to recommend the product.

  Effective 'whole house' protectors have brand names of responsible
manufacturers such as Intermatic, Square D, Cutler Hammer, Polyphaser,
GE, Leviton, and Siemens.  Names such as Belkin, APC, Tripplite, and
Powermax sell ineffective and grossly overpriced protectors; and even
forget to mention earthing.

 A protector is only as effective as its earth ground. No earth ground
(such as with plug-in protectors) means no effective protection.  Every
incoming utility must connect to earth ground before entering a
building - either by direct hardwire connection (meaning no protector
is required), or via a 'whole house' protector (so that a connection to
'essential' single point earth ground is less than 10 feet long).

  UPSes are only for blackouts and brownouts.  120 VAC electronics must
work just fine at below 100 volts.  That means a UPS will switch to
battery backup generally at a voltage below 105.  However that
switchover takes time.  Therefore electronics must specifically claim
to keep operating even when power (at less than 100 volts) has been
lost for at least 17 milliseconds. UPSes are for blackouts and for
brownouts.  But other numerical parameters apply.

  Those plug-in UPSes are often called computer grade. A 120 volt
output during battery backup could actually be 200 volt square waves
with up to a 270 volt spike between those square waves.  This 'modified
sine wave' could be harmful to some small electric motors and other
appliances.  Computer grade UPS is designed only for powering items
more robust such as computers.  Just another consideration when using a
plug-in UPS to power an alarm panel.

  Don't even for a minute assume a plug-in UPS will provide effective
surge protection.  They don't mention which transients it claims to
protect from.  The transient that typically damages electronics?
Plug-in UPSes forget to even claim protection from that typically
destructive type of surge.  Its called lying by telling half truths.
Better to have you *assume* all transients are same; to imply
protection from a typically destructive type of transient.  Like all
protectors, the plug-in UPS can only be as effective as its earth
ground - which is again why distance from UPS to earth ground defines
an effective or ineffective protection 'system'.  No earth ground means
no effective protection from a typically destructive type of transient.
 So they forget to mention earth ground AND forget to provide that all
so critical dedicated (less than 10 foot) connection to earth ground.

cctvbahamas@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Surge Protectors are pretty useless, at least down here.
>
> You need to get at least a Voltage Regulator, also known as Line
> Conditioner. This will protect your equipment against brown outs,
> spikes, etc.APC 600 watt Voltage Regulator is good for just voltage
> regulation.
>
> Better even, get a UPS with built in Voltage Regulation, check out the
> sinewave product.  http://www.cyberpowersystems.com/CPS1500AVR.asp
>
> A UPS alone is also useless againt brownouts, you still need voltage
> regulation, as in the units i mentioned above.