I have a whole house surge protector installed by the electric company at the meter for $5 monthly fee. Makes for pretty good insurance too, since they'll cover up to $10k should anything be zapped by lightning.
-IMO |
What you need are a couple of Balanced Power Conditioners. Search Balanced Power Technologies |
Up here in Boston's pretty stiff, well-behaved grid we generally don't bother. |
Subaru,
Glad to hear! Out here on the edge of the Rockies in Montana, we get some pretty fantastic lighting storms. It's not uncommon to lose power for an hour or so 5-6 times a summer. And since Bob Gagnon sold out Montana Power and Touch America to walk away with millions, a lot of the "juice" goes to other states.
Any way, I will talk to the power company about installing a surge protector at the new 100 amp sub-panel on the garage.
Joe
joeb |
In addition to a Joslyn gas-tube-discharge primary arrestor providing whole house transient protection, I include an MOV (metal oxide varistor = model GEV130LA20B) wired in parallel across every AC outlet that I want to protect. I understand that AC outlets are now even available with MOV protectors built into them. This type of cascaded approach provides better protection than relying on any single device to dissipate all of the excess incoming energy that comprises a lightning hit, or even a large incoming voltage surge via upline grid switchgear. This cascading protection scheme is further augmented by the MOV's that are contained in my line conditioners (I use two conditioners - one for low current source components & one for high current amps). Just as dressing yourself in layers of clothing for better protection before exposure to cold temperatures, layers of transient protection provides better performance than having to rely on any single one method. |
I have a dumb question that I thought would be fun to toss out here in this forum. I am looking at buying a house, yep, old and comes with problems, one of which I am about to tell you about. This places has some seriously funky electricity issues. During the inspection the lights kept flickering and finaly I paid attention to the light before and after. The damned place gets brighter After a moter (fridge, swamp cooler, etc.) kicks on. So I had the local yokal electric boy go check it out. He found a 20 volt up spike in the current. The stereo and computer should love this. He thought it was coming from Utah Pilige and loots lines and not with in the house.
For the sake of argument, lets assume that I don't muster an act of God and get the slugs at the Power company to fix this. Any good hard data on surge protectors or power conditioners that could handle this kind of a beating as a way of life?
Yes, I could find another house but they either ugly little boxes or so far away from work that may not be a viable issue. In that case I just get to take Utah Pilige and loot by myself.
Thanks for reading that much gibberish. |
Bob,
What is your source for the GEV130LA20B? Was this one picked for sonics or because of reliable protection; or both?
I'm currently running my amp directly into the wall, and everything else through a cheap computer surge strip; but have been considering perhaps the JR/DIYCable or Vansevers conditioner/surge protection. It sounds like another option would be to add a device at the panel, a MOV to the outlet at the wall, and then just building a junction box with quality outlets. I don't know which option would sound best, but either would surely be an improvement over what I'm using now. |
Hi Joe. It's true that power companies will rent you a whole house surge protector, and provide $10,000 for damages. But what if your system is worth more than that? Silly question at this forum. I would recommend a surge protector from a reputable company such as ZeroSurge. It is more cost efficient to get their box with four surge protectors: one for each dedicated line. One surge protector runs about $200, whereas a box with four is around $500. Getting protection from ZeroSerge and the power company will really give you peace of mind. |
Les,
you are busy tonight aren't you? Well I will have to look up this company
Thanks |
Redwood,
Just read the product info from the Zero Surge website...interesting. How does it sound relative to the competition? I see that they have a 20 amp unit with hospital grade outlets, but don't see which HG outlet they're using. |
Wdi, I have the surge protection box that looks like a circuit breaker box, but with circuit boards instead. There are no receptacles, only terminal screws to hook up wiring that goes out to the receptacles. |
Hi Wdi:
MOV's are available from Radio Shack. Mouser Electronics, Digikey also likely. I buy mine in that specific model from industrial suppliers such as Newark Elecronics or Allied Electroncis. |
You ought to check on surgex products. They use a series approach to surge protection and their emi/rf filtering is impedance tolerant. They have a product that provides protection for dedicated lines/breaker box, but they also have free standing units as well. |
Well, I am now seriously in the market for some surge protection. I lived in the SF Bay Area for most of the past 20 years, where there simply isn't any significant lightning. Now that I live in rural Virginia, I've lost at least two components to lightning surges in the past month, and I'm suspicious that the damage to one other one (a VERY expensive one fortunately coverged under warrantee) might be surge related. Last night, ironically, my PS Audio Power Director got fried - yes, it is supposed to be a surge protector itself. (And probably it did its job, since the upstream components are still OK, but it's no cheap component for repair, either.) This is serious!
Does anyone have experience with the items listed above? |
