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cameron paterson

Audioholic Chief
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Power conditioners and surge protectors are different things.

For decent Surge Protectors /Power Strips, look at APC and TrippLite.

Unless you live somewhere with seriously wonky power, you should have no reason for a power conditioner.
 
-Jim-

-Jim-

Audioholic General
For Surge Protection I think it's better to get whole house protection, and install a surge protection breaker into the panel in your home. Check out Amazon or you Big Box home improvement center.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
For Surge Protection I think it's better to get whole house protection, and install a surge protection breaker into the panel in your home. Check out Amazon or you Big Box home improvement center.
This is definitely the best approach, but requires an electrician... depending on where you live, probably $400-500 installed, based on numbers I've seen from a few people.

Short of that, buy the best surge protector you can... keeping in mind that the likelihood of it actually protecting your gear from a lightning strike is pretty much nil. Facing a severe storm, your best defense is to shut things off and unplug them.
 
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cameron paterson

Audioholic Chief
So how does someone go about setting up a surge protection breaker into my panel in my home?
 
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cameron paterson

Audioholic Chief
I don't want to spend $400.
WIll this work


Or do I need a better quality Tripp Lite?

Also I have a Crown XLS 2500 amp running off its own outlet that has its own breaker but no surge protector... Can I get just a single outlet protector like this?

 
-Jim-

-Jim-

Audioholic General
So how does someone go about setting up a surge protection breaker into my panel in my home?
Gents,

FYI - I am a Licensed Electrician. This is one of the easiest installs to do yourself, and that's why your local Home Depot has them. Most Surge Protection Breakers (SPDs) are installed into existing houses by the Homeowner without permits - but ask for any restrictions on that by you local jurisdiction or even the local hardware store should know. (There are none here where I live.)

Here's a couple of videos for reference but I recommend you turn off the main breaker before even opening it up (safety first!). They are not perfect but they show how simple this is.


 
Teetertotter?

Teetertotter?

Senior Audioholic
I have several surge protectors in 4 different rooms over the years. My current ones are 15 years old and 3000+ jules. We have had numerous power failures along with quick flicker surges. We have 3 TV's, 4 laptops, and 3 cable boxes.......etc.. There have been 2 transformers struck by lightening, one of which, effected our house at 10p.

I don't need an UPS unit to have one TV and a laptop working for an hour or so. Surge Protectors have worked for me in our highly volatile storm area.
 
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cameron paterson

Audioholic Chief
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
My current ones are 15 years old
Surge protection degrades over time. It is often cited that you should replace them every 3-5 yrs.

As a side note, this is true for whole-home protection as well.

@cameron paterson
The best thing you can do is add up the current being drawn by the devices you want to plug in, then choose the power strip that will satisfy those requirements. If its all stuff that will be in use at the same time, especially, you need to be careful.
Most standard home outlets and the wiring behind them are rated for 15 Amps. If the circuit breaker associated with that outlet is also rated for 15 Amps, it can safely handle a continuous 12 Amp draw. Spikes above that level won't necessarily trip the breaker unless the current persists for a few seconds.
This is just to remind you that you need to pay attention to what you are hooking up and how. :)
 
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cameron paterson

Audioholic Chief
With my current cheap surge protectors I have a lot of stuff plugged into them and no tripped breaker yet. Should I buy the surge protectors I mentioned above? Especially the single one for my Crown amp. I have a nice extension cord going to the Crown XLS 2500. Should I put the single surge protector on the outlet for the extension cord. This amp has its very own breaker from where the ext. cord is plugged in.
 
Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
With my current cheap surge protectors I have a lot of stuff plugged into them and no tripped breaker yet. Should I buy the surge protectors I mentioned above? Especially the single one for my Crown amp. I have a nice extension cord going to the Crown XLS 2500. Should I put the single surge protector on the outlet for the extension cord. This amp has its very own breaker from where the ext. cord is plugged in.
Keep the rating in joules in mind. (Ah, I see Teetertotter beat me to it.) The single outlet one is only rated at 660 joules while the power strip is rated at 2160 joules, so they don't offer the same amount of protection.
 
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cameron paterson

Audioholic Chief
I read that Teetertotter. Thank you for that! So would this Belkin protector work well it has 4320 joules.

 
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lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
What brought this "need" on? Why do you think the Crown needs help?
 
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cameron paterson

Audioholic Chief
Well the crown is plugged straight into the wall via a heavy duty extension cord. So would a little single outlet one with 660 joules protect my Crown amp? I don't want to spend 40 bucks for just one outlet needed. Or would the small single outlet not give the amp its full power? Just asking.... I have no clue.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Well the crown is plugged straight into the wall via a heavy duty extension cord. So would a little single outlet one with 660 joules protect my Crown amp? I don't want to spend 40 bucks for just one outlet needed. Or would the small single outlet not give the amp its full power? Just asking.... I have no clue.
Why do you think the Crown would need any help in the first place?
 
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