Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
mm wrote:
Is it possible to repair a whole house surge suppressor?

At 100 to 200 dollars, I don't want to keep buying new ones.

Stop buying junk. MOV surge protectors are really worthless junk. Here in
230v land, when they go, they often do so with a bang and sometimes catch
fire.

The IEEE (largest association of electrical and electronic engineers in
the US) says that "90% of both hard-wired and plug-in protectors use
MOVs to perform the voltage-limiting function. In most AC protectors,
they are the only significant voltage limiters.".

MOVs work fine.

In the US, since 1998, UL has required suppressors have a thermal
disconnect to disconnect failing MOVS. I have seen no reason to believe
fires are a problem on UL listed suppressors made since 1998. Would
think that "230v land" would have similar requirements.


Look at TransTector ones. They use silicon avalance diodes which when compared
to MOVs are indestructable. They are more expensive but in the long run cheaper
as they don't fail like MOV ones.

If you get high ratings, MOV based suppressors are not likely to fail.
It is one reason why some suppressors can have warranties on connected
equipment.

You can, of course, buy what you want.


You might also want to learn about how lightening works and how to avoid it.

Contrary to what people believe (yes Franklin got it wrong) lightening flows
from the GROUND UP. Once a path is opened from the ground, the polarity
reverses and the usual flash you see flows downward.

Polarity reverses?

The usual process is for charge do descend in steps - a stepped leader.
When the charge gets close enough to the earth the final link is a
stroke from the earth to end of the stepped leader.


If you place grounded sharp pointed objects on top of buildings, you will
CREATE lightening.

There is not a lot of research on what end on a lightning rod (now
called air terminals) is most effective. The best information I have
seen is that a 5/8" diameter rounded point is more effective, and the
difference is minimal. Rods protect by being the highest point. They are
a safe "point of attachment" for the lightning that will occur anyway.


If you place large "fuzzy" grounded objects on top of buildings, you will
dissipate any charges that build up and reduce the chance of lightening
strikes.

I got rid of a lightening problem by placing a large 2m ham band (144mHz)
antenna on my roof. It was a 12 foot beam with 10 vertical elements and
10 horizontal elements. At 144mHz it was an antenna, at DC (lightening)
it was just a big blob of aluminum connected to ground. So as charges
started to build up, they were dissipated.

There are commercial lightning protection systems that claim to work by
dissipating charge. Everything I have seen is that they don't work. I
believe they lost a court case in the US.


When I moved, I took down the antenna, I wonder what my neighbors thought
when the lightening returned. :-(

Geoff.


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