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| A question about surge protectors |
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| mcseforsale:
Yeah. I got it free. I also get monitors and PCs (albeit old ones). I want to do a whole house one for sure. AJ |
| drventure:
I had a whole house suppressor installed when we moved in. It was fried as well by the strike, when I called them, they pointed to some VERY suspect legalese in the warranty on the unit to get out of paying ANYTHING under warranty! I was pretty steamed. I probably could have sued, but, meh. I yanked that unit and put another in with a much more clear cut warranty writeup. And it's supposedly a better unit. It's the cutler hammer CHSP Micro. Hopefully, I won't have to find out if it works or not |
| mcseforsale:
This? http://www.amazon.com/Eaton-Cutler-Hammer-Whole-Protector-CHSPMICRO/dp/B0039ZBW50 If I may ask...would you consider it a DIY? I'm reasonably proficient around the fusebox, having put in a circuit or two, but I'm just wondering if the warranty is nil if I put it in myself.. AJ --- Quote from: drventure on April 27, 2012, 06:28:40 pm ---I had a whole house suppressor installed when we moved in. It was fried as well by the strike, when I called them, they pointed to some VERY suspect legalese in the warranty on the unit to get out of paying ANYTHING under warranty! I was pretty steamed. I probably could have sued, but, meh. I yanked that unit and put another in with a much more clear cut warranty writeup. And it's supposedly a better unit. It's the cutler hammer CHSP Micro. Hopefully, I won't have to find out if it works or not --- End quote --- |
| drventure:
That's the one. Wouldn't know about DIY and the warranty. I had an electrician put it in. Guy was either +really+ experienced or nuts, popped the breaker box cover off, and was fishing around in the 220v side bare handed! I think it ran 150$ installed. Somewhere in that neighborhood anyway. I watched him install it. Really straightforward install as I recall. |
| MonMotha:
I hot wire breaker panels all the time. It's all about knowing what's live and what isn't. I don't recommend it, though :) (I kill the main when possible, and I really like having a separate disconnect to deaden the whole panel). If you want a really good surge suppressor, I like the Tripp-Lite ISOBAR series. They're not cheap, but they're very, very good. They have the advantage of isolated filter banks, which is handy if you've got e.g. audio equipment with a linear supply that benefits from being separately filtered from your computer equipment. They even have a freaking metal case. They're darn near indestructible (universe inventing better destructors notwithstanding). These are often what you get when you let an EE spec a "small" surge suppressor. The Tripp-Lite "Super 7" is surprisingly good for its price, too, and is a more traditional "power strip". Their warranty is pretty good, but I've never needed to make a claim on it. I'm also not fond of APC branded products, but for technical reasons. I've never personally had to make a claim on their warranty, but some people I know have experienced similar levels of "beating 'round the bush" to get their money out of them. The whole house jobs are usually REALLY good. As long as that suppressor is between your equipment and the surge, it'll do something about it, and the whole house ones have the benefit of being able to be BIG. My preference is to install them right on the main utility feed before the main panel, for which that disconnect I mentioned above is nice, but a ~60-80A breaker and some ~AWG4 wire is a pretty decent alternative. I would NOT classify this as a DIY job, even for someone fairly experienced. To get the warranty, you'll generally need it to be installed by a "licensed electrician", anyway (not that those exist around this part of the woods). A lot of utility companies offer then for a flat monthly fee. The break-even is typically only a year or two versus buying it outright, but then the utility handles installation, maintenance, etc. Just watch out for weasily warranty terms. I would still use decent point-of-use surge suppressors even in the presence of a whole-premises unit. Shouldn't hurt and may save you in the event of a really big nasty like a nearly direct lightning strike. |
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