How many here use a surge protector?

Truebrit

Truebrit

Truebrit

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25 Apr 2009
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I've been looking at these (or at least trying to) since I built a new PC the other day. I have had PC's since 1998 with only 1 motherboard needing replacing on a low end PC in that time, I have components that have been in daily use for 17 years with no issues. Not that I'm trying to talk myself out of buying a surge protector, but I notice that they are almost impossible to find at a high joule rating for the UK market. I understand from articles that at least a 2000 joule rating is needed for a gaming PC, as far as I can see that level of protection just does not exist for the UK, is it because of our household electrics are better than other countries such as the U.S. ?

Anyway, how many here always use them for their prized PC's?
 
I still use Surge Protectors here and have done so for many years now. Since at least 15 years ago if I remember right - might be a bit more than that. So that would have covered at least 4 maybe 5 rigs since. Possibly more and goes further back; can no longer remember clearly now as it's been a common item in the household for a very long time.
 
I'm still using a couple of APC surge protectors I bought a few years back. One for my desktop, the other with TV + AVR. They are >2,000J.
https://www.se.com/ng/en/product/PF...s-with-phone-coax-network-protection-230v-uk/
They are discontinued now and from memory their newer ones are not rated as high. I have one of those as well, the white/cream coloured ones.

The other feature they have which I thought was important is that if the protection has failed the power output is disconnected.
 
I still use them, however they are of limited use if you get a local strike and modern house wiring should have protection as part of the consumer unit against non-local strikes though that might not apply in older premises and the most stringent version of the regulations was only implemented in 2022.

Can't find all the pictures online now but there was a house struck just down the road from me a few years back - pretty crazy was fortunate no one was inside at the time as debris was shot around like shotgun blasts - it even obliterated equipment plugged in after a surge protector:

www.somersetlive.co.uk

The damage at Templecombe house following lightning strike

The house suffered visible damage in the inside and outside
www.somersetlive.co.uk www.somersetlive.co.uk

I actually happened to capture the audio of the strike:

 
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I always thought they were a gimmick, and I think I have one in my power strip the PC is connected to but I didn't buy it because of surge protection, they usually have that as a feature nowadays. I'd probably get an SPD fitted to the consumer unit when upgrading instead rather than separate surge protectors, to protect the whole house.

It seems they do offer protection against surges caused by the grid but I doubt they would be able to protect in the case of a lightning strike which luckily doesn't happen too often.
 
moogle said:
I always thought they were a gimmick, and I think I have one in my power strip the PC is connected to but I didn't buy it because of surge protection, they usually have that as a feature nowadays. I'd probably get an SPD fitted to the consumer unit when upgrading instead rather than separate surge protectors, to protect the whole house.

It seems they do offer protection against surges caused by the grid but I doubt they would be able to protect in the case of a lightning strike which luckily doesn't happen too often.
Click to expand...

Two of my colleagues have had lightning hit nearby telephone lines/poles which is assumedly how it got into their house rather than the mains electrics, lost TVs and 1-2 other electrical items in both cases. Fortunately it is very rare.
 
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I have surge protection power strips for both PCs and the AV kit in the living room.

Always had them in London and replaced them with Euro plug versions when we moved as we have more chance of being affected being out in the middle of nowhere.
 
Rroff said:
Two of my colleagues have had lightning hit nearby telephone lines/poles which is assumedly how it got into their house rather than the mains electrics, lost TVs and 1-2 other electrical items in both cases. Fortunately it is very rare.
Click to expand...
It's odd that the telephone pole was how it managed to get in but damage the TVs, if have thought it'd blow the networking equipment.

You do raise a good point about it being able to get in the house via an alternative route though. I'd imagine the aerial is another way it could get inside and cause damage in the unfortunate event of a lightning strike.
 
I've always used surgery protectors on everything from fridges to PCs and TVs etc. Nothing gets plugged in unless it's into a surge protector device. For the peace of mind it gives, that extra £5 or so quid on a surge protector is worth it.

The only thing that's straight into the socket is my powerline adapters as they don't work well if not.
 
Great video by John Ward on how the consumer unit SPDs work if anyone is interested

The extension lead types work differently by shorting the surge to ground but it's interesting to see the protection in action.
 
i personally have used couple surge protector on my gaming system and also for my media center, i have been using them for many years never had any problem, every bedroom has them too were the tv and dvd get hooked to.
 
Rroff said:
I still use them, however they are of limited use if you get a local strike and modern house wiring should have protection as part of the consumer unit against non-local strikes though that might not apply in older premises and the most stringent version of the regulations was only implemented in 2022.

Can't find all the pictures online now but there was a house struck just down the road from me a few years back - pretty crazy was fortunate no one was inside at the time as debris was shot around like shotgun blasts - it even obliterated equipment plugged in after a surge protector:

www.somersetlive.co.uk

The damage at Templecombe house following lightning strike

The house suffered visible damage in the inside and outside
www.somersetlive.co.uk www.somersetlive.co.uk

I actually happened to capture the audio of the strike:

Click to expand...

Luckily, I live in a very on the ball housing association property, they carry out electrical checks and upgrades every 5 years, the previous 2 associations the property was with never did anything in 20 years.
 
Truebrit said:
...is it because of our household electrics are better than other countries such as the U.S. ?..
Click to expand...
We have great quality mains power here, but we don't need surge protectors mostly because almost all the grid in cities is buried underground, making it unlikely to be directly hit by lightning. You're more likely to have a problem if you live out in the middle of the country with wires strung out between poles.

Personally I buy socket strips with surge protectors in them, because it doesn't cost much. PC PSUs typically have them built in too. I don't expect them to ever have any effect though.
 
I use Tacima cs947's on all gear such as TV's, PC's and routers, these won't protect again a lightning strike, thankfully I live in a modern house with underground mains cables so a large surge should not happen. They will give some protection to smaller spikes that would over time degrade the protection that's already in PSU's such as MOV's.

And before someone says the Tacima strips offer no protection I'll tell you this story...

About 5 years ago a friend was having popping / clicking sound issues with his HiFi. Anyhow he got a Tacima strip for this HiFi and low and behold the popping and the clicking went away. It turned out his house was built with rubber mains wiring that was still original from 1960's. The rubber was breaking down and electric starting to short inside the walls. British Gas homecare came out and condemned his electrics, and he had to fully re-wire the property taking plaster away from the walls to replace cable. So the Tacima strip managed to provide some protection to what was happening, however initially we did not realise about the mains wiring issue, and assumed it was noise from a bad fridge.
 
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