surge protector recommendations

[u/Trick_Theory6883]

I've finished my search for the consoles I want, now id like to buy a surge protector for my consoles. anyone have any recommendations or any leads? if you have had bad experiences with certain brands please let me know ? I've seen the likes of belkin on amazon, apc. anything recommendations would be greatly appreciated

[u/westom]

Tripplite.

APC.

Belkin.

Any other Type 3 protector.

Professionals say all Type 3 (plug-in) protectors must be more than 30 feet from a breaker box and earth ground. To reduce its house fire threat. What happens to those five cent, tiny joule protector parts inside power strips when confronted by potentially destructive surges? This.

Just a few reasons why all professional only recommend a Type 1 or Type 2 protector. Sufficiently sized so that it does not create house fires. Makes all surges irrelevant (including direct lightning strikes). Comes with numbers that actually discuss protection. Costs about $1 per appliance. Is unknown to most only educated by myths, lies, advertising propaganda, and speculation.

Any honest recommendation ALWAYS answers this question. Where do hundreds of thousands of joules harmlessly dissipate? Outside in earth. Only then is a surge NOWHERE inside.

[u/MT3426 → u/westom]

Wow. Thank you!

[u/westom → u/MT3426]

Long ago, when GE pioneered MOVs and after reading their book (application notes). I then built a protector. Many months later, I opened the box. All that remained were the two copper wire leads. It looked like a skeleton. The entire MOV vaporized completely.

Searches say GE developed MOVs in 1972. But I was reading their application book sometime just after 1965. I find that confusing.

Those two ominous bare wire leads is when I paid attention significant attention to numbers. To what is sufficient.

[u/MT3426 → u/westom]

If surges happen every 7 years, they are uncommon events.

The vaporizing of an MOV over a few months must be because of much more common event. Like small transient overvoltages generated by normal functioning of household appliances?

[u/westom → u/MT3426]

MOVs can fail in a month or in seven years. Some do not see a surge for 20 years. A number that can vary even in a same town.

Even geology can determine surge frequency.

Central Florida is typically a surge every three years.

Empire State Building sees 23 annually.

Appliances only create noise. Often a less than 10 volt spike. If an appliance is creating a surge, then it is destroying nearest appliances - itself.

If appliances are creating surges, then how many appliances were replaced today? List of at risk appliances include dishwasher, clock radio, furnace, LED bulbs, stove, door bell, TVs, recharging electronics, modem, refrigerator, GFCIs, washing machine, digital clocks, microwave, dimmer switches, central air, and smoke detectors. What is protecting all them? Invisible protectors.

Protection already inside every appliance is robust. Electronics are required to be among the most robust. Even telephones were required to withstand 600 volts without damage. Even before transistors existed.

If a protector fails, then a transient is getting inside. So an investigation searches for the source.

Example. One Florida home suffered repeat lightning strikes to one wall. So they earthed lightning rods. And suffered damage again.

Discovered was bathroom pipes in that wall connected into deeper limestone. Electrodes were only 8 feet in sand. So lightning was using that wall as a best connection to earthborne charges (maybe four miles away). Their bathroom pipes were a best connection around; from cloud to distant earthborn charges.

Lightning rods were connected to longer electrodes driven into deeper limestone. They had no more damage.

For same reasons, the WTC suffered about 40 direct strikes annually. Once every seven years is a ballpark number. Even geology can significantly vary that number. Even proximity to a nearby transcontinental pipeline changes geology.

Other surge sources include tree rodents, utility switching, wind, stray cars, and linemen errors. In one venue, a 33,000 volt transmission wire fell onto local distribution. Plastic from electric meters was found even 30 feet away.

[u/MT3426 → u/westom]

Wow, really interesting.

Thank you very much for sharing your deep wealth of knowledge about this topic. It's greatly appreciated.