Confused about surge protectors

[Shoopman]

Trying to buy a surge protector but I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what I'm looking at. I'm an American living in Europe so things are a little different than I'm used to.

 

Do all surge protectors have a "Joules" rating? Some of them list 600/1000/1500J etc and some have no rating at all.

 

Also confused about amperage ratings? The products I see are rated from between 13,5000 and 15,000 Amps. What does this mean and how does it relate to how much protection the unit offers?

[TetraSky]

Any good surge protector will have a joules rating. The cheap ones have little to no protection in them. It's literally just copper wires going from one prong and being divided into multiple outlets.

 

 

I'm guessing the 13.5k and 15k Amps are fault current ratings. Makes no sense otherwise (I tried looking at a few but none had such a rating.)

It's usually something that would happen during a short circuit.

Typically, your home's breaker box also have such ratings on them as well. Likely has a "10 kA" written on them.

 

 

The higher the joules, the higher the protection it offers. For computers and other sensitive electronics, you will want at the very least 2000J. More is better.

https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/blog/joules-the-key-to-surge-protection/

 

 

[Shoopman]

2 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

Any good surge protector will have a joules rating. The cheap ones have little to no electronics in them for protection. It's literally just copper wires going from one prong and being divided into multiple outlets.

 

 

I'm guessing the 13.5k and 15k Amps are fault current ratings. Makes no sense otherwise (I tried looking at a few but none had such a rating.)

It's usually something that would happen during a short circuit. Typically, your home's breaker box also have such ratings on them. Likely 10kA.

 

 

The higher the joules, the higher the protection it offers. For computers and other sensitive electronics, you will want at the very least 2000J. More is better.

https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/blog/joules-the-key-to-surge-protection/

 

 

Here's one with 13,500A plastered right across the top: https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/Brennenstuhl-Eco-Line-Power-Strip-1159700015/dp/B002OJYK5G/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_pd_sbs_rvi_d_sccl_2_13/259-3284924-4254015?pd_rd_w=9da0N&content-id=amzn1.sym.f6e9ebca-6850-40e9-8ca5-879edb62705a&pf_rd_p=f6e9ebca-6850-40e9-8ca5-879edb62705a&pf_rd_r=YHJCZYK6MZHECKPGHFWK&pd_rd_wg=tebvC&pd_rd_r=f2984e9e-36c9-41e8-b037-118675828952&pd_rd_i=B002OJYK5G&th=1

 

Maybe you can make more sense out of it than I could.

[TetraSky]

5 minutes ago, Shoopman said:

Here's one with 13,500A plastered right across the top: https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/Brennenstuhl-Eco-Line-Power-Strip-1159700015/dp/B002OJYK5G/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_pd_sbs_rvi_d_sccl_2_13/259-3284924-4254015?pd_rd_w=9da0N&content-id=amzn1.sym.f6e9ebca-6850-40e9-8ca5-879edb62705a&pf_rd_p=f6e9ebca-6850-40e9-8ca5-879edb62705a&pf_rd_r=YHJCZYK6MZHECKPGHFWK&pd_rd_wg=tebvC&pd_rd_r=f2984e9e-36c9-41e8-b037-118675828952&pd_rd_i=B002OJYK5G&th=1

 

Maybe you can make more sense out of it than I could.

Yup, it's the fault current rating. 

That said, please don't get that thing. It looks like a dollar store power strip without any real protection in it. Looking at the Amazon pages, you were indeed in the "power strip" category. These are not surge protectors.

 

See the difference. Even in the current fault ratings

https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/APC-Surge-Protector-protection-PL8VT3/dp/B005MNROQS/

[Shoopman]

22 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

Yup, it's the fault current rating. 

That said, please don't get that thing. It looks like a dollar store power strip without any real protection in it. Looking at the Amazon pages, you were indeed in the "power strip" category. These are not surge protectors.

 

See the difference. Even in the current fault ratings

https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/APC-Surge-Protector-protection-PL8VT3/dp/B005MNROQS/

I was able to find this one at 4000 Joules, though the price and appearance have me kinda skeptical.

https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/NTONPOWER-Sockets-4000Joule-Protectors-Independent/dp/B08ZKQ4125/ref=sr_1_78?crid=341S78H6IPZ67&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ryhYDpPdhK1ezwwPuZLbRgQ8dQfFZEIf7Z8zBC4XQBFzOPtPziDdDSYdQHypLtFPvK23AsSMKMXtikiwjkjBrwFEt9lXYQyns63_lNm3q-A.PrLVreP4zmOstE44Gh7jwCWZtLYWLcUOWlLZv01_-kg&dib_tag=se&keywords=surge%2B%2B%2Bprotector%2B%2B%2Bjoule&qid=1711213957&s=electronics&sprefix=surge%2Bprotector%2Bjoule%2Celectronics%2C68&sr=1-78&th=1

 

Is 4000 enough to protect my PC (850W PSU), two monitors, and some 20W speakers?

[TetraSky]

4000J would be enough. Yes. More than enough in fact.

Never heard of this particular brand, but it looks like a normal price for a surge protector. I'm not seeing anything that screams red flag about it either. Other than the obviously undisclosed paid reviews of their products online.

The fact they advertise 4000J means they stand behind their product. Especially in the EU where you have so many robust consumer protection laws.

 

One thing I would love for the LTT Lab to do, is investigate the claims some of these surge protectors make.

[Shoopman]

51 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

4000J would be enough. Yes. More than enough in fact.

Never heard of this particular brand, but it looks like a normal price for a surge protector. I'm not seeing anything that screams red flag about it either. Other than the obviously undisclosed paid reviews of their products online.

The fact they advertise 4000J means they stand behind their product. Especially in the EU where you have so many robust consumer protection laws.

 

One thing I would love for the LTT Lab to do, is investigate the claims some of these surge protectors make.

My skepticism comes from the possibility that it's just some dropshipped junk that is very much not up to spec with what it claims

[TetraSky]

42 minutes ago, Shoopman said:

My skepticism comes from the possibility that it's just some dropshipped junk that is very much not up to spec with what it claims

It sure sounds like it from the name alone, isn't it.

Looking at product reviews, someone posted an image...  

Spoiler

 

The actual manufacturer is Orico. Orico doesn't sell the exact same product as this one.
I'm guessing they do "custom" products based on their existing line up. Which isn't unusual. This isn't "drop shipping" at the very least.

Someone had to design new products and ask Orico to manufacture them.

The closest item I could find of them that is similar is this one :

https://www.orico.cc/us/product/detail/3932.html

They added a toggle switch and moved the usb ports to the top instead of the side.

Kind of a lazy design, but still much better than braindead dropshippers who provide nothing good to anyone other than selling cheap garbage for more money than they are worth.

 

Orico is not a bad brand. The products are ok. I doubt you'd have any issues with that item if you were to buy it.

 

 

If you want something from a known reputable brand with more time behind their back, the APC surge protector I posted previously would be good. It's over 2000J, at 2500J. Which is plenty for computer use. APC is a well known and reputable brand.

But again, I doubt you'd go wrong with the Orico made NTONPOWER surge protector if it fits your needs.

[Shoopman]

1 hour ago, TetraSky said:

It sure sounds like it from the name alone, isn't it.

Looking at product reviews, someone posted an image...  

  Hide contents

 

The actual manufacturer is Orico. Orico doesn't sell the exact same product as this one.
I'm guessing they do "custom" products based on their existing line up. Which isn't unusual. This isn't "drop shipping" at the very least.

Someone had to design new products and ask Orico to manufacture them.

The closest item I could find of them that is similar is this one :

https://www.orico.cc/us/product/detail/3932.html

They added a toggle switch and moved the usb ports to the top instead of the side.

Kind of a lazy design, but still much better than braindead dropshippers who provide nothing good to anyone other than selling cheap garbage for more money than they are worth.

 

Orico is not a bad brand. The products are ok. I doubt you'd have any issues with that item if you were to buy it.

 

 

If you want something from a known reputable brand with more time behind their back, the APC surge protector I posted previously would be good. It's over 2000J, at 2500J. Which is plenty for computer use. APC is a well known and reputable brand.

But again, I doubt you'd go wrong with the Orico made NTONPOWER surge protector if it fits your needs.

New lifehack unlocked, thanks for the tip. I'd kind of prefer something smaller tbh, all I need is 4 outlets. I found one that has 1800J of protection, think I could get away with it?

https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/gp/product/B08525D3DR/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A17D2BRD4YMT0X&th=1

[TetraSky]

Eh, that's fine. It's not ideal, but still good enough. I would personally still get the 8 outlets one, since even if the 4 fits your need now... These may change later.

[Shoopman]

Gonna sleep on it. Still deciding if I want to mount it to the underside of my desk or not.

[Alex Atkin UK]

Ultimately the only ones you can probably trust to do their job are ones with connected equipment warranties, as they're not going to want you to need to claim on it.