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shopping for Surge Protection

M

Muad"Dib"

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 28, 2005
Messages
115
I am starting to shop for surge protection. I want to spend about $80.00. I guess thats cheap considering it will be covering the $2500.00 in my box. Anyway I have no idea what I'm looking for. So I am looking for ideas of what I should be shopping for. Thanks :cool:
 
If you mean a real UPS (not just some power strip), then anything below about 850VA would probably be too small for a gaming rig. The power in my house is very dirty (window AC units), so I got me a CyberPower 1100AVR since I lost 2 power supplies in the last year. The bigger, the better for a long shutdown time after power loss.


Here is a link to a UPS power requirement calculator.
http://www.csgnetwork.com/upssizecalc.html
 
I have a tripplite surge protector and an ac conditioner, they're very nice and very well built.
 
Ok. I'm getting closer. Im looking at the APC br 1500. It provides 1500va with a surge protection of 420 joules. The money is spendy. 180 dollars plus at the Newwegg. My other consideration is the cyberpower avr 1100. It provides 1100 va with surge protection of 1500 joules. Which #s are more important to me and why. :rolleyes:
 
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=890308

for surge protection Id go w\ Brickwall
http://www2.catalognavigator.com/br...ectors?&plpver=10&forward=1&backtoname=&pane=
http://www2.catalognavigator.com/br...10&origin=&assetid=spec&forward=1&backtoname=
http://www2.catalognavigator.com/br...ectors?&plpver=10&forward=1&backtoname=&pane=


When it comes to UPS Id recommend Liebert or Powerware

there just happen to be 2 Liebert GXT2-1000RT120 up at ebay currently (1KVA)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5202259882&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

those are true double inverter online UPSs and need no further surge protection ;)
(and list for about $700 per)
 
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Muad"Dib" said:
Ok. I'm getting closer. Im looking at the APC br 1500. It provides 1500va with a surge protection of 420 joules. The money is spendy. 180 dollars plus at the Newwegg. My other consideration is the cyberpower avr 1100. It provides 1100 va with surge protection of 1500 joules. Which #s are more important to me and why. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Well, they are both important 1100or 1500 kva is what is available to keep everything running....anything over a 1000 kva for a single computer is probably way overkill, however between 420 and 1500 joules, which is lightning protection, obviously the higher the # the better....so simply based on the #'s the cyberpower is the better rated of the two
 
not to threadjack, but i think i have a question much like the OP.......whats a good surge protecter that the company actualy pays for what is damaged? i herd a few companys dont like paying for whats lost with their protection coverage? i remember someone saying Monster actualy follows through? /shrug/ wondering about that......

soulsaver_8229
 
Monster employs the same surge protection strategy as brickwall, but are extremely expensive
http://brickwall.com/conditn.htm
http://brickwall.com/nofail.htm#form
TESTED TO ONE THOUSAND SURGES OF 6000V, 3000A

We believe that surge protectors should not fail. At the heart of our Series Mode Surge Protector is a massive inductor. This is not a sacrificial component. It will never fail. It will not degrade with use. In fact no component used in the construction of our surge protectors is sacrificial. A Brick Wall Surge Protector will never experience a surge related failure.

You do not have to take our word for it. Consider the following:

* IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) states that 6000V is the largest transient that the interior of a building would experience.
* IEEE defines its harshest interior surge environment as one that could experience 100 surges of 6000V, 3000A in a years time (category B3).
* A new federal guideline recommends that a surge protector utilized in a harsh environment should be capable of withstanding 1000 surges of 6000V, 3000A or ten years worth of IEEE’s category B3.
* UL (Underwriters Laboratories) now provides a new adjunct testing service (in addition to the 1449 safety classification) that will test surge protectors to the 1000 surge, 6000V, 3000A federal protocol.

Early in 1996 1000 surges (at 60 second intervals) of 6000V, 3000A were applied to an off-the-shelf Series Mode Surge Protector.

There was no failure. There was no performance degradation. Let through voltage did not exceed 290V. .

You cannot do any better than this for a building interior surge protector.

Reliability is usually the number one parameter for selecting surge protectors. Unfortunately most of what is available is not very reliable. Surge protectors are notorious for failing.

MOV’s: SACRIFICIAL BY DESIGN
MOV’s are the mainstay component of the surge protector industry. For certain electronic applications they are an excellent choice. For AC power line surge protectors they are not a good choice. MOV’s function by creating a short circuit (usually to the neutral and the ground) when a preset voltage threshold is exceeded. Essentially they divert surge current away from what the surge protector is protecting. Unfortunately MOV’s are sacrificial components. This means that the performance life of any surge protector utilizing this technology is finite. With every surge current diversion above a modest level an MOV comes closer to its inevitable end.

JOULE RATING/SURGE CURRENT LIMITATIONS

The joule rating of any MOV is a measure of the amount of energy it can absorb at one time without failing. With an MOV this level declines with use.
When exceeded it can cause an explosion or a fire. In a harsh, lightning prone environment this limit can easily be reached. The massive inductor used in our Brick Wall Surge Protectors limits current (hence voltage) and has no real world surge current/joule rating limitations. Our surge protectors can withstand the harshest surge environment indefinitely.

THERMAL RUNAWAY (FIRE)

Clamping threshold is the voltage level where the MOV activates. Typically it is set around 220V at 1 milliamp current. With the peak of the sine wave normally at 172V, a surge of only an additional 50V will activate that MOV. Just as repeated usage causes the joule limit of an MOV to drop it can also cause the clamping level to do the same. Eventually the clamping point can fall below the peak of the normal sine wave. In essence the MOV turns on with every cycle of the powerwave and experiences thermal runaway (fire). This characteristic of an MOV made them totally unacceptable to our engineers. Our surge protector products do not utilize MOV’s and have none of their inherent limitations. Brickwall Surge Protectors will not catch on fire.
Click to expand...
 
Alright. I got a Cyberpower avr 1100. Everything is great. On the otherhand I use DSL. I plug my phone line into my UPS and then have the phone line exiting to my DSL modem, from my modem to my Netgear Router. What i have noticed that i have lost some speed now that I am going into the UPS first. Here is my question. Do I need the phone line protected?
 
Ive noticed this too. Apparently the "joules" adds significant resistance to your signal and there's some packet loss.

I also noticed, going through my APC surge strip AFTER the UPS, that my PFC isn't as good as when stuff's plugged directly into the UPS. Go figure. :D
 
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