Surge suppressor/protector issue

[tk808]

Hello,

I have one 15A 6-outlet surge protector that has one non-working outlet, which previously was used for the monitor. It's plugged into a grounded (3-prong) outlet. Could an unstable source of power (fluctuating voltage enough to cause lamps to flicker) cause just one outlet to stop working? The light showing that it's protected is illuminated (granted it's flickering like a flame).

Any insights? Anyone with a similar experience? Thanks in advance.

 

[edfair]

There is nothing short of a broken wire (or connector or innards) that will stop the outlet from working. The protection can quit working, these are devices with a lifespan of a year or so on a normal AC line.
Protection is by temporarily shorting the lines together on high voltage spikes but the short goes away when the spike goes away.


Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[DTSMAN]

Have you opened it up to look inside? If it is one of those staight strips I would be curious why one outlet isn't working since it is a solid piece of copper from end to end, no wiring. Replace it and get something with some name recognition from Best Buy that is designed to be used with critical equipment such as a computer.

Bo

Kentucky phone support-
"Mash the Kentrol key and hit scape."

 

[micker377]

Surge strips are for 600 volts and above. "Flickering" of house lights, are called "brownouts". These are more dangerous to your computer (comes and goes, causes crashes and corrupted files), than a surge (may never happen). A UPS (Uninteruptable Power Source), protects against both. Costs more, but how much is your system and data worth?

 

[tk808]

Interesting. However, I thought that average surge protectors/suppressors protect against both brownouts and surges? Perhaps I was just reading some misleading marketing info.

Can anyone confirm? It seems logical to me that in the event of a brownout, an average suppressor can't provide power when it's not there at the main outlet. . .thus causing flickering of lamps, etc. Ugh, false advertisement.

I have several UPS's in the office and I understand it's the most reliable source of protection. Heavy buggers, too.

 

[DTSMAN]

Surge protectors only protect you against surges. It senses the over voltage and opens the circut. UPS senses voltages withing a certain range and will allow the regulated voltage from the batteries to kick in and run the computer no matter which way the voltage goes. Also UPS's vary in quality of power conditioning and how they do it.

Bo

Kentucky phone support-
"Mash the Kentrol key and hit scape."

 

[edfair]

Surge protectors short out the surge when the voltage reaches about 365 volts. There is no opening of the circuit. You can open one up and see the protectors. Generally red or blue, look like a dime embedded in paint with 2 wires, 1 on each side.

Most small UPS kick in when the voltage supplied dies or drops below a cutoff. The expensive ones do more. The most expensive ones have full time conversion with continuous battery charge.

The real expensive ones require mover's equipment to move. One 1K unit I serviced weighed in excess of 135 pounds, less battery.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.