Re: Battery backup surge protection for Pio plasma ?'s
- From: "w_tom" <w_tom1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 30 May 2006 08:39:30 -0700
First - a protector does nothing - is an open circuit - until voltage
exceeds its design value. Look for a let-through voltage. Typically
that is 330 volts for a 120 volt protector. That means a protector
does nothing - remains an open circuit just like an open or
disconnected switch - until 120 volts exceeds 330 volts. So what does
that do when AC power stops? Nothing. But then profit margins are so
large that a salesman (who have not a clue as to how electricity works)
will promote them.
Second - when electricity goes off - either by power switch, by
plug-in removal, or by electric utility shutoff - the appliance sees it
same. Appliances don't 'prepare' to be powered off. Suddenly power is
lost and appliance is not damaged.
Third - same protector circuit in a UPS is also found in that Monster
Cable protector. Such circuits are ineffective for transient
protection. Do they somehow filter or absorb transients? That
assumption is what promotes them. Look at point one above. They are
open circuits until voltage becomes excessive. So what is it doing
between electronics and AC mains? Electrically, a protector does not
sit between appliance and AC mains. They hope you will *assume* rather
than learn the appliance connects directly to AC electric wire; only a
15 amp fuse intervenes.
An effective protector connects transients to earth ground. But if
using plug-in protectors, then earth ground is too far away - all but
does not exist. What does that Monster Cable and UPS manufacturer
therefore never discuss? Earthing. If you learned about important
earthing, then you might instead buy an effective protection from more
responsible manufacturers such as Square D, Intermatic, Leviton,
Siemens, GE, or Cutler-Hammer. One 'whole house' protector with the
dedicated (and less than 10 foot) connection to earth ground does
effective protection.
Anything at an appliance that will protect that appliance is already
inside that appliance. Internal protection that assumes destructive
transients has been earthed before entering a building. If earthed at
the service entrance, then typically destructive transients don't
overwhelm protection inside that big screen TV. Internal protection
assumes you have provided the telephone, cable TV, and AC electric with
a superior earth ground before those utilities were installed.
Earthing - not a protector - is protection. The protector is only as
effective as its earthing electrode. 'Whole house' protector is not
just more effective. It also costs on the order of tens of times less
money per protected appliance.
Makes no difference whether incoming utilities are underground or
overhead. Both wires can carry transients destructively through
household electronics. Notice the transient does not crash upon
appliances like waves on a beach. The destructive transient seeks
earth ground either via a 'whole house' protector OR via household
appliances. Hypsters who understand commissions will instead promote
plug-in protectors for virtually anything. They don't understand
what destructive transients seek: earth.
Is that plug-in protector "quality" or just some overhyped name? A
protector without that short ('less than 10 foot') connection to earth
is not effective. A plug-in protector has a dedicated wire to earth
ground? Of course not. So its manufacturer hopes you never learn
about earthing. They hope you assume power loss (low voltage) is a
power surge (high voltage). A protector is only as effective as its
earth ground. Effective 'whole house' protector available in
Lowes, Home Depot, and electrical supply houses. Ineffective and
overhyped protectors plug into a wall receptacle. "Quality" plug-in
protectors are promoted by same myths that also promote products from
Monster Cable.
..
jst wrote:
After yesterdays storms rolled through and the lightning flickered the
power and shut off the tv a couple of times I quickly unplugged the tv.
(Pioneer 4350 ) I also live in an older established neighborhood with
lots of trees and squirrels and the squirrels chew on the power lines
and fry themselves and that trips the transformer breaker and shuts the
power off. I have battery backups on all of my computers in the house
and they work flawlessly and I never even know that the power went off.
Sooooooo I stopped in at the local Best Buy and talked to the TV guys
and the young man tried to tell me that a battery back up might work on
a plasma but it might overload the tv and I would need to plug it in to
a MONSTER surge protector priced @ $149 , $199 & $299 to protect the
whole system. It sounded like a bunch of crap to me and I told him that
the battery back up had a surge protector built in but he said it would
not matter and tried to baffle me with tech jargon. When I asked him if
this was the same difference as the $59 HDMI cable they wanted to sell
me and the $20 one I bought after advice from this group he relented
some and said he really wasnt sure.
Would the battery back up be a good idea and could it overload the tv ??
.
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