Power Strips

[westom]

Originally Posted By: bmwjohn
... THE RELAY SET IT UP SO IF POWER WENT OFF, your computer did NOT start up automatically, so it did not get in the brownout wave caused by TV, refrigerator, air conditioner, etc. causing a massive voltage surge, etc.

A recommendation based in science and knowledge will provide numbers with every suspicion. Let's include numbers.

Voltage can drop so low that incandescent bulbs dim to as much as 50% intensity. A perfectly good voltage for all electronics. Brownouts created by a TV, refrigerator, etc is hooey.

How often do your bulbs significantly change intensity when any major appliance power cycles? If it happens, defect is not an appliance. That intensity change (dim or brighten) is reporting household wiring problems. Usually a minor problem. In rare cases, intensity changes may be reporting a serious human safety threat.

Meanwhile, that intensity change is routinely made irrelevant by how all electronics work. A computer is happy even when incandescent bulbs dim to 40% intensity. If voltage drops lower, all electronics simply power off - without hardware damage.

That is a brownout - an anomaly that has no relationship to a completely different anomaly - surges. Protectors do nothing (remain inert) until 120 volts rises to well over 330 volts. A brownout is a voltage well below 120 volts. Numbers identifye two unrelated anomalies that belong in separate discussions. Since solutions for each are completely different and unrelated.

 

[sleddriver]

A good ground is indeed important and critical for safety and signal quality. Many cable TV systems had DC voltage on the coax shield. Plugging this into your home system could cause problems as well as a ground loop. Installing a gnd block would prevent this. Adding an isolation transformer as well would electrically isolate your equipment from the cable feed, both protecting it and often times greatly improving your TV picture.

DC and low freq. AC is rather lazy and will look for the shortest, most direct, lowest impedance route possible to complete the ckt. Including you if you're in the way! This is why low-Z grounds are important.

I once worked an installation job in a remodeled house. On my site survey, I checked all the outlets with a tester, then marked them off on the plans. One ckt all had warm neutrals, about 20VAC. I noted this and called the archy who was also acting as the supervisor. He immediately went into a fit. Concerned his project was going to burn down. "No if that was the case it would have already done so. However you need to call your sparky and get it fixed. Evidently he didn't check all of his outlets."

Amazing what you can discover with a simple outlet tester......

Trust, but verify.

 

[westom]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
On my site survey, I checked all the outlets with a tester, then marked them off on the plans. One ckt all had warm neutrals, about 20VAC.

An outlet tester can identify some glaring defects. But it cannot report a circuit properly wired.

Meanwhile, that ground is completely different from the ground that a protector must connect low impedance to. Safety ground in a wall receptacle is not earth ground.

 

[alarmguy]

Me personally,

Cyberpower, Isobar, APC, Belkin. Pretty much in that order. I always shop price but right or wrong in my head, Isobar sets the standard.
I tend to use 2 protectors on anything important. One outlet protector plugged directly into the wall and then a surge strip plugged into that.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: westom
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
On my site survey, I checked all the outlets with a tester, then marked them off on the plans. One ckt all had warm neutrals, about 20VAC.

An outlet tester can identify some glaring defects. But it cannot report a circuit properly wired.

Meanwhile, that ground is completely different from the ground that a protector must connect low impedance to. Safety ground in a wall receptacle is not earth ground.

Not sure which one you're referring to, but the one I use does.

I did state it was the neutral, not green ground. I do understand the difference. I did other measuring tests on this branch to verify the problem, but didn't include that in my post.

 

[westom]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
I did state it was the neutral, not green ground. I do understand the difference.
Again, that ground is completely different from a ground necessary to make a protector effective. Safety ground in a wall receptacle is not earth ground. Neither is a neutral - a third and different wire.

Does not matter what you did. Relevant are concepts: a three outlet tester can imply good wiring. But wiring can be defective; outlet tester implies otherwise.

Again, tester can report some defects. But it cannot say wiring is good. Meanwhile, that green wire safety ground is irrelevant and different from a ground discussed previously and necessary to protect appliances.

Outlet tester does not report what is relevant to this discussion. Obviously earth ground can be completely missing. But that outlet tester could report every receptacle as good.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: westom
Again, that ground is completely different from a ground necessary to make a protector effective. Safety ground in a wall receptacle is not earth ground. Neither is a neutral - a third and different wire.

Does not matter what you did. Relevant are concepts: a three outlet tester can imply good wiring. But wiring can be defective; outlet tester implies otherwise.

Again, tester can report some defects. But it cannot say wiring is good. Meanwhile, that green wire safety ground is irrelevant and different from a ground discussed previously and necessary to protect appliances.

Outlet tester does not report what is relevant to this discussion. Obviously earth ground can be completely missing. But that outlet tester could report every receptacle as good.
What started out as agreement, has since diverged into you repeatedly beating a dead horse westom. Not sure why you persist but the fact remains you do and will continue to do so. Thus, I leave you to argue with yourself.

 

[westom]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
What started out as agreement, has since diverged into you repeatedly beating a dead horse

Yes, relevant and essential is earth ground with low impedance connections. But then discussing a receptacle tester says nothing about low impedance, says nothing about earth ground, and cannot report wiring to any receptacle as good.

A discussion of low impedance and earth ground need not ever discuss that three light receptacle tester.

Protection is about how a current connects to earth. That means all wiring to individual circuits and receptacles is irrelevant. That means connections to earth from each incoming utility (including but not limited to AC electricity) must be low impedance. That means no potentially destructive current is anywhere inside a building. Irrelevant is how wall receptacles are wired and what a three light tester reports.

Why does that cause such distress?