Line Conditioners

[cjem]

Could anyone tell me if line Conditioners are any good? are they the same as a Surge Protector?

If so what are the better brands out there and how much do they go for?

Thanks,

John

 

[gcmarshall]

surge protection is different than line conditioning. in my opinion, surge protection is vital. additionally, i believe some high quality surge protectors offer some degree of line conditioning, for whatever that's worth. some good names in surge prot are Tripplite, Belkin (PureAV) and ??? i'm drawing a blank. Tripplite is a big name in commercial useages and i've used it for over 18 years to protect a small office of 15+ PC's.

in my opinion, line conditioners are a heck of a lot like undercoating for your new car that the salesmen often try to sell us. cars come from the factory with materials on the underside that are designed to last the life of the car, without any additional undercoating being applied. while additional undercoating probably won't hurt, it is largely a waste of money. that is sort of how i view line conditioners. that being said, there may be unique situations where line conditioners help (perhaps you live in a remote area and the power supplies have large amounts of "line noise"). otherwise, you'll have a hard time convincing me that a line conditioner will do anything for you.

 

[t3031999]

I agree that line conditioners are not necessary in MOST circumstances.

But in my town the power is incredibly unstable and can vary as much as 30 volts, so line conditioners are necessary for any electronic device that needs a semi-constant voltage. I am a huge fan of belkin products, I use them at home. And it's all we trust for power conditioning and battery backup for servers at work.

So if you have power problems, get a (belkin) line conditioner. If you don't have any problems, just get a good surge suppressor.

P.S. I recommend whole house surge suppressors, they work better in "when you really need them" conditions. That way you can avoid power strip dynamic current limitations by plugging an amp or receiver straight into the wall.

 

[zumbo]

This is what I have and where I got it:
http://www.wildwestelectronics.net/ace-315.html

I believe it is a wise investment. I also believe in bi-amping. I also believe in high quality cables. I believe some amps sound better than others. Just so you know a little about me.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Never rely on a surge supressor during a lightening storm. Always unplug your equipment to be safe (including the cable/satellite feed). Here's some good info from "How Stuff Works."

Be sure that the product is listed as a transient voltage surge suppressor. This means that it meets the criteria for UL 1449, UL's minimum performance standard for surge suppressors. There are a lot of power strips listed by UL that have no surge protection components at all. They are listed only for their performance as extension cords.

On a listed surge protector, you should find a couple of ratings. Look for:

Clamping voltage - This tells you what voltage will cause the MOVs (metal oxide varistor) to conduct electricity to the ground line. A lower clamping voltage indicates better protection. There are three levels of protection in the UL rating -- 330 V, 400 V and 500 V. Generally, a clamping voltage more than 400 V is too high.

Energy absorption/dissipation - This rating, given in joules, tells you how much energy the surge protector can absorb before it fails. A higher number indicates greater protection. Look for a protector that is at least rated at 200 to 400 joules. For better protection, look for a rating of 600 joules or more.

Response time - Surge protectors don't kick in immediately; there is a very slight delay as they respond to the power surge. A longer response time tells you that your equipment will be exposed to the surge for a greater amount of time. Look for a surge protector that responds in less than one nanosecond.

You should also look for a protector with an indicator light that tells you if the protection components are functioning. All MOVs will burn out after repeated power surges, but the protector will still function as a power strip. Without an indicator light, you have no way of knowing if your protector is still functioning properly.

 

[zumbo]

Just a piece of the information copied about the Adcom:

Because no sacrificial components such as MOV’s are used, there are no inherent endurance or safety limitations. Instead, Adcom ILS™ Suppressors utilize state-of-the-art surge reactors that are "transparent" to the normal power wave, but act like an open circuit to surge frequencies. Surge energy is instantaneously diverted away from protected equipment, stored temporarily, then slowly released harmlessly into the neutral circuit, leaving the ground wire unaffected. The Series-Mode use of power protection instantaneously reacts to all surges. These surges include very disruptive, high frequency ones that are too fast for active MOV’s to block. Since MOV’s need time to actually turn on when they sense high voltage, their response time is not as quick as the Series-Mode circuitry used in ILS™ technology products. The ILS™ circuits are always on avoiding any possibility of surges being too fast for the circuits to suppress or eliminate the surge.

The Adcom ACE-315 and 615 represent a completely new dimension in total surge suppression efficacy, coax protection, AC line enhancement and safety. They are also, like all our products, precision engineered and quality manufactured to deliver maximum performance, long lasting reliability and, of course, ultimate Adcom value.

The Government’s Highest Rating

Having experienced a rash of very costly suppressor failures, the U.S. Government set about developing a powerline surge suppressor purchase specification that incorporates user requirements and classifies products for:

Endurance (service lifespan)
Performance (degree of protection provided)
Mode of Operation (application)
This specification is now available to everyone and the ILS™ technology utilized in Adcom’s ACE-315 and 615 was the first to receive the U.S. Government’s highest certification, independently verified by Underwriters Laboratories Inc.®:

Grade A Endurance (1,000 surges; 6,000 volts; 3,000 amps per surge)
Class 1 Performance (280 volts measured)
Mode 1 Applications (no ground circuit contamination)
No MOV-based Shunt-Mode suppressor has ever been able to meet all three of these standards.

Clamping Voltage is 172.
Response time is 0 seconds.
The joule rating is UNLIMITED.
http://www.adcom.com/pdfs/ace315manual.pdf