Silly question about my surge protector

[MrGrim999]

Hey guys! This is probably a silly question but I recently upgraded my home theater system and don't want to take any chances. I'm still using the same Monster Clean surge protector from my old system. Does it matter if I plug my desktop tower into the socket that says "VCR" for example? I'm sure they are all labeled just to make life easier for people but I'm a worrier and thought maybe it mattered as far as too much or too little voltage.....

 

[richardycc]

I don't see why not. If you are having your PC to do recording and stuff, I guess it is a "VCR" then?

 

[MrGrim999]

I don't see why not. If you are having your PC to do recording and stuff, I guess it is a "VCR" then?

Hehe...one time I fried something because of the charger i used. I'm not taking any chances

 

[Randy99CL]

Hey guys! This is probably a silly question but I recently upgraded my home theater system and don't want to take any chances. I'm still using the same Monster Clean surge protector from my old system. Does it matter if I plug my desktop tower into the socket that says "VCR" for example? I'm sure they are all labeled just to make life easier for people but I'm a worrier and thought maybe it mattered as far as too much or too little voltage.....

Has no affect on the voltage.

I'm not familiar with your Monster but some have sections that are isolated from each other. For instance, some devices with motors can put noise into the AC line that an audio amp could pick up. If the outlets are isolated that won't happen.

Google your model of protector and see what it says.

 

[razel]

Hehe...one time I fried something because of the charger i used. I'm not taking any chances

Cheap un-UL rated chargers are everywhere these days. It's sad. My grandfather, bless him, taught me to not buy anything that you plug into a wall that isn't UL rated. He said, 'You'll burn the house down.'

Now-a-days a non UL-rated chargers are cheaply made and will tend to just burn themselves up. Luckily I have found that UL rated chargers tend to be well built and you can get cheap ones. I found many cheap Duracell products are UL rated.

By the way, depending on your PC's power supply you MAY want to plug it directly to the wall. Beefier, well built power supplies do not need surge protection. They do fine on their own. I say 500w and above, plug it directly to the wall. Having many power hungry devices connected to a surge protector could max out the wattage off a single plug on your wall. Better to have the power hungry devices on their own line/plug or even better circuit. Best of luck.

 

[Elixer]

Hey guys! This is probably a silly question but I recently upgraded my home theater system and don't want to take any chances. I'm still using the same Monster Clean surge protector from my old system. Does it matter if I plug my desktop tower into the socket that says "VCR" for example? I'm sure they are all labeled just to make life easier for people but I'm a worrier and thought maybe it mattered as far as too much or too little voltage.....

First off, Monster crap (basically, anything they make) is overpriced, and under performs.
You should be using a UPS if you want to mitigate most issues.
Brownouts are much worse than the typical surges. If you did get a direct lightning strike, then, there isn't anything you can do about it, it will toast everything in its way, and laugh at the surge protector while it takes that out, and everything up the chain. This is why they tell you to pull the plug in case of lightning storms, that is the ONLY thing that can help.

So, get APC or CyberPower 1500VA UPS unit and use that.

 

[Fallen Kell]

If you did get a direct lightning strike, then, there isn't anything you can do about it, it will toast everything in its way, and laugh at the surge protector while it takes that out, and everything up the chain. This is why they tell you to pull the plug in case of lightning storms, that is the ONLY thing that can help.

Not entirely. A Type 1 surge protector at the utility box (i.e. the external connection to your home) on the line side of the mains, as well as a Type 2 protector on load side of the panel do a very good job of preventing lightning damage. Add a lightning rod to your house and you are pretty much covered entirely.

The protector on the line side of the mains will shunt a surge that hit a utility pole or the line going to your house to ground, with the transients that bypassed that protector being caught by the second suppressor on your panel. A well placed lighting rod will prevent that particular entrance way from being hit in the first place and will protect your house in general. Then for your more precious items like home theater equipment, use a high quality non-MOV based protector, like a Brickwall or similar.

 

[Elixer]

Not entirely. A Type 1 surge protector at the utility box (i.e. the external connection to your home) on the line side of the mains, as well as a Type 2 protector on load side of the panel do a very good job of preventing lightning damage. Add a lightning rod to your house and you are pretty much covered entirely.

The protector on the line side of the mains will shunt a surge that hit a utility pole or the line going to your house to ground, with the transients that bypassed that protector being caught by the second suppressor on your panel. A well placed lighting rod will prevent that particular entrance way from being hit in the first place and will protect your house in general. Then for your more precious items like home theater equipment, use a high quality non-MOV based protector, like a Brickwall or similar.

Sure, but does monster make a lightning rod?
If the OP wants to go for what Fallen Kell suggests, then, lightning strikes wouldn't be in the top 50 things on the list to worry about...

 

[westom]

Hehe...one time I fried something because of the charger i used. I'm not taking any chances

Then why use something that can even make surge damage easier - that Monster.

Monster protector is electrically similar to one sold in Walmart for $10. It only claims to protect from a type of surge that is typically made irrelevant by protection already inside appliances. Your concern is a completely different type of surge that can overwhelm existing internal protection.

Another described everything from Monster as crap. Apparently you assumed a higher price means better quality. Monster loves you. Monster also sold speaker wire with ends marked for the amp and speaker ends. Monster said reversing that wire (connecting its speaker end to an amp) would subvert sound quality. Many paid $70 for their $7 speaker wire. And could also hear the difference when wires were reversed. Scams are that easily promoted. Monster's profit margins are massive. They thank you for participating.

Same with their protector. Monster identifies scams. Then makes a similar product with more expensive paint. Sells it for many times more money. The easily scammed automatically assume it must be better because it is more expensive. You have absolutely no reason to believe a Monster does anything useful. Even its specification numbers do not claim what you have assumed. But worse are two problems. First it can make appliance damage easier. And second, it can sometimes create a fire.

Another has discussed what does protection in all facilities that cannot have damage. First is a properly earthed lightning rod to protect a structure. Second is proper earthed 'whole house' protector to protect appliances inside that structure. No protector does protection. Protection is only when a protector connects to what does protection. To what harmlessly absorbs hundreds of thousand of joules. (How many joules does a Monster claim to absorb? Never ignore specification numbers.) A protector is only as effective as its earth ground.

BTW, Surgex also does not claim to protect from the other and typically destructive type of surge. Protection is always defined by numbers. Where does hundreds of thousands of joules harmlessly dissipate? Any recommendation that cannot answer that question is suspect.

 

[MrGrim999]

Cheap un-UL rated chargers are everywhere these days. It's sad. My grandfather, bless him, taught me to not buy anything that you plug into a wall that isn't UL rated. He said, 'You'll burn the house down.'

Now-a-days a non UL-rated chargers are cheaply made and will tend to just burn themselves up. Luckily I have found that UL rated chargers tend to be well built and you can get cheap ones. I found many cheap Duracell products are UL rated.

By the way, depending on your PC's power supply you MAY want to plug it directly to the wall. Beefier, well built power supplies do not need surge protection. They do fine on their own. I say 500w and above, plug it directly to the wall. Having many power hungry devices connected to a surge protector could max out the wattage off a single plug on your wall. Better to have the power hungry devices on their own line/plug or even better circuit. Best of luck.

I put a 750 watt power supply into my desktop so maybe I will go directly into a wall socket. I was only using the surge protector because it was closer than a wall outlet. And yes, I know monster is overpriced and unnecessary. But I didn't spend a dime on it, my brother gave it to me and was just using it for the convenience of outlets.

Thanks for the responses

 

[westom]

I put a 750 watt power supply into my desktop so maybe I will go directly into a wall socket.

Wattage says nothing about protection - or even about quality. Your computer is not so hot as to also toast bread. It is probably consuming less than 200 watts. But that is only another example of how many recite myths (ie 600+ watts supplies) without first learning what really exists or is needed.

Even a 5 watt supply would already have protection as robust as a 750 watt supply.

Introduced was what all other homeowners need. Since if any one appliance is at risk, than all are at risk. And need protection from anomalies that occur maybe once every seven years.

 

[adhdrunsme]

Listen as long as you're not using a surge protector from 1958 doesn't matter which type you use

 

[adhdrunsme]

Just make sure no part of it has any rust on it and it goes in cleanly