I have a 13 year old Santa Fe. Question, is there any downside to plugging it into a good quality surge protector like a Belkin ? I know some equipment have issues with that. Thank you for any help.
John
John
Surge Protectors
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If equipment has issues with a good quality surge suppressor, there is something wrong with the equipment. A surge suppressor acts like an incredibly fast switch that is on all the time, if there is a surge, the switch sends excess voltage to ground.
Just wasn't sure if its a good idea to plug a pellet stove into one, or just go straight to the wall with it.
A surge protector is definitely recomended on any electronic appliance. Pellet stoves do seem to have a fair share of board failures from surges.
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
Have had my P61A plugged into a Ttip-Lite protector( before outlet) for years. Have had some power outtages over the years and no problems. It's not the power outtage that can cause harm. It's the power returning surge that can cause issues. One such time took out my fridge.. got 1000.00 back in damages from Electric company. Pellet stove was un- harmed. Cant put surge protectector on at fridge outlet due to if for some reason the protector trips say while you are away the fridge will be off. Not to get long winded here but anytime power goes out here we shut the fridge breaker OFF at the panel box until power is back and has been stabile for 20 minutes or so. Fridge got killed when power came back on and surged then went off again till it came back on for good 10 minutes later.
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ABusWrench
Feeling the Heat
Won't run mine without one! Several good companies out there making them. APC, Belkin, Cyberpower and Tripp Lite to name a few.
I use them on my pellet stove & on all my electronics, TV, music system, along with one on the panel box... Too many power surges over the years...I've had outlets spark, power adapters (wall worts) blow up, arcing panel box, burnt power strips , fried surge protectors doing their job
A good quality surge protector does not usually trip due to a surge. A surge is a voltage related event. If its a typical utility surge, the voltage coming into the house increases. Circuits and wire insulation is only built for a certain voltage, if it exceeds the design voltage, the voltage can jump across gaps and components and fry things. A circuit breaker on the other hand controls amperage. It protects the wires going to the equipment from overheating and starting a fire. Power in a powerline is "lazy" it is always trying to find the fastest way back to ground so a surge will find the weakest circuit and find a way to ground. Talk to anyone who has had surge event and most likely they only lost certain items that were powered on 24/7. If a surge comes into the house and has found the fastest way to ground, by that time the equipment is cooked but the second thing that happens is that the newly created ground starts to draw more and more power and in that case the circuit breaker will trip due to high current, this is a short circuit. Most power strips will have some basic components to stop a minimal surge but you get what you pay for. The cheaper the strip, the less chance it will hold up to a big surge. If someone is lucky, it just burns out the surge devices and it stops working, unlucky and they are buying a board. In some cases, the surge components will have a higher than desired clamp voltage. In that case, the power strip will survive a minor surge but the equipment protected may not.
The most common surge protector is a MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor), it always passes current until it doesnt. In most cases when it fails it still passes current but it no longer is capable of dealing with excess voltage. There is usually an LED on the strip that indicates that the protector is still working, once it stops it effectively become and expensive electric cord.
The big BTW is, A SURGE SUPPRESSOR IS NOT DESIGNED TO SURVIVE A DIRECT LIGHTING STRIKE, THAT IS WHAT INSURANCE IS FOR. Most strikes are indirect coming in via utility lines and a proper surge suppressor with a good house ground will probably survive a hit. Surges dont just form due to lightning, neighbors and utility line issues.
They do not use power when operating so a lot of folks have a good whole house suppressor on the panel and individual suppressors on critical stuff like Solar Inverters.
The most common surge protector is a MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor), it always passes current until it doesnt. In most cases when it fails it still passes current but it no longer is capable of dealing with excess voltage. There is usually an LED on the strip that indicates that the protector is still working, once it stops it effectively become and expensive electric cord.
The big BTW is, A SURGE SUPPRESSOR IS NOT DESIGNED TO SURVIVE A DIRECT LIGHTING STRIKE, THAT IS WHAT INSURANCE IS FOR. Most strikes are indirect coming in via utility lines and a proper surge suppressor with a good house ground will probably survive a hit. Surges dont just form due to lightning, neighbors and utility line issues.
They do not use power when operating so a lot of folks have a good whole house suppressor on the panel and individual suppressors on critical stuff like Solar Inverters.
The other side of this is garbage ( noise, spikes) poor control of the sinewave by the utility. This destroys more equipment than any thing else. it is slow additive damage to solid state devices. it doesn't help that mfgs choose to ignore this in their power supply construction. if you have ever seen a trace of the power coming into your home- it looks like the rocky mountains skyline instead of nice smooth rolling hills. About the equivilent of a 2000 rounds per minute minigun aimed at your equipment.
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
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