Ignoramus10397 wrote:
We bought an expensive TV.


a surge protector does not protect you from lightning

what you want is a lightning arrestor

surge protector only resolves mild surges from your local power company
(and they do surge)

"Ignoramus10397"
Is a APC 2200 UPS adequate for lightning?

no, a surge protector is not fast enough to stop lightning.
we talking nanoseconds, like...under 5 nanoseconds
and circuits are fried.

the arrestor is super fast,(like inside of 5 nanoseconds) it creates a
bottleneck to regulate the flow.

Trip lite advertises 0 or 1 nanosecond response I think for their better
outlet strips, there are phone , power and maybe coaxial ones also in
one unit .

"a surge protector does not protect you from lightning
what you want is a lightning arrestor
surge protector only resolves mild surges from your local power company

and they do surge) "

That depends on what your definition of lightning protection is. Will
a surge protector at the service panel protect all the electrical
devices in the house from a direct strike hitting the house? Probably
not. But that is not the typical case. More typical is lightning
hitting some distance away, like a utility pole or wire somewhere down
the street, sending a surge down the power line. And that a whole
house surge protector will protect against.

Even effective and slower solutions used in the 1930s - Gas
Discharge Tubes or GDTs - were more than fast enough. But
that is time to shunt (connect) a destructive transient to
earth. Nothing will disconnect fast enough nor wide enough to
prevent damage. Disconnecting to stop or block a destructive
transient is a myth that plug-in protector manufacturers don't
discourage. Protection is about making a connection; not a
disconnection.

bebo wrote:
no, a surge protector is not fast enough to stop lightning.
we talking nanoseconds, like...under 5 nanoseconds
and circuits are fried.

the arrestor is super fast,(like inside of 5 nanoseconds) it creates a
bottleneck to regulate the flow.

m Ransley wrote:
Trip lite advertises 0 or 1 nanosecond response I think for their better
outlet strips, there are phone , power and maybe coaxial ones also in
one unit .

And they usually employ MOV devices -- Metal-Oxide Varactors. They
work fine, but only once when the oxide gets punched. But there's no
way to tell if they have been damaged!

Any protector that fails on the first transient was
defective when installed. Grossly undersized protector is
ineffective and overpriced. Any MOV that fails during a
transient did not provide necessary protection. Just another
fact that plug-in protector manufacturers hope you never learn
since such unacceptable failures actually promotes their
product among those who don't know what a protector should do.

Effective protectors perform their job so that you never
knew a transient even existed.

Stubby wrote:
And they usually employ MOV devices -- Metal-Oxide Varactors. They
work fine, but only once when the oxide gets punched. But there's no
way to tell if they have been damaged!

"no, a surge protector is not fast enough to stop lightning.
we talking nanoseconds, like...under 5 nanoseconds
and circuits are fried.

the arrestor is super fast,(like inside of 5 nanoseconds) it creates a
bottleneck to regulate the flow. "

This is totally wrong. First, go look at a datasheet from any major
manufacturer of whole house surge protectors. They clearly state that
these devices provide lightning protection on the incoming power line.
Second, the response time of any decent whole house surge protector
is faster than the rise time of lightning, which is why they work. And
finally a surge protector/arrestor does not create a bottleneck to
regulate the flow. A surge protector provides a path to ground for
the surge,when the voltage exceeds a maximum safe level.

During a potentially destructive transient, the effective
'shunt mode' protector converts from an open switch to a
conductive wire. Notice what a protector does. It does not
stop, block, or absorb surges as the APC product hopes you
will assume. The more conductive that 'wire' (the
protector), then higher is its joules. But earth ground is
the bottleneck - which is why a protector is only as effective
as its earth ground.

Of course, the APC has no effective earthing. So they avoid
the discussion - entirely. They hype only enough numbers that
confuse - such as response time. Let's look at another of
those numbers. How many joules in that APC? Why is it so
woefully small?

The 'whole house' protector, installed free by the telco,
must be low capacitance - so as to not degrade xDSL.
Therefore it is equivalent to a low capacitance,
bi-directional, zener diode. What does it connect to - to be
effective? It also makes a 'less than 10 foot' connection to
earth ground. How effective is that telco protector? Only as
effective as an earth ground provided by the homeowner.

Ignoramus10397 wrote:
Is it just a big zener diode?

Trip Lite respond fast 0-1 nanosecond and have circuitry that indicates
if it is operational , if its hit and doesnt work its fixed free. Sure
its a one line of defence, you need many, starting with grounds outside,
a mains panel surge and even seperate lightning supressor. Do all you
can and it may do nothing as lightning can energise the air and damage
everything or overload everything. I was in a house when lightning lit
up the lights in the kitchen for a second. All you can do is try things
and pray. I unplug alot of things when danger is near, ive been through
3 hits.