Jorge Almeida wrote: > On Sun, Sep 26, 2021 at 6:24 PM antlists <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello, Wol and Dale >> When you rebuild it, get a surge protector and then put a UPS behind >> that ... snag is that's all extra expense :-( >> > Surge protectors: I googled it and mostly got bad reviews. Do they > _really_work? What would you recommend? It probably should be > something amazon-purchasable! Availability in my country is probably > limited (and overpriced to boot, I bet). > > UPS: never gave it serious thought, I had the impression there was too > much unclear stuff: for example, is it noisy (does it need a fan)? If > (when) some component needs replacement will I know it before > disaster? And does the replacement require a "qualified technician"? ( > Dale's description is not very reassuring!) > > Note that my lightning problem happened at night with both computer > and monitor powered down (but still connected to a wall outlet through > an interrupted extension; hence the "not-so-smart" self-qualifying...) > > Thanks for your suggestions > > Jorge > >
I had lightening strike right down the road, about 1,000 feet as a bird flies. It took out some stuff at my neighbors, including a freezer which died a month later. It even blew light bulbs, I mean literally blew them. They exploded and glass went all over the room. I suggested surge protection for their computer, TV and such a while before that. Even with a virtually direct hit, the surge protectors kept working. Not long after that, they wanted a UPS for their computer but also wanted one for the TV, since the dish box takes a while to reload after the power blinks. So I helped them pick a fair sized UPS for the puter and a smaller one for the TV. The puter runs long enough to shutdown normally and the TV is protected for those little blinks in power that last just long enough to reset everything. One way to pick a decent surge device, look at the warranty. If it includes paying for items plugged in, then you're off to a good start at least. I just try to get as high a joule rating as I can. The reason for that, they can absorb more than one hit and still protect. While one large hit can disable protection, it can take out hundreds of smaller hits and still work. It all comes down to the quality of the MOVs and the design of the protector. If you use Amazon: APC, Belkin and Tripp Lite are some brands I've heard or seen are good. I've used a couple of those brands myself. I've always heard that the Monster brand is also good but a bit pricey. When I researched them long ago, they are some heavy duty built products so if a person has some serious power problems, they may be well worth the expense. I bought some on ebay that were Etekcity brand but it seems they no longer make them. I bought some that had a little over 5,000 joules of protection. The only thing I didn't like, if power fails, it stays off. It doesn't have a hardware switch but a circuit switch that resets on power loss. That can be a good thing in some situations but I don't like it. They are good protectors tho. Hope that info helps. Also hope you can find something to prevent future problems. Dale :-) :-)
