On Sat, 28 Sep 2013 22:12:47 -0700, Ashton Crusher
wrote:



Charles Ravenscraft (yes, that's Lifehacker writer Eric Ravenscraft's
brother) is a licensed union electrician,

Why would an electrician be any kind of expert on surge protection?
Maybe he is, maybe he's full of crap.
I'd think that some may know, others not. It is not something you
study in "How to Wire a Receptacle" but like any trade, some study
deeper.





There was a guy in my computer club many years ago who worked for one
of the main companies that built surge protectors. He said it's all
nonsense as far as anyone really needing them. The transient spikes
are damped out in just a few feet of house wiring, I think he said 6
feet.

Then I need one for my computer. It is less than 3 feet from the main
coming into the house and the panel. Actually, I use a battery backup
that also protects me from little glitches too.





I've been buying the cheapest power strips I can find for 30 years and
have never had a problem with a power "surge" and I leave my system on
24/7. I did have lightening strike once and it blew the **** out of a
radio and computer and clock, fried a couple breakers, etc. No surge
protector would have stopped that motha.

Had one of those too. Nothing happened to my computer, but I did have
to scrap my TV and buy a 47" flat screen. Also had to pick up pieces
of the blown apart receptacle where it came into the detached garage
and then into the house. Lost the TV, Receiver, doorbell, circuit
breaker.