Re: Test for Surge Protector?

[Marc F Hult <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

There are good discussions of comprehensive grounding on the web. Some deal
with how to ground a steel radio tower on a mountain top which would likely be
good enough for a house built on flat land with a shallow water table ;-) (Eg
Google ground radio tower). (Yes, soil moisture increases electrical
conductivity and therefore improves ground-rod performance. The water table
is, by definition, the upper surface of the earth below which the effective
porosity (interconnected pores) are 100% filled with water.)

Another major issue is conduction through communication lines including cable,
ethernet  and telephone. Part of my approach to coping with multiple
lightning-induced failures in our house has been to isolate the communication
lines from the HA computer and server. These computers  are located on a 19"
rack with rubber wheels, powered by 'isolated' 28vdc, and connected to the
rest of the world through fiber optic 1000/SC cable.

EBay typically has affordable fiber optic ethernet transceivers. You need a
pair of transceivers (or a transceiver and a hub/switch) and a length of
terminated fiber optic cable.

search www.ebay.com in "Computers & Networking" for "fiber sc"

http://search-desc.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=
C12&from=R10&satitle=fiber+sc&sacat=58058%26catref%3DC6&bs=Search&fts=2&sargn
=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=41011&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=
&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search

( I have four like-new/in box 100BT/SC transceivers that I'd like to dispose
of -cheep! ).

HTH ... Marc
Marc_F_Hult
www.ECCOntrol.org


On Thu, 15 Sep 2005 07:58:17 -0400, "Rich Gosselin" <rich (a*tt) gossel (dut)
org> wrote in message  <0_idnTJzY4ZH_LTenZ2dnUVZ_s6dnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxx>:

>Thanks Marc,
>
>I do understand the value of a good earth ground, and am in the process of
>installing 2 rods in a location that shold give the proper "whole house"
>ground. Given that I actually live in what 50 years ago was considered a
>flood plain (really hasn't flooded due to the ditches installed when the sub
>was built), I find that the "ground water level" is at or above 6 foot. How
>do I know this? Next door neighbor put an in-ground pool in and I was very
>interested in the level they had to start their sump at....I like water
>table info because somehow...my simple mind thinks water = conductivity =
>better ground. So, if I have two #4 cables going out to 2 ground rods...each
>out 5 to 10 foot from the foundation (which is a slab anyway, so I don't
>think they dig those too deep) I might have a good chance with my "whole
>house" installation.
>
>I do realize I also need point of use for individual electronics, but that
>still means I need to know if they are actually still working...or just
>passing...(gas)....you know what I mean...Actaully, I did all that earth
>ground research a few years ago, and that's why I'm putting in the stuff
>now...(I'm a bit slow, but I get there...)
>
>Rich
>
>"Marc F Hult" <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>news:ll6rh1h1qj09lodeotch1premeusainigr@xxxxxxxxxx
>> On Tue, 6 Sep 2005 09:03:26 -0400, "Rich Gosselin" <rich (a*tt) gossel
>> (dut)
>> org> wrote in message  <v7CdnfdvX-8EDoDeRVn-pg@xxxxxxxxxxx>:
>>
>>>I've got a collection of surge protector around, and I want to find a
>>>valid
>>>and somewhat simple method of testing that they are still providing some
>>>protection, without trashing them in a destructive test.
>>>
>>>I've searched the net for some kind of reference to help with this, and
>>>found only proprietary information of specific brands, usually at the
>>>manufacturers site on capacity, waveform, etc...test results for that
>>>product, but little info on how the test was actually done.
>>>
>>>1.) I'd assume with MOV based devices (most of the consumer devices) I'd
>>>be
>>>able to "see" a blown MOV, but I'm not sure. Is there a simple electrical
>>>test?
>>>
>>>2.) Some of the better devices, like Brick Wall and others...that
>>>advertise
>>>"never fail", well, do we take them at their word, or is there some way to
>>>see if they are still ok after some years of hits. Really, at $200 ~
>>>$1,000
>>>+ per item...they should last forever...
>>>
>>>Not many folks seem to be into surge protection / UPS / line filtering,
>>>but
>>>I'm developing an interest for both business & personal reasons...and I'm
>>>looking here to learn a bit more about them...
>>>
>>>Any views? Comments? Good URL's to get info from?
>>
>> A first good step would be to research the importance of the earth ground
>> in
>> 'surge protection' and assess the extent to which the surge protectors you
>> have actually meet those needs.
>>
>> Without suffering a direct lightning strike, and despite the usual array
>> of
>> "surge protectors", the electronic equipment in house (AV, security,
>> telephone, computer, GFI's etc) has had major damage from 'surges'. My
>> partial solution has been to improve the house's earth ground and to
>> provide
>> for electrical disconnect during storms. We like in the center of th NA
>> continent in a region that is typical with respect to lightning strikes.
>>
>> Google all groups (including comp.home.automation) for " W_Tom ",  and
>> comp.home.automation for "earth ground" and  "lightning".
>>
>> You may conclude that the surge protectors you have been depending are
>> less
>> useful than you thought even when new.
>>
>> HTH ... Marc
>> Marc_F_Hult
>> www.ECOntrol.org
>
>