wrote in
:

On Mar 23, 1:48*pm, bud-- wrote:
Doug White wrote:

We've been thinking of getting one installed, so I did a little
researc
h. *
Leviton seems to be the biggest vendor in the US. *They have an
interesting dodge, which is a surge arrestor that goes in series
with electric meter, inside the metter housing. *In my case, this
is outsi
de
of the house, which means if it turns into a fireball, it probably
won'
t
do a lot of damage. *I also like the idea of stopping the surge as
ea
rly
in the wiring as possible.

*http://www.levitonproducts.com/catal..._50240-MSA.htm

You would, in all probability, have to have permission from the
utility to use it.

The clamp voltage is 800V. According to Martzloff (was the NIST surge
expert) equipment can withstand about 600-800V surges. The 800V
rating sounds way too high to me. (On the other hand, the 330V rating
on most suppressors may be lower than needed.) It is a "nominal"
clamp voltage. With a strong surge the voltage is forced upward from
800V.

If there is a strong surge, the path to earth is through the neutral
from meter can to service panel, through the required neutral-ground
bond (almost always in the service panel), and to the earthing
electrode. *The voltage drop on the neutral will add to the clamp
voltage. A surge is a very short duration event, so the current
components are relatively high frequency, so the inductance of the
wire is more important than the resistance. See the discussion on
lead length in the IEEE guide starting pdf page 22. In effect you are
adding the neutral wire to the lead length.

I would rather have a suppressor where I have total control over it
(service panel).

Another factor, many of the surge protectors intended for panel use
have indicator lights that show the status. Some even have audible
alarms to indicate that the protection has taken a hit and is no
longer functioning. If it's buried in the meter housing, you have no
way of knowing if it is still functioning.

The unit has two LEDs to indicate the condition of the device. I am
goign to call Leviton support tomorrow to try to get more info. They
don't have teh mnaul/instructions on-line.

Doug White