My power conditioners bricked!

[Rip City Dave]

Well, we had a brief flicker of the lights during a snow and ice storm.

Of course, it happened with my audio system on.

In my two-channel system, it took out a Panamax 4310, but left my Panamax 5100EX operational (I use two in my systems). In my home theater system downstairs, it took out my Adcom ACE 515 and another Panamax 4310! One event, three line conditioners!!!

I am assuming it was a surge, but our house is protected with a whole-house surge protector. Could it be an in-house surge caused by HVAC or dryer or other appliances? Is it worth it to fix these things?

 

[Irvrobinson]

Well, we had a brief flicker of the lights during a snow and ice storm.

Of course, it happened with my audio system on.

In my two-channel system, it took out a Panamax 4310, but left my Panamax 5100EX operational (I use two in my systems). In my home theater system downstairs, it took out my Adcom ACE 515 and another Panamax 4310! One event, three line conditioners!!!

I am assuming it was a surge, but our house is protected with a whole-house surge protector. Could it be an in-house surge caused by HVAC or dryer or other appliances? Is it worth it to fix these things?

Many older whole-house surge protectors have long clamping latencies. Do you know which model you have?

 

[Pogre]

Why are you even using power conditioners? Do you live in an area with sketchy power fluctuations and problems? I'd say 99% of the time power conditioners are completely unnecessary.

 

[highfigh]

Well, we had a brief flicker of the lights during a snow and ice storm.

Of course, it happened with my audio system on.

In my two-channel system, it took out a Panamax 4310, but left my Panamax 5100EX operational (I use two in my systems). In my home theater system downstairs, it took out my Adcom ACE 515 and another Panamax 4310! One event, three line conditioners!!!

I am assuming it was a surge, but our house is protected with a whole-house surge protector. Could it be an in-house surge caused by HVAC or dryer or other appliances? Is it worth it to fix these things?

Read the manual, for warranty information.

Why are you using two Panamax in one system? You should need one that can handle the loads. Use a non-suppressing power strip for the small loads.

Best practice-

Use whole-house protection or a panel-mounted device for the AV/network circuits and remotely located protection for surge sources in the house, like the ones you mentioned. Motors, relays and switches cause surges and spikes, too- these can be negative or positive.

Does your whole-house protection have status lights? How old is it?

Read its warranty/coverage info, too.

Also, have the power company check the connectors where their cables meet yours- I have seen houses where the anti-corrosion compound dried out and water entered, causing dimming when the Fridge or furnace kicked in.

 

[highfigh]

Why are you even using power conditioners? Do you live in an area with sketchy power fluctuations and problems? I'd say 99% of the time power conditioners are completely unnecessary.

The neutral could have lifted because of snow or ice- even if it's temporary, it's bad.

 

[Rip City Dave]

Why are you even using power conditioners? Do you live in an area with sketchy power fluctuations and problems? I'd say 99% of the time power conditioners are completely unnecessary.

I don't believe in power conditioners per se, but I used them mainly for surge protection and the 12V trigger. One button, everything on.

 

[TLS Guy]

I don't believe in power conditioners per se, but I used them mainly for surge protection and the 12V trigger. One button, everything on.

Those power conditioners almost certainly protected your equipment. It likely used some type of very low latency SCR type circuit, rather than the slower thyristor or MOV types. I suspect repair of those units is pretty simple. There are probably blown fuses inside. In addition to replacing the fuses the actual protective devices need replacing. This should not be complicated. You always replace any actual protective devices after an event like that. I think those devices did what they are supposed to do, and you should be glad you had them.

I use UPS units and whole house surge protection. UPS units disconnect from the grid fast, as they have a battery which will activate in the event power is unstable and reconnect when stability returns. For periods when the power is unstable, or likely the be the ultimate protection is a whole house generator. I go off grid in times if unstable power.

With the rise of renewable energy, and the increasing lack of stable base power generation, all homes are going to require standby power in my view. What is happening in Texas now and across the midwest is a wake up, and a warning of worse things to come.

 

[Rip City Dave]

Many older whole-house surge protectors have long clamping latencies. Do you know which model you have?

I have an Eaton SurgeTrap CHSP ULTRA.

 

[Rip City Dave]

Those power conditioners almost certainly protected your equipment. It likely used some type of very low latency SCR type circuit, rather than the slower thyristor or MOV types. I suspect repair of those units is pretty simple. There are probably blown fuses inside. In addition to replacing the fuses the actual protective devices need replacing. This should not be complicated. You always replace any actual protective devices after an event like that. I think those devices did what they are supposed to do, and you should be glad you had them.

I use UPS units and whole house surge protection. UPS units disconnect from the grid fast, as they have a battery which will activate in the event power is unstable and reconnect when stability returns. For periods when the power is unstable, or likely the be the ultimate protection is a whole house generator. I go off grid in times if unstable power.

With the rise of renewable energy, and the increasing lack of stable base power generation, all homes are going to require standby power in my view. What is happening in Texas now and across the midwest is a wake up, and a warning of worse things to come.

Thanks for your advice.

My Adcom had intact internal fuses. Adcom tech support recommended replacement. The Panamax units had no MOVs that appeared to be melted or burned. Could they fail and look normal?

I guess my line conditioners/surge protectors need surge protectors because they ain't cheap.

 

[highfigh]

Thanks for your advice.

My Adcom had intact internal fuses. Adcom tech support recommended replacement. The Panamax units had no MOVs that appeared to be melted or burned. Could they fail and look normal?

I guess my line conditioners/surge protectors need surge protectors because they ain't cheap.

Read the manuals and look for some reference to 'sacrificial devices'. If it shows that, it means the surge(s) kill the protection, not your other equipment. If you can't find it, call Panamax tech support and explain what happened, but make sure to read the requirements WRT connections, minimum distance from the protection to the breaker panel (yeah, it's in the manual- I looked) and grounding requirements. If a cheater plug was used, these can't work and any warranty/coverage from the manufacturer won't be enforced.

Surge protectors aren't cheap, but they're less expensive than the equipment they protect. Look at it as if they took a bullet for the audio gear.

Yes, they can fail and look normal. MOVs also have a finite lifespan.