G
Guest
To protect only the phone line, must a surge protector be pluged-into a wall
outlet?
outlet?
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J
JS
Yes, once you plug in the surge protector to the wall outlet, then connect
the phone lines.
JS
the phone lines.
JS
T
Ted Zieglar
A surge suppressor doesn't accomplish anything if it's not plugged into
an outlet.
an outlet.
W
w_tom
To protect phone lines (or anything else), a shunt mode protector
must make a short ('less than 10 foot) connection to earth. Wall
receptacles are so many times too far away which is why plug-in
protector numerical specifications don't even claim to provide
effective protection.
Effective 'whole house' protection makes that less than 10 foot
connection. And what does that? A phone line protector provided for
every subscriber by the telco for free. Yeph. Phone lines already
have an effective phone line protector. A protector only as effective
as the earthing electrode you have provided.
must make a short ('less than 10 foot) connection to earth. Wall
receptacles are so many times too far away which is why plug-in
protector numerical specifications don't even claim to provide
effective protection.
Effective 'whole house' protection makes that less than 10 foot
connection. And what does that? A phone line protector provided for
every subscriber by the telco for free. Yeph. Phone lines already
have an effective phone line protector. A protector only as effective
as the earthing electrode you have provided.
J
JohnO
A surge suppressor doesn't accomplish anything if it's not plugged into an
Exactly. To amplify this a bit, what the outlet gets you is an attachment to
ground. Of course, the supressor's protection is only valid if the outlet
is, in fact, properly wired and the third conductor is properly bonded to an
earth ground back at the service panel.
-John O
outlet.
Exactly. To amplify this a bit, what the outlet gets you is an attachment to
ground. Of course, the supressor's protection is only valid if the outlet
is, in fact, properly wired and the third conductor is properly bonded to an
earth ground back at the service panel.
-John O
E
Eric
If you're not sure if the ground wire is hooked up properly in the outlet,
but an outlet tester. They're $5 at WalMart.
but an outlet tester. They're $5 at WalMart.
B
bud--
w_tom said:To protect phone lines (or anything else), a shunt mode protector
must make a short ('less than 10 foot) connection to earth. Wall
receptacles are so many times too far away which is why plug-in
protector numerical specifications don't even claim to provide
effective protection.
Effective 'whole house' protection makes that less than 10 foot
connection. And what does that? A phone line protector provided for
every subscriber by the telco for free. Yeph. Phone lines already
have an effective phone line protector. A protector only as effective
as the earthing electrode you have provided.
I agree that if you are protecting only a phone the telco protector
should be enough and running just the phone line through a plug-in
surge suppressor doesn't add much.
If you are protecting a device connected to power and a phone line a
plug-in surge suppressor is effective.
The best information I have seen on surge protection is at
http://www.mikeholt.com/files/PDF/LightningGuide_FINALpublishedversion_May051.pdf
- the title is "How to protect your house and its contents from
lightning: IEEE guide for surge protection of equipment connected to AC
power and communication circuits"
- it was published by the IEEE in 2005
- the IEEE is the dominant organization of electrical and electronic
engineers in the US
A second guide is
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/practiceguides/surgesfnl.pdf
- this is the "NIST recommended practice guide: Surges Happen!: how to
protect the appliances in your home"
- it is published by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, the US government agency formerly called the National
Bureau of Standards
- it was published in 2001
Both guides were intended for wide distribution to the general public
to explain surges and how to protect against them. The IEEE guide was
targeted at people who have some (not much) technical background.
For plug-in suppressors all interconnected devices, like a computer and
printer, need to connect to the same surge protector. If a device, like
a computer, has external connections like phone or LAN, all those wires
have to run through the surge suppressor for protection. This type of
suppressor is called a surge reference equalizer (SRE) by the IEEE
(also described by the NIST). The idea is that all wires connected to
the device (power, phone, CATV, LAN, ...) are clamped to a common
ground at the SRE. The voltage on the wires passing through the SRE are
clamped to a voltage safe to the connected device. The primary action
is clamping, not filtering or earthing.
A plug-in outlet tester can detect wiring problems, but is not
necessarily right if it shows no problem. In particular, it will show a
very high resistance ground as OK since the test current used is very
low. Connecting a 100 watt light bulb from hot-to-gorund and measuring
the voltage across it is a lot more useful.
bud--
W
w_tom
Outlet tester ($5 in Wal-Mart) cannot report existence of an earthing
ground. It can report the existence of safety ground. But safety
ground is typically not sufficient to make a protector effective.
Repeated references to 'less than 10 feet' are based in something
critical to effective protection - impedance. Things that make an
outlet safety ground insufficient for earthing include too many
splices, sharp wire bends, too much wire length, and ground wire
bundled with other wires.
Accurately noted is how surge protection was performed effectively
even before WWII and what plug-in protectors must avoid discussing to
promote their ineffective products. Essential is a short connection to
earthing. Effective protectors have a dedicated earthing wire or
connector to make that 'less than 10 foot' connection.
Meanwhile the outlet tester cannot measure impedance (one reason why
it reports insufficient) and cannot detect the existence of an earthing
connection. Inspection is required. That earthing connection must
meet and exceed post 1990 NEC requirements. And this only for
secondary protection.
Primary protection also should be inspected because that tester also
cannot detect that essential earthing connection:
http://www.tvtower.com/fpl.html
A protector is only as effective as its earth ground - not to be
confused with wall receptacle safety ground. No earth ground means no
effective protection. So plug-in protector manufacturers avoid the
entire topic. Effective protectors make a short connection to the most
critical component in a protection system: earthing.
ground. It can report the existence of safety ground. But safety
ground is typically not sufficient to make a protector effective.
Repeated references to 'less than 10 feet' are based in something
critical to effective protection - impedance. Things that make an
outlet safety ground insufficient for earthing include too many
splices, sharp wire bends, too much wire length, and ground wire
bundled with other wires.
Accurately noted is how surge protection was performed effectively
even before WWII and what plug-in protectors must avoid discussing to
promote their ineffective products. Essential is a short connection to
earthing. Effective protectors have a dedicated earthing wire or
connector to make that 'less than 10 foot' connection.
Meanwhile the outlet tester cannot measure impedance (one reason why
it reports insufficient) and cannot detect the existence of an earthing
connection. Inspection is required. That earthing connection must
meet and exceed post 1990 NEC requirements. And this only for
secondary protection.
Primary protection also should be inspected because that tester also
cannot detect that essential earthing connection:
http://www.tvtower.com/fpl.html
A protector is only as effective as its earth ground - not to be
confused with wall receptacle safety ground. No earth ground means no
effective protection. So plug-in protector manufacturers avoid the
entire topic. Effective protectors make a short connection to the most
critical component in a protection system: earthing.
E
Eric
w_tom said:Outlet tester ($5 in Wal-Mart) cannot report existence of an earthing
ground. It can report the existence of safety ground. But safety
ground is typically not sufficient to make a protector effective.
Repeated references to 'less than 10 feet' are based in something
critical to effective protection - impedance. Things that make an
outlet safety ground insufficient for earthing include too many
splices, sharp wire bends, too much wire length, and ground wire
bundled with other wires.
Accurately noted is how surge protection was performed effectively
even before WWII and what plug-in protectors must avoid discussing to
promote their ineffective products. Essential is a short connection to
earthing. Effective protectors have a dedicated earthing wire or
connector to make that 'less than 10 foot' connection.
Meanwhile the outlet tester cannot measure impedance (one reason why
it reports insufficient) and cannot detect the existence of an earthing
connection. Inspection is required. That earthing connection must
meet and exceed post 1990 NEC requirements. And this only for
secondary protection.
Primary protection also should be inspected because that tester also
cannot detect that essential earthing connection:
http://www.tvtower.com/fpl.html
A protector is only as effective as its earth ground - not to be
confused with wall receptacle safety ground. No earth ground means no
effective protection. So plug-in protector manufacturers avoid the
entire topic. Effective protectors make a short connection to the most
critical component in a protection system: earthing.
The $5 outlet tester will tell you if the outlet is properly wired and if
it's grounded. As far as whether it's "properly" grounded as far as your
earthing goes, I leave that up to the electricians that wired it. If I'm
plugging in something I really care to protect, I'd buy a UPS, but normally
the surge protectors are sufficient. Surge/spike protectors often even
include insurance that will replace any item plugged into them if
electricity actually does spike through it and destory those items with an
overload.
W
w_tom
Safety ground typically does not provide sufficient earthing for
surge protection.
UPS uses same protection circuit found on power strip protectors.
Don't take my word for it. Review numerical specs. They both claim
joules because both use same protection circuit. UPS for surge
protection? Typical plug-in UPS connects an appliance directly to AC
mains when not in battery backup mode. Will that relay create surge
protection? Of course not. Review those numerical specs.
Learn details of that warranty. Once all those exemptions are
confronted, a warranty will end up only replacing the protector. But
again, it requires learning details - and numbers. Or learning from
real world experiences.
Recommendation for a surge protector is based upon myths. Most
critical component in a surge protection 'system' is earth ground.
Where is a dedicated earthing wire for that power strip or UPS? Does
not exist. Where do they even claim protection for each type of surge
in their numerical specs? Does not exist.
The $5 outlet tester can report a defective safety ground. Tester
cannot report a good safety ground AND does not detect nor report the
most critical component in surge protection: earth ground. Earth
ground is your responsibility AND necessary for effective protection.
Earth ground required visual inspection. Effective protection must
make a short ('less than 10 foot') connection to earth. Recommending
the tester suggest knowledge of what surge protectors do was not
learned. Even the UPS and power strip use a same protector circuit.
Review numerical specs. Neither even claim to provide protection from
each type of surge. Obviously. No dedicated connection to earth
ground exists. A ground that tester cannot test. A ground that the
building owner is responsible for if effective protection is required.
A ground that plug-in protectors ignore so that you might recommend
their product.
surge protection.
UPS uses same protection circuit found on power strip protectors.
Don't take my word for it. Review numerical specs. They both claim
joules because both use same protection circuit. UPS for surge
protection? Typical plug-in UPS connects an appliance directly to AC
mains when not in battery backup mode. Will that relay create surge
protection? Of course not. Review those numerical specs.
Learn details of that warranty. Once all those exemptions are
confronted, a warranty will end up only replacing the protector. But
again, it requires learning details - and numbers. Or learning from
real world experiences.
Recommendation for a surge protector is based upon myths. Most
critical component in a surge protection 'system' is earth ground.
Where is a dedicated earthing wire for that power strip or UPS? Does
not exist. Where do they even claim protection for each type of surge
in their numerical specs? Does not exist.
The $5 outlet tester can report a defective safety ground. Tester
cannot report a good safety ground AND does not detect nor report the
most critical component in surge protection: earth ground. Earth
ground is your responsibility AND necessary for effective protection.
Earth ground required visual inspection. Effective protection must
make a short ('less than 10 foot') connection to earth. Recommending
the tester suggest knowledge of what surge protectors do was not
learned. Even the UPS and power strip use a same protector circuit.
Review numerical specs. Neither even claim to provide protection from
each type of surge. Obviously. No dedicated connection to earth
ground exists. A ground that tester cannot test. A ground that the
building owner is responsible for if effective protection is required.
A ground that plug-in protectors ignore so that you might recommend
their product.