Brick Wall Surge Suppressors/Line Filters

[renegade87]

Does anyone here have any experience/recommendations regarding the Brick Wall line of Surge Suppressors/Line Filters ? Brick Wall Audio

Or, would a whole house (breaker panel mount) system be a better solution (for surge/spike suppression/protection)? If so, what would you recommend?

I have a 100 year old house that I just upgraded to 200 amp service (up from 100 A). I have experienced close lightning strikes and brownouts in the past.

 

[majorloser]

Whole House Surge Suppression Systems

I'm using a whole house surge suppression system. There are many brands available that are installed at the breaker box or at the service entrance. I know in my are the power company also offers one that they install at the meter. The power company then charges a monthly service charge for the unit.

I'm using this to protect the whole house electrical:
http://www.atlanticscientific.com/products/mains/zonesentinel.htm

And these for the satellite and telephone lines:
http://www.atlanticscientific.com/products/networks/zonebarrier.htm

I also use a few APC SmartUPS systems for all of my electronics. they have a very good AVR system along with the UPS.

Here's a link to a previous thread on surge. There's more threads on this, too.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25043&highlight=surge

 

[MDS]

A whole house surge protector is a good idea but has its limitations. Most of them actually have a fairly high let-through voltage and mainly only protect the big motors in your house - like appliances.

You still want point of use surge suppressors for your electronics and a UPS for the computers.

 

[Rickster71]

I have to agree with MDS.
These companies are slick with their warranties. I've installed many whole house surge systems, and installed one on my main panel.
My Square D warranty reads:
The warranty is for $10,000 dollars for "major household appliances".
"It specifically shall Not include electronic devices such as audio and stereo components, televisions, and computers.
No matter what protection I have.
If I'm home during a storm, I unplug whatever I can. Better safe....

Rick

 

[majorloser]

The unit I linked to is an industrial product. Atlantic Scientific manufactures products for industrial, wireless communication and networks systems. Their systems are a little different than the products meant for residential applications from companies like Square D, Allen Bradley and GE. Most of these "home type" products from these three companies are meant to be installed along with or inside the service panel.

I'm a big fan of redundancy. Put surge suppression on anything you don't want to go out and replace tomorrow. Put UPS's with good AVR on any valuable electronic items. Also, most appliances today are completely electronic and cost as much or more than any audio component. I look at it as cheap insurance.

There is one point I'd like to make, though. Any surge suppression system you install in your home is only as good as the ground connections in the house. This includes the small ones you plug into an outlet. The ground connections to the ground rod, water line and panel ground bus need to be kept clean and free of corrosion. You'd be surprised how many homes have faulty grounds or the only ground is through the water line.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I have to agree with MDS.
These companies are slick with their warranties. I've installed many whole house surge systems, and installed one on my main panel.
My Square D warranty reads:
The warranty is for $10,000 dollars for "major household appliances".
"It specifically shall Not include electronic devices such as audio and stereo components, televisions, and computers.
No matter what protection I have.
If I'm home during a storm, I unplug whatever I can. Better safe....

Rick

$10K? That is not much if you have a nice built in refrigerator, 24" deep, etc. A nice front loader washer/dryer.
I bet it also takes over after the home owners policy limit. That is what is on the other electronic surge protectors.

 

[Rickster71]

$10K?
I bet it also takes over after the home owners policy limit. That is what is on the other electronic surge protectors.

Mtrycrafts, that's exactly it!
They pay whatever's left over, not covered by the deductible, up to 10K.
People think 10K is a great deal, until they read the fine print.

 

[renegade87]

Thanks Guys, I appreciate the linkage.

I do have some point of use protection for my HT components (Monster HTS3600MKII). Overpriced, but present. I'm a little wary of pricing of the Brick Wall products. Which is the reason for posing the question in the 1st place. Tough to justify such a purchse that would only protect whichever components that are connected to it (I got a deal on the Monster).

Should the house get hit with a direct lightning strike (which nearly occured this past weekend) I could (would, more than likely) lose everything in the house. I doubt a surge suppressor with a 3000 - 5000 max joule rating would survive a direct lightning strike (I could be wrong here, but I don't think so). Hence the question about the Brick Wall line of products which claim an unlimited joule rating. This may never happen of course.

But an investment of say $200 - $500 in a panel mounted or service line-in solution along with cost effective point of use TrippLite or APC type surge suppressors would seem to me to be an option that would give any homeowner in a similar situation some piece of mind.

As I stated in the original post, the service is 200A (updated in early July - new panel, breakers, service line, 2 eight foot grounding rods...) and the entire 2nd floor has been rewired. All work was done by a licensed electrician. Permits were pulled and inspection was passed by the City.

If the house were to take a direct hit, and all I lost was a panel mounted suppression device (such as the ZoneSentinel) I would be ok with that (provided the cost was not out of control).

Thanks again for the feedback.

I would like to hear from someone who actually has experience with the Brick Wall line. If anybody here has their products...