The Season for needing Surge Protectors and Interference Filters is upon us.

Plug-in surge protectors are essentially worthless -- only whole-house protectors located in the main distribution panel are of any value. See any of Tom W's postings on the subject for the details, he does a much better job of explaining it than I could do.

-Larry Jones

Do you think God lets you plea bargain? -- Calvin

In the highly unlikely event of an electrical surge in the phone line or cable coax, the cause is most likely to be lightning. I would also imagine that lightning is the "season" referred to in the original spam that started this thread.

The problem is that the tiny, minute gap created by your little surge protector is nearly useless against lightning. A lightning strike on a system that isn't properly grounded is going to put enough energy through the line to bridge that tiny gap, making the little surge protector useless on a phone or cable line that doesn't normally carry power current.

Also, the use of a surge protector between your cable line and a cable modem or digital cable box often will be the straw that breaks the camel's back, and results in a signal problem that prevents those units from properly working. Having frequent disconnects of your cable modem? Can't get pay-for-view or On-Demand to work on your cable box? If the coax is running through a worthless surge protector, that could be the entirety of your problem.

Surge protectors on the power source also can cause problems. A laser printer, for example, causes it's own surge when the fuser begins to heat. It shouldn't be enough to blow a surge protector, but the surge protector will add enough resistance to partially choke-off the laser printer. That may result in logic problems interpreting the data being sent to the printer, or it may just result in a shorter fuser life. Appliances that heat-up shouldn't usually be connected to a surge protector. Florissant lights would be another example of something that may be better off without a surge protector.

Before putting anything on a surge protector you have to weigh the problems that the surge protector may continually cause vs the possibility of a damaging surge, how much protection is really provided in such event, and how big the loss would be even in a worse case scenario. For example, if you have a $10 desk lamp, a total loss would only be $10. It wouldn't make sense to buy a $12 surge protector for that lamp even if crippling surges came frequently.

There are times that you might want your cheap surge protector. Some people over estimate their value. Some under estimate. Which group do you think someone selling surge protectors falls into? They want to get you to buy as many surge protectors as they can, and the easiest way to do that is to get you thinking emotionally instead of logically. Creating an urgency like saying it's the season you should be buying more, for example.

This thread started with a spam. It was pure hype meant to get you riled-up enough to buy surge protectors without any thought to their real value. It could have been written by one of the same people who writes the spam that tries to get you riled-up enough about rising interest rates that you'll refinance your home without doing all the math. It was just spam. Don't let it get to you emotionally. Stop and think about the logic, and the motivations of those who are appealing to your emotions. Treat the message that started this thread as the pure spam that it was.

People who live in apartments are going to be disappointed.

I've been waiting for this to come up again as I already ran into that buzz saw. In the interim, I went to Virginia Power, my provider, and here is what they have to say:

"What does the meter base surge device protect and what about its warranty?

"It protects all motor-driven appliances including washers, dryers, refrigerators, air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, dishwashers, kitchen appliances and more. The meter device is warranted by the manufacturer. Click here to view a copy of the EFI warranty.

here to view a copy of the Sycom warranty. TOP

"Why do I need plug-in units in addition to the meter-mounted device?

"The meter base surge device can't protect surges from entering on phone or cable lines, so plug-in units are necessary for electronics like computers, fax machines, modems, TVs, VCRs and stereos"

Who's confused---Virginia Power or me or...??? Is there a better third way???

There really is nothing appropriate for a home owner to install for direct-strike protection. For surges ranging up to a few thousand volts, the available surge protectors are useful. A good UPS is recommended for computers, modems or other devices that might bridge between power and cable/phone lines, especially those that incorporate passthrus for the data devices. Note they are always called "surge protectors", not "lightning protectors". The surges that can and do occur due to power company diverting the lines, accidents that involve vehicles hitting poles and dropping lines, or induced-current from nearby stormss electrical fields are "protectable" events. Lightning is not, when it strikes the line you are connected to.

In any case, it's cheap insurance. I'd never recommend buying anything like this from some doofus who spams newsgroups, however.

Virginia Power -- they're not a phone or cable company. Both phone and cable lines already have surge protection (they don't want their equipment damaged, either). A plug-in surge protector won't provide any additional benefit.

-Larry Jones

It's not denial. I'm just very selective about the reality I accept.

-- Calvin