On November 19, 2004 07:45 pm, Dave Watkins wrote: <snip> > Concerning the use of surge protectors in most cases you get what you pay > for. It's as simple as that. Just for fun one day I hooked a battery > charger to a surge protector and placed a rheostat in line between the > surge protector and a 220 V power supply. I was surprised to see the range > that they would accept without tripping. That increase or decrease in > voltage, known as sags or surges, can cause as much damage to today's > modern systems and the data on them. Today's systems are more delicate due > to the smaller voltages required to operate. During a discussion with the > City of Calgary's Electrical Dept I was told that the voltage provided by > the City can vary by as much as 15% from 110V. I was also surprised to find > out that this variance is "normal" according to the City and within the > contract we all have accepted by using their power. Most surge protectors > do not have the circuitry within to react fast enough to these surges or > sags. Another consideration is the speed which a surge protector will kick > in, sometimes called the clamping voltage. With many of the cheaper units > the damage has been done before the protector realizes there has been a > spike.
On this note, I remember my teacher from back in the day, who has a masters in electronics saying when shopping for a surge protector, don't buy one that simply says '110 volt' on it. That value means little when dealing with AC, as our power actually goes from 170V+ to 170V- at 60Hz. 110V is the RMS value. Instead buy one that protects '170V peak to peak' and you will get better protection. Though with the prices quoted, a UPS sounds like a much better option anyways. <snip> Nick _______________________________________________ clug-talk mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://clug.ca/mailman/listinfo/clug-talk_clug.ca Mailing List Guidelines (http://clug.ca/ml_guidelines.php) **Please remove these lines when replying
