What surge protector power strip?

[kwyn]

I want to be really careful with my gear. Going into the strip would be

 

Nord electro 5d

Viscount Legend Solo

2 EV Zlx12p's

Key Largo Mixer

 

[3rdAct]

I use a Tripp Lite Isobar 4-Outlet unit which I like and that seems to get good reviews. It's very rugged. So far I (thankfully) don't have any evidence it doesn't work well!

[Docbop]

I would get a power conditioner instead of just a surge protector. Power conditioner also cleans up power line noise, nice units are rackmount and some have lights which can be handy if you have other gear in the rack.

 

The old Byte magazine had an good article on how to convert most any power strip to a surge protector, just a three parts to solder in. The internet remembers everything so the article or one like it should be easy to find if you're a DYI type.

 

 

[kwyn]

I would get a power conditioner instead of just a surge protector. Power conditioner also cleans up power line noise, nice units are rackmount and some have lights which can be handy if you have other gear in the rack.

 

The old Byte magazine had an good article on how to convert most any power strip to a surge protector, just a three parts to solder in. The internet remembers everything so the article or one like it should be easy to find if you're a DYI type.

 

 

Any recommendations?

[Docbop]

I would get a power conditioner instead of just a surge protector. Power conditioner also cleans up power line noise, nice units are rackmount and some have lights which can be handy if you have other gear in the rack.

 

The old Byte magazine had an good article on how to convert most any power strip to a surge protector, just a three parts to solder in. The internet remembers everything so the article or one like it should be easy to find if you're a DYI type.

 

 

Any recommendations?

 

I've used Furman a lot at work and at home, they make a lot of configurations depend on the number of outlets you want.

 

https://www.furmanpower.com/

[KeyMoe]

I would get a power conditioner instead of just a surge protector. Power conditioner also cleans up power line noise, nice units are rackmount and some have lights which can be handy if you have other gear in the rack.

 

The old Byte magazine had an good article on how to convert most any power strip to a surge protector, just a three parts to solder in. The internet remembers everything so the article or one like it should be easy to find if you're a DYI type.

 

 

Any recommendations?

 

I've used Furman a lot at work and at home, they make a lot of configurations depend on the number of outlets you want.

 

https://www.furmanpower.com/

. This!!

 

[CEB]

Tripp Lite 900VA UPS Battery Backup, 480W AVR Line Interactive, USB, Ultra-Compact (AVR900U)

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001126QE0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nMRiDbC93S7WW

[MoodyBluesKeys]

Any of a number of the lower power APC UPS units, one side is battery backup, other side of outlets is surge protection. APC also makes quality surge protector strips if you decide to go that way. Never owned a Furman, but from what I head they make a good product.

 

My rig at church is plugged into an APC surge protection strip. I have a second APC surge protection strip that is left plugged into house power (church has had past problems with open neutral resulting in about 200 volts applied, which fried the UPS that was formerly left plugged in all the time so the battery would continue to be charged). In addition, the first UPS mentioned (which powers the gear) is deliberately left unplugged whenever the service is over before I leave.

[rickp]

I used to haul around a Monster HTS 3600 Power Conditioner, then noticed Furman PST-8s being used at a recording studio owned by a guy who is very picky about all aspects of sound production, including power conditioning; he said they equaled his far more expensive rack conditioners, so I made the switch. Very happy with the quality and the portability.

[Pa Gherkin]

Voltage regulation can be important too. I use a Tripp Lite LC 1200 which provides surge and spike protection, EMI supression,RF supression and maintains 120 volts +/- 3 volts or so thus protecting from low voltage brownouts as well as high voltage. It's not a strip but a box about 8" x 8" with 4 outlets. If I need more than 4 outlets I plug a non surge protecting strip into it and plug the lowest draw gear into the strip. It's pretty heavy for its size but I figure the peace of mind is worth it. I have two of them,the older style metal shell and the newer style plastic shell. They both have proven to do exactly what they're supposed to do. A few folks on this forum use them. The last one I bought was under $200.

[nursers]

Has anyone used ART power conditioners etc? I think ART have a good rep overall but interested if anyone is using any of their stuff.

[Steve Nathan]

You may be expecting too much of a typical so-called surge protector power strip. They vary widely in quality and often are nothing more than an insurance policy of a sort. They may offer a guarantee of so many dollars if anything happens to your gear, knowing that the claims are rare, and the cost of paying claims is miniscule compared to the profit on the strip itself.

Go with something serious if you really want to protect your gear.

Furman P-1800

[Delaware Dave]

Voltage regulation can be important too. I use a Tripp Lite LC 1200 which provides surge and spike protection, EMI supression,RF supression and maintains 120 volts +/- 3 volts or so thus protecting from low voltage brownouts as well as high voltage. It's not a strip but a box about 8" x 8" with 4 outlets. If I need more than 4 outlets I plug a non surge protecting strip into it and plug the lowest draw gear into the strip. It's pretty heavy for its size but I figure the peace of mind is worth it. I have two of them,the older style metal shell and the newer style plastic shell. They both have proven to do exactly what they're supposed to do. A few folks on this forum use them. The last one I bought was under $200.

I use the same one. It can be had for far less than $200.

 

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tripp-Lite-LC1200-1-200-Watt-120-Volt-Line-Conditioner-with-4-Outlets-7-Foot-Cord/10730569

 

[hardware]

I use a Tripp Lite Isobar 4-Outlet unit which I like and that seems to get good reviews. It's very rugged. So far I (thankfully) don't have any evidence it doesn't work well!

 

I use 2 x 8s and a SurgeX 1U.

The Tripp Lites when opened up look expensive, copper coils, etc.

Not cheap, but Im not either.

[kwyn]

You may be expecting too much of a typical so-called surge protector power strip. They vary widely in quality and often are nothing more than an insurance policy of a sort. They may offer a guarantee of so many dollars if anything happens to your gear, knowing that the claims are rare, and the cost of paying claims is miniscule compared to the profit on the strip itself.

Go with something serious if you really want to protect your gear.

Furman P-1800

 

Actually, you're right. I'm hoping it will protect my gear, but even more, be willing to replace it if I do suffer a surge. Which ones offer the best "insurance" policy?

[Docbop]

 

Actually, you're right. I'm hoping it will protect my gear, but even more, be willing to replace it if I do suffer a surge. Which ones offer the best "insurance" policy?

 

 

Unless going to a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) it's all about hoping the surge protected power strip/box will be the sacrificial lamb and blow up before a spike gets to your gear. Picking one also involves how easily can it handle the load of the device(s) plugged into it without it's own heat issues.

 

That Tripplite mentioned looks interesting in that its not a UPS, but it protects from brownouts. Brownouts (low power) can do more damage to electronics that spikes. A spike to gear usually blow out a component or board and device shuts down. Sucks but repair typically just the blown part or board rest is good. With low power all the components are at risk because low power mean all the parts are not acting as designed, but still keep trying to work. That why in all my SysAdmin work having USP is key so power going to all those expensive servers is nice and steady even in an outage. I will have enough power to shutdown servers properly if necessary. That is why that Triplite unit looks interesting to me.

 

As for what good it about how we'd say in IT how many levels of Murphy (Law) can you withstand??? The more levels of Murphy you want to survive the more expensive the solution.

[Jazzmammal]

This thread reminded me of something I read a few years ago. Surge protectors do not last longer than a few years because the elements inside of one that does the actual protecting gets worn out every time it handles a surge and we have no way of knowing how many times that's happened or how severe the surge was. This article explains it very well:

 

When to replace your surge protector

 

After I read a similar article a few years ago I bought some new ones and used the old ones as dumb extension cords and I now realize I should do that again. Does this also affect the more expensive power conditioners and UPS battery backup devices? I would say yes because the principle should be the same, every time it handles a surge the protective component gradually wears out which is probably why their warranties are only three years or so. If it handles a large surge then that one time could be it and it's over.

 

Bob

[Jazzmammal]

Well, speak of the devil. I use a several year old Triplite for a portable A/C unit in my outside addition to the house. Lots of glass so in the summer it's hot. This unit has movable air flaps on the top and when you shut it off it goes though a short shut down procedure and the flaps close. I just went out there and no A/C and the flaps were open so I know it simply lost power. After some testing of the outlets its the Triplite, it just suddenly went bad or I just had a bad surge but nothing else seems affected, that room is my office and the computer and printer there are still on and they're plugged into another surge protector. It appears the Triplite simply died, the light doesn't come on and I tried plugging it into another outlet and put a lamp into it and nada.

 

Bob

[Docbop]

Well, speak of the devil. I use a several year old Triplite for a portable A/C unit in my outside addition to the house. Lots of glass so in the summer it's hot. This unit has movable air flaps on the top and when you shut it off it goes though a short shut down procedure and the flaps close. I just went out there and no A/C and the flaps were open so I know it simply lost power. After some testing of the outlets its the Triplite, it just suddenly went bad or I just had a bad surge but nothing else seems affected, that room is my office and the computer and printer there are still on and they're plugged into another surge protector. It appears the Triplite simply died, the light doesn't come on and I tried plugging it into another outlet and put a lamp into it and nada.

 

Bob

 

You need to check the load the Triplite surge protector or any power conditioner, UPS, etc can handle, most are rated for computers, electronics, similar devices not heavy loads. These things aren't one size fits all.

[Jazzmammal]

I found the unit online Here. These specs say 120 volts @ 15 amps, the A/C unit says 115 Volts @ 11.3 amps. Sounds ok to me but it's possible as the A/C cycles it might throw out a momentary higher load. I completely agree in principle, stronger than you think you need is always a good idea. But, since the house wiring is two circuits at 15 amps anyway I don't know if it would make a difference. If I had a sharp sudden load it would just trip my circuit breaker. I don't need the Triplite as a surge protector for the A/C, I was using it as a heavy gauge extension cord because the outlet is too far from the window where the A/C unit is.

 

Bob

[Tom Pass]

Trip Lite for me. Never leave home without it.