Surge Protector Question: Techno Savey People Need Only Reply?

Question

I want to clean up all the cords behind my tv and behind my puter desk .I found this PowerSquid Surge Protector which would make the whole job easier to attach all the cords together with those velcro straps, and asked about it but you know how those guys are at Best Buy and Circuit City, they will try to sell you the most costly stuff.I have no clue on what Joules are and what you really need.Because there are so many cords it would take 2 behind both my tv and computer to plug everything in. What I would be plugging in is (behind TV) the tv, a vcr, stereo/DVD combo thing, my direct tv stuff, the lights on my entertain. center and a lamp .For the puter its, the puter, a lamp, 2 printers, my modem and all the other crap that gets plugged in.Also, once everyting is plugged in I'll end up having 3-4 plugs that won't be used so dividing the heavy stuff between the 2 is not a prob.
Please check it out at bestbuy.com/ item #7705414 and let me know what you think. Thanks so much.

Answer 1

I worked in computer maintenance from the time of vacuum tubes until I retired. Many friends and acquaintances picked my mind about various computer related subjects. Here is what I told them about surge protection:

To buy a really really GOOD suppressor is very expensive. I suggest you decide about how much money you are willing to spend then shop for the fastest suppressor you can get for that money. IMO you are more apt to have small surges than big ones and if the suppressor you buy isn't fast enough to stop them there is no point in having the huge voltage capability.

I hope that makes sense to you. BTW, I don't recommend plugging one suppressor into another one. If you have to do something like that get a simple power strip and plug all the suppressors into it and it into the wall. If you need or want more information contact me through my profile. I will be glad to help if I can.

Answer 2

While you may not be able to completely eliminate the surge (I think that's what gimpalomg is talking about), you can reduce it to where it won't be a major problem with today's technologies.

Joules are watts x seconds or the amount of power for a given time period that you are protected for. For instance, say a 100 W (watt) pulse occurred for 1 second -- that's 100 joules. So is 1000 W for 0.1 sec, etc. So, for a very fast pulse (like microseconds), a surge protector can absorb a lot of power. More is usually better, but this isn't the only thing you need to look at.

Some surge mfg's like to use the joules rating and conveniently ignore other important specs, like the let-through voltage rating. Why is this important? Say the let-through on one model is 85 V and another is 250V. This is over and above the normal voltage. You can see that the first one limits the voltage to less than 2x the original 110V, while the second allows over 3x. Which of those voltages is more likely to blow up your stuff? Number 2, of course.

Since you are using this for your entertainment system, I'd recommend something that also includes protection for the telephone line (your Direct TV coax shouldn't be a problem). If you have a cable modem as well as a phone line for your computer, you should get something that can protect both those lines as well. Why protect the phone and cable lines? They tie directly to your electronics, so if a surge somehow gets on one of those (like when a car hits utility box), they can cook your stuff just as easily.

I like APC (link below), but some others also have good stuff. If you're serious about surge protection, you'll have to spend a little more, but think how much it would cost to replace even one of your electronic items. Think of the protection as insurance instead of just an easier way to plug things in. But, if all you are looking for is a convenient plug organizer, the squid thing will do just fine...