Surge Protectors Save Big

[randallhilton]

I'm sitting here in the glow of my 3G Netbook as the power crew restores power to a few homes. A tree branch broke the neutral wire on the power pole. It's 18 degrees, 10 - 30 mph winds and the guy is up in a bucket, really earning his check today!

When the transformer wire broke, everything in the house went crazy. Surge protectors popped like they were supposed to but some things didn't have protectors. Everything that was turned on became a return path for the electricity. Because of the way electricity works, we suddenly found some outlets running at 160v instead of 110v, causing power bricks to overheat, smelling up the house with that Ozone smell.

We lost the Bose (plugged into the wall instead of a surge protector grrrrr!) and we're not sure about the compressor on the fridge.

As I scurried through the house, unplugging things I realized what a mess we would have if this had happened while we were out. I also realized what a lot of stuff we have in our little bungalow and how traumatic it would be if it went up in smoke, even if it is insured.

As far as I'm concerned, if a power strip comes into the house, it will be a surge protector.

[backlash]

The power company was clearing trees branches from around their lines.
They dropped a big branch across the lines.
It fried absolutely everything the neighbors owned.
Every thing that was plugged in.
TV,computer,washer,dryer,stove,lamps,clocks,radios everything.
It burnt every wall outlet and light switch.
Burnt the wiring in the walls.
They fought with the power company for months and months and then settled for pennies on the dollar.
Even though they are in the US legally the power company knew they could be bluffed.

At work the IS guys replace at least 2 mother boards a month.
Sometimes a lot more than 2.
NO surge protectors on any computer.
Job security I guess.

[BonnyLake]

Hopefully I'm saying this correctly - what about those USP devices that we had on our computers at work, are they called a universal surge protector or am I even close? Are they the same thing? If power went out they kept the computers running for 10 minutes so they would power down intentionally.

And randlhilton - you shoulda just hit the breakers !


All of this readiness talk with people going through these storms has given me a pretty big reality check about how woefully unprepared I might be from danger 'within my own house', which I didn't fully realize until now :(

[NCLee]

Way back when, I was the IS dept. Started out with a mini (smaller version of a mainframe) computer and dumb terminals hung off it. Company wouldn't approve a $10,000 UPS for it. Even though it took a minimun of 2 hours to bring it back up after a power hit. If certain processes were running at the time, minimum was a 1/2 day. One time a bird got fried in a transformer. Took a day and a half to get back on line. Went through several of those type situations. "How much longer!!!!!!????!!!!", is still ringing in my ears.

When we switched to a network, I fought tooth and nail to put a UPS on each workstation and the servers. No way I was going to be responsible for all the carnage that could happen. Fortunately for me, about the time I was engaged in the battle, a local TV station took a hit and wasn't prepared. Did a story on just how bad their losses were. Most telling part was when they dumped a big box of fried components out on a table.

Needless to say, there's a UPS sitting on the floor right now. :wink: And, that's plugged into a serge protector!

BTW, it isn't just tree limbs that can cause big time problems. "Dirty power" was the term used, when I was wearing my IS hat. Was having so many problems, power company came out and put a monitor on the feed to the mini computer and tracked dips & spikes for several days. Every time a nearby food storage plant put another freezer on line, it would take down our system.

Lee

[NCLee]

All of this readiness talk with people going through these storms has given me a pretty big reality check about how woefully unprepared I might be from danger 'within my own house', which I didn't fully realize until now :(

Bonny, don't let it get you down. There's no way that any of us can prepare for everything. All we can do is the best we can and pray that's enough to tide us through whatever may happen.

If it gets cold enough here, for long enough we will have pipes that freeze and burst. Homes here in NC just aren't equipped to handle brutal cold in the same way they are for folks up north.

A rat can get inside and create a short in the wiring. A electrical outlet can fail for whatever reason - age, corrosion, poor initial install, etc. The list can go on, such as discovering a high pressure water leak under the house after considerable damage was done.

We had all the large pine trees taken down from around our house. Three big ones fell during a hurricane. Fortunately they fell away from the house. Even though the pines are gone, that doesn't mean one of the big hardwoods in the backyard won't come this way.

FWIW, the storm preps that we talk about here, are fairly routine for us. Winter - ice storms, summer/fall - hurricanes. That leaves springtime for tornado and severe thunderstorm as the primary threats. With advance warning we automatically go into prep mode, doing the things mentioned in these threads, as is applicable for the storm.

That said, there's only so much we can do with regards to tornados and fire. The latter includes both inside and outside of our home. A wild fire in the nearby woods can take out our home if the wind conditions are right. That's even though we have a wide clearance between us as those trees.

We do what we can and put the rest in the hands of the Lord. If it's His will, we'll make it through the "storm" OK. If not, we'll do the best we can with the hand that's being dealt. Doesn't matter if it's a surge that kills the refrigerator or not seeing that snake that's hidding in the leaves.

Later today when we leave to go to Bible Study, there's no guarantee that we'll make it back home. Or that our home will be here when we get back. Sometimes when I get into the thinking mode of :( the Senerity Prayer comes to mind. There's only so much we can do.

Lee

[grumble]

An Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) on expensive electrical stuff is well worth the money. They not only provide surge protection, they also "condition" the AC power. They fill in the voltage for the low voltage brown outs, filter the 60-cycle AC, fill in for momentary power glitches, and block overvoltages. Even if the battery isn't big enough to keep your equipment running during a short outage, they can save a lot of frustration and expense.

Something else everyone should consider is a whole-house surge protector. They cost about $30 and install on the distribution box where the power from the electric meter comes into your house. They'll pay for themselves many times over if you ever get a lightning strike within a mile of your house.

[BonnyLake]

Something else everyone should consider is a whole-house surge protector. They cost about $30 and install on the distribution box where the power from the electric meter comes into your house. They'll pay for themselves many times over if you ever get a lightning strike within a mile of your house.

Do you think that this is something I could install myself or would the power company do it for me? When I look around and think that I might have to replace some appliances I can't see that ever fitting into my budget :( Last night my oven element burned out and a 3" piece fell into the bottom - blah!

[grumble]

Bonnie, I hesitate to say, "sure go ahead and put it in yourself!" They (the whole-house protectors) are very easy to install, but it means getting into the 240VAC box that runs your house with a screwdriver.

I don't know if your power company will do it or not, mine says I have to hire a qualified electrician. That always means I do it myself. <G> But I bet your power company will be happy to sell you the surge protector properly sized for your home. And at a pretty good discount.

If you're comfortable working with household electricity and know how to be safe, then go for it. There are only three wires to hook up, one to each leg of the AC and one to ground. It takes all of 2 minutes, unless you're like me, and something always doesn't quite fit or reach and I have to do three things to make the one thing I want to do work. <G>

BTW, the hardest part of changing out that heating element will be finding the replacement.

[Wyobuckaroo]

Boy do I know about "dirty power"
Worked in a machine shop at the end of the power line down this particular road. We had those rectangular long power grid boxes hanging overhead that you could connect a kind of 3 phase drop cord to that ran a machine.

There were 3 of these power strips in the shop and if voltage/? messed up on any of them, a lot of the machines would do crazy things. Stuff broken and making BAD noises.

Short story, after about 20 more episodes of this with there "test" equipment on line, I asked "when do you get to the FIXING part of this?" They ended up putting, for lack of a better term, "booster pump on each power strip to keep power steady. End of problem.
Was a pain in the neck..........

At home, I've always been lucky enough, breakers took care of any problems. Obviously, "something happened", stuff wouldn't work and breaker would be tripped. Never had any appliances fry because of stuff like that........... so far......... (knock on wood)

Now, what should I look for in a "surge protector" ? Like a certain kind of outlet strip to go into an outlet ?

Need educated..............
Wyo

[grumble]

Wyo, just about any surge protector is better than no surge protector. I'd stay away from the extra-cheapo ones, but any of them from a store that sells decent stuff will protect your equipment from most lightning strikes or commercial power surges.

You can easily get wrapped around the axle trying to figure out which ones have the fastest clamping or which ones will divert the most joules of energy. But, if you just buy one that costs about 8-10 bucks at a decent store, you should be ok. You can get them as power strips, which is about the easiest, or as replacement electrical sockets, your choice.

[BonnyLake]

This has been a great learning thread for me because I am a new homeowner (very old house) and by myself so I need to learn about this stuff.

We've been told to expect rolling brown-outs this summer if the temperatures get as hot as last year because we are on the same service as several newer manufacturing plants and they won't be rebuilding the lines for several more years. So all this info has given me a new focus to get things in better shape for future events.

Kinda funny discussing saving ourselves from energy mis-behaving and on the other hand discussing ways to replace it too. :rolleyes:

[grumble]

"Kinda funny discussing saving ourselves from energy mis-behaving and on the other hand discussing ways to replace it too."

Had to smile at that. You're right, it IS ironic.

Just to make sure I didn't give anyone the wrong impressions, a UPS is a different thing from a surge protector.

An uninterruptable power supply (UPS) is a box with a battery in it so that if the power goes out or the voltage is below some preset amount, the box makes its own 60 cycle 120 volt power until the power comes back on or the battery runs down.

A surge protector simply detects and diverts voltage spikes, like lightning hitting the power line. They won't help for brownouts or loss of power.

[S2man]

I vote for the UPS's. There are two basic types:

The first runs your appliance on line A/C and switches to battery when the power goes out. For me, they have never switched quick enough to keep my computers from rebooting.

The second type runs your appliance on the battery full time. The line A/C charges the battery constantly. When the power goes out there is no switching, because you are already running on the battery. This type is more expensive, of course, but that is all I use now.

Another reason I like UPS's is in the case of a VERY large spike, which would not be phased by a normal surge protector (ok, pun intended). e.g. a nearby (not direct) lightning strike or solar flares. Sure, the UPS will fry, but it will protect the appliance from the spike, and you'll still have a working X to plug into your gennie.

I haven't sized it yet, but a UPS for the freezer is on my wish list.

[grumble]

"...would not be phased by a normal surge protector (ok, pun intended)..."

Well done! Had to read it twice to see if you meant fazed or phased! <G>

Lucky for me, most electric motors, like compressor motors, aren't usually affected by most power spikes. At least, not until the spike is big enough to arc through the shellac insulation of the windings or the start capacitor. If/when that happens, all bets are off!

Good post on the UPSs!

[Aseries]

I work / grew up in a computer store and after every lightening storm seen the surge of fried power supplies, modems and what not come into out store for years. I often wonder why they could never put a $19 surge bar right in the power supply.

When I built my house I did something no one I know has, except the one person who suggested it to me. I installed wall switches for every outlet in my house. I shut down every plug in my house in blocks of four with switches. My outside plugs, my counter plugs, my bedroom you name it.

Saves me tons in electricity, it saves me from fried electronics, electrical fires from shorting TVs that sit and wait and waste electricity. The only thing thats going to die in my house is my washer and dryer, my fridge, and my freezer which is barely used anymore.

I also besides using surge protectors, I unplug everything religiously. All those appliances I see sitting on my friends counters in there houses. I personally pack them up, and put them on the other shelf in my storage room. You soon learn, its easier to use hand tools than use a blender or some crap device someone got you for xmas cause they thought it was kewl.

I agree, spend $19 on a surge bar can save money, one friend I know same thing happened, the breaker on her transformer was loose, everything in her house blew. Luckly, the power company gave in and paid for most of her major appliances.

My advice is anyone building a house, install wall switches. My friend reads the hydro meters here, guess what, I got the lowest electric bill in my town at least for a person tied to the grid. Apparently my house bill is less than some peoples garages. Speaking of which I have switches in my garage also... Not to mention a tankless hotwater heater...

good thread

[krapgame]

Be extra conservative in sizing UPSs for non-cumputer applications. Most of them specifically say they are not meant for non-computer use because they weren't made to deal with the start up surges from most appliances. Not saying it can't or shouldn't be done, just do your homework. Learned that years ago when a customer plugged a laser printer into a personal (350vA) UPS. It fried the electronics in both the UPS and the printer the first time they tried to print with it. I would expect a freezer or refrigerator could have the same effect when the compressor first comes on. Also, most will void the warranty offered by the UPS if they have non computer items connected to them.

You may also find that buying a bunch of small to medium UPSs reaches a price point that would make sense to go with a large UPS cabinet that connects directly into your house wiring. We use one in our data center that provides spike protection and carries the equipment until the nat gas generator kicks in if the power goes down. The downside is, that puts all your eggs in one basket, but the upside is not having to constantly deal with the consumer grade UPSs. Our experience is that those have a life expectancy of 2-3 years before the batteries and/or the electronics die, and always at the worst possible times. Our big cabinet is starting into its 10th year now with no problems.

[krapgame]

When I built my house I did something no one I know has, except the one person who suggested it to me. I installed wall switches for every outlet in my house. I shut down every plug in my house in blocks of four with switches. My outside plugs, my counter plugs, my bedroom you name it.

My Homer Simpson moment. DOH! That's brilliant! Wish I had thought of that. On top of all the benefits you mentioned, that'd make servicing receptacles a breeze. I guess the easiest retrofit would be to put a GFCI at the head of each circuit.

One thing I did a couple of years ago when I declared war on the electric company was to buy a digital timer ($10 or so from Harbor Freight, cheaper on sale) for every outlet in our house. I set them (each depending on expected need) to power on in the morning about wake-up time and back off after everyone leaves for the day then back on again in the evening and off around bedtime. That gives the convenience of having the appliance ready to go when it's needed, completely powered off when not, and not having to crawl behind some piece of furniture to plug stuff in all the time. The power draw on the timer is low enough that it doesn't register on my kill-a-watt meter. That cut about $30/mo from our electric bill, I think the ROI was around 3 months.

[S2man]

Good suggestions, Aseries & kg.

Yep kg, when I get one for the freezer, I'll make sure it will handle the start up load. lol, once I price a UPS that big I may be looking for other alternatives. :)