Cheapest Surge Protector?

I'm in the market for a cheap yet good surge protector. I'm lenient with pricing so just offer suggestions please

Also, is this a good deal :
http://www.thesource.ca/estore/prod...line&category=SurgeProtectors&product=6118720

 

That looks like just a power strip with a built-in circuit breaker.

 

You can get a good surge protector for under $50. But I'd be cautious to spend less than that, since when you go too cheap you tend to get what you pay for. In the event of a power spike, you want real protection.

p.s. I meant to get mine two months ago but missed the sale ($42). I'm holding out for it to come around again, but I try to be extra cautious in the mean time.

 

remember too that surge protectors don't last forever. Their internal components, the ones that actually protect you from surges, weaken and wear out. Sometimes all it takes is one good zap and your 'surge protector' is now a power strip.

 

How can I know when this has happened ?

 

Some have a little fuse in them, you could check that.

 

The thing is that you don't. Once it is used up, it's used up, but there is no altered functionality.

 

Some have a warning light that goes off (or turns on) if the fuse is blown. Others won't transmit power if the fuse is blown or until the reset switch is hit.

The cheapest ones don't do either.

 

Correct. That's one of the biggest differences between a cheap surge protector and a better one. When you pay more money you not only get better components, you typically get superior monitoring technology as well. In can be as simple as an LED or as complex as a computer printout.

In fact, some from APC (and others) are quite advanced in this. Many will give you a computer reading on how well your protector is keeping your electronics safe.

As has already been stated (but can't be stressed enough) once your surge protector take a hit, it's toast...in most cases. The more advanced ones--and expensive--can be reset. But that depends on the level and intensity of the charge it takes. The good news is, you can protect many electronic devices with one surge protector.

 

And, if you own your home, it's trivial to install a whole-house surge protection system. Costs approx $200 installed, goes right into the main circuit breaker panel.

Take inventory of all of the electronics in the house. Don't forget the control boards in all of the appliances. Add up the cost. Now add up the cost of buying $50 (or more) surge strips for all of your electronics.

$200 for industrial-strength whole-house protection is cheap.

 

A quick add-on to that - NEVER daisy chain power strips, surge protectors, or UPS devices unless they're specifically designed for it. Buy a 12 or 16 outlet surge protector. Never hook two cheaper 6/8-outlet strips together.

In the case of surge protectors and power strips, the simple version is that you'll only get the protection for the weakest surge protector in the link for anything connected through it. They're designed to output an expected current (15A, i think) over the outlets in the strip itself. Once it's overloaded (everything plugged in and turned on) the fuse will blow. With cheaper ones, nothing will trip, you'll never know it's gone, and the other devices on that blown strip will be unprotected. If it's just a strip without a breaker/fuse, you're likely to start a fire or at least melt down the strip.

In the case of UPS, it'll place a huge load on the outlet-side UPS and little to none on the device-side UPS. It's also likely to burn out just like the surge protector. If a power failure occurs, the UPS will put out a sine wave current that will in turn trip the next UPS (sine waves can sometimes be read as spikes and sags)

On top of all that, any warranty that comes with the UPS or surge protector or your device will mean bubkus. There are specific instructions not to do that on all of them.