Looking for a good surge protector

[Cifer]

Hi guys !

I'm shopping for a good surge protector, and can't quite tell what to buy.
I need something reliable (good protection) and durable (long lifespan), and don't really care about price.

I have read that Tripp Lite and Belkin have the best products (?) , but these are unavailable where I live (Morocco).

Here's my specs :
- mains voltage : 220V
- what needs to be protected : PC (750W PSU), display (1080p, 24inch), router, cooling fan



And here's some of the available options (that don't look too sketchy) :

1/ APC Essentiel SurgeArrest PM5-FR (~$31)

Spoiler

https://www.apc.com/shop/sk/en/products/APC-Essential-SurgeArrest-5-outlets-230V-France/P-PM5-FR
Input power 2300W
Surge rating : 918 Joules
Nominal input voltage : 230V only
Grounded indicator : yes

2/ APC Essentiel SurgeArrest PME5U2B-GR (~$22)

Spoiler

https://www.apc.com/shop/sk/en/products/APC-Essential-SurgeArrest-5-Outlet-2-USB-Ports-Black-230V-Germany/P-PME5U2B-GR
Input power 2300W
Surge rating : 680 Joules
Nominal input voltage : 220-230-240V
No "grounded" indicator

3/ Eaton Protection Strip PS6F (~$22)

Spoiler

https://www.eaton.com/be/fr-fr/skuPage.PS6F.specifications.html
Amperage rating : 10A
No surge rating
Nominal input voltage : 220-250V
No "grounded" indicator

At first, my favorite option was the APC PM5-FR, as it has the highest surge rating and a grounded indicator, but the 230V input voltage is scaring me off.
Is the 230V nominal input voltage a deal-breaker?

(There's also the OvisLink Xenon5BS-T, any idea what it's worth?)

[Curioisman]

Usually nominal voltage delivered to home is 240 volts, so APC PM5-FR should not be a huge dealbreaker

[HanZie82]

The voltage will vary anyway, its more an indication of where it will be about.

(I have 230V on the socket, as soon as i turn on my 3,2kW oven that drops to about 220V-225V.)

[Cifer]

On 9/15/2021 at 12:08 PM, HanZie82 said:

The voltage will vary anyway, its more an indication of where it will be about.

(I have 230V on the socket, as soon as i turn on my 3,2kW oven that drops to about 220V-225V.)

Yes, for sure, mains voltage does fluctuate, but my concern is that it may go too low to be safe.

Let's say the unofficial safe range of operation for this unit is +-5% off 230V. (officially, it's a firm 230V)
That would make it 218V -> 242V

Yet, if my mains voltage drops by 5%, I would end up at 209V, which is significantly lower than what is supposedly safe...

Thanks for the input anyways, I guess I'll stick to the one that officially supports 220V...

[akio123008]

3 hours ago, Cifer said:

Let's say the unofficial safe range of operation for this unit is +-5% off 230V. (officially, it's a firm 230V)

Ok. First of all, you're pulling numbers out of thin air. Where did 5% suddenly come from?

 

It does say 230V on the datasheet, but never does it mention a tolerance, it only says "nominal" (which for power grid standards usually means +-10% btw)

 

As @HanZie82 mentioned, power grid voltage fluctuates a lot, in my house it usually sits at around 240-245, even though the official voltage is 230. It all depends on how far you are from the transformer, how many appliances on in the neighborhood, etc etc. The tolerances on power grid voltage are very big. Any mains appliance is designed with this in mind. Devices that say "220V", "230V" or "240V" on their spec sheet will all handle the whole range from 200-250V just fine.

 

 

 

 

 

[Cifer]

21 hours ago, akio123008 said:

Any mains appliance is designed with this in mind. Devices that say "220V", "230V" or "240V" on their spec sheet will all handle the whole range from 200-250V just fine.

Then why does APC list some surge protectors as 230V only while others are listed as 220V-230V-240V?

 

Why aren't they just listing everything as 220-230-240V compatible? 

[akio123008]

8 hours ago, Cifer said:

Why aren't they just listing everything as 220-230-240V compatible? 

You'd have to ask the intern who created the datasheet.¹ In general though:

 

A surge protector usually begins to act on surges around 2x the normal operation voltage. Say you had a 240V protector, it'd probably start kicking in for surges at around 500V. It's not like 260V would trip the surge protector, it's just not enough. (even though 260V is technically too high). That's why it's a surge protector, not an overvoltage protector.

 

Because of this, the nominal voltage doesn't matter all that much; whether it's made for 220V, 230V or 240V, you're always going to end up somewhere around 500V when it trips (and spoiler alert, probably exactly the same voltage on all versions, because they don't bother redesigning a 220V surge protector for a 230V system or vice versa, 10V is no important difference when you're trying to stop 1000+V surges)

 

¹ I suspect the first one says "230V" because it's very specifically intended for the French market (as you can see from the sockets it uses) and in France they all use 230V, so there's no reason to mention any other number on the datasheet. The second one has more common German sockets, which are used in more places, with varying voltages, which could be why they mention the whole range on the datasheet

 

[HanZie82]

13 hours ago, akio123008 said:

You'd have to ask the intern who created the datasheet.¹ In general though:

 

A surge protector usually begins to act on surges around 2x the normal operation voltage. Say you had a 240V protector, it'd probably start kicking in for surges at around 500V. It's not like 260V would trip the surge protector, it's just not enough. (even though 260V is technically too high). That's why it's a surge protector, not an overvoltage protector.

 

Because of this, the nominal voltage doesn't matter all that much; whether it's made for 220V, 230V or 240V, you're always going to end up somewhere around 500V when it trips (and spoiler alert, probably exactly the same voltage on all versions, because they don't bother redesigning a 220V surge protector for a 230V system or vice versa, 10V is no important difference when you're trying to stop 1000+V surges)

 

¹ I suspect the first one says "230V" because it's very specifically intended for the French market (as you can see from the sockets it uses) and in France they all use 230V, so there's no reason to mention any other number on the datasheet. The second one has more common German sockets, which are used in more places, with varying voltages, which could be why they mention the whole range on the datasheet

 

Very correct, very well said.

[Cifer]

@akio123008 @HanZie82  Both of you guys are probably right, but I would rather not take the risk.

Germany is 230V only as well, and their electric standards aren't being used by countries outside the EU (230V only), and yet APCs products that target the German market are rated for 220V-230V-240V.
Compare that to the PM5-FR that's targeting France, a country whose electric standards are being used in many African countries, and yet isn't rated for 220V.

I agree with you that a moderately higher voltage won't hurt the performance of the surge protection.
But that's not the problem here.
The problem is that the lower voltage might introduce a fire hazard inside the surge protector itself if it's not designed to handle that low of a voltage.

To find out for sure, I've sent an email to APC's technical support in which I explain the situation, and will wait for their answer.

Once they get back to me, I'll update you, and will mark your answers as correct if they confirm what you said.

Thank you all for your help !

[Cifer]

I finally got an answer from the technical support : the PM5-FR is indeed compatible with 220V.

As promised, I have upvoted your answers.

Thank you all for your help !