Best Surge Protector?

AdgeAttack · November 12, 2014

What is the best Surge Protector.

Semper · November 12, 2014

The best surge protector? One included in a UPS.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=UPS

AdgeAttack · November 12, 2014

Nice. Thank You for the info. These seem nice. I built a very expensive computer and im looking for good protection.

westom · November 13, 2014

Nice. Thank You for the info. These seem nice. I built a very expensive computer and im looking for good protection.

First indication of a useless answer is no numbers. View numbers to appreciate that so many recommend a UPS only becuase others told them what to believe.

Destructive surges can be hundreds of thousands of joules. An adjacent protector can only absorb or block a surge. How many joules does a power strip claim to absorb? Hundreds? A thousand? IOW it is near zero protection. It absorbs just enough joules to claim it is a surge protector. And too few joules to accomplish effective protection.

View joules numbers for a UPS. These are typically the smallest - a few hundred joules. But again, they are promoting surge protection to the naive - to people who ignore all numbers.

Did you really think an adjacent protector will absorb hundreds of thousands of joules? Did you think its tiny 2 cm protector part with block what three miles of sky could not stop. Again, they are marketing to naive who ignore such numbers. Those protectors only claim to protect from a type of surge already made irrelevant by what is inside all appliances.

Your concern is a type of surge that can actually do damage. That means a solution that says where hundreds of thousands of joules harmlessly dissipate. Since surge protection means nobody even knew a surge existed. Even the protector must not fail.

A completely different device is, unfortunately, also called a surge protector. This is the only solution found in any facility that cannot have damage. This is how it was done even 100 years ago. Since lightning can be 20,000 amps, then a minimal 'whole house' protector is 50,000 amps. And costs about $1 per protected appliance. That superior solution comes from other manufacturers with better integrity. And most important, must make a low impedance (ie 'less than 10 foot') connection to what absorbs hundreds of thousands of joules - single point earth ground.

Your best protection for cable is a wire from that coax cable to earth. Again, low impedance means less than 10 feet, no sharp wire bends and other important characteristics. Than a surge current connects to earth without entering the building. No current in the building means superior protection in all appliances is not overwhelmed.

AC electric cannot connect directly to earth. So we use a 'whole house' protector to do what wire does better. The most improtant component in any surge protection is single point earth ground.