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Surge Suppressors
Originally posted on December
13th, 2001
Don't Boot Up Without It
Without a good quality surge
suppressor, you're taking a fantastic chance that you'll beat
the odds in the electric game of cat and mouse.
Brownouts, blackouts, lightning
strikes, or faulty wiring could send your computer to the repair
shop quicker than you can pull the plug kids.
I personally believe that the
only thing you need to protect your computer system or any other
electrical device for that matter is a good quality surge suppressor.
That being said...
Look for these brands: Surge
Master, Tripp Lite, APC or Belkin. I like the Surge Master the
best. They seem to make them very rugged and come in lengths
of 3' 6' 8' 12' and 14'
When shopping for a good suppressor,
look on the box or on the unit itself for the Underwriters Laboratories
[UL 1449] rating. It's a good indicator that it's going
to perform and meet the claims written on the box. Most suppressors
protect you from low voltage surges but when a major spike (albeit
rare) occurs many fail flat on their faces.
Look for keywords like these
written on the box or on the unit: MOVs, fuses, capacitors, inductors,
discharge tubes and transorbs.
Reading this you might be thinking
of getting a UPS to take the place of a surge suppressor. That
is the worst thing you could do. If you invest in one of these
be prepared to replace the rechargeable battery every 12 to 18
months at a hefty $40 plus shipping. What do you gain by using
a UPS? Same protection as a surge suppressor and about 5 minutes
of time to shut down your computer. That's it. You might also
want to know that you can't plug you entire electrical system
into it either. Just the computer and maybe the monitor. All
those other computer peripherals will not be powered.
So, just get a good surge suppressor.
It's the best bang for your buck.
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