Surge protector woes

[ponytug]

I was not home when it happened, but my girlfriend was. It was day with really high winds. She said the lights in the bedroom got really bright and she heard a pop. Thats when several breakers were tripped. The light bulbs in the bedroom were blown out.

If it was a big surge, why did it not smoke the other surge protector strips in the house?

Something is not right for sure.

Different surge protectors have different designs and components. So, some will engage at lower voltages and some at higher voltages. Be careful when buying surge protectors to check the clamping voltage. Computers and other electronic items benefit from lower (3-400V) clamping voltages.

Since you apparently live in an area subject to surges, I would definitely recommend both replacing all of your surge protectors, blown and otherwise, and adding a whole house surge protector. Going the extra mile to put expensive electronics behind a UPS is, in my book, cheap insurance.

How many "hits" can this take?

1-? It all depends on how "big" the surge is (voltage and duration).
More here;

New Requirements for MOVs Used for Surge Suppression on AC Mains Ports - In Compliance Magazine

It is a common misconception that any product that complies with IEC 60950-1 will also comply with IEC 62368-1. A key goal of this article is to help readers of IEC 62368-1 understand the underlying safety concerns that the new requirements are trying to address.

incompliancemag.com

I think that it is a good general practice to replace all the surge protectors in a house after one fails.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

If lights go super bright…..suspect dropped or loose neutral wires. Seen it so many times.

I'm kind of thinking the same thing. Bad, broken or missing neutral leg. Very dangerous. Would certainly explain one portion of house (leg) being "ok" and another portion (leg) frying stuff.

 

[dj1701]

By buddy Tom who is an electrician came by and pulled the meter from the box. He said everything was very loose. He said he thinks that was the problem.

 

[ponytug]

By buddy Tom who is an electrician came by and pulled the meter from the box. He said everything was very loose. He said he thinks that was the problem.

I hope that fixes it all for you!

Best of luck,

Peter

 

[m7040]

Installed today a Square D surge whole house surge protector

 

[jfsawatzky]

Do whole home surge protectors provide any protection for any type of wired data connection? Or are they just for mains power?

 

[ddbackhoe]

I was not home when it happened, but my girlfriend was. It was day with really high winds. She said the lights in the bedroom got really bright and she heard a pop. Thats when several breakers were tripped. The light bulbs in the bedroom were blown out.

If it was a big surge, why did it not smoke the other surge protector strips in the house?

Something is not right for sure.

Overhead wiring to the house? Windy day? Likely cause, loose connection at the transformer, weatherhead or meter base. All stuff the electric company should be happy to come out and check.

 

[John_Mc]

Do whole home surge protectors provide any protection for any type of wired data connection? Or are they just for mains power?

I have never seen one that adds data line protection in one unit. If someone were to make one to do this, you would need to run the data connections over to near the whole house suppressor in order to connect them. That's generally bad practice from an electrical/RF noise perspective.

Protecting main power can provide some degree of protection to data connections: mains power is one path by which a surge gets in to a data device.

They do make cable surge protectors, if that is how data is supplied to your home. I believe I've seen protectors for incoming DSL/Phone lines (but it's been quite a while since I've even looked in to that.) That will protect from external sources, such as a lightning strike near the cable on a utility pole or storm damage which brings the cable into contact with power lines. However, I'm not sure how much that will do much to protect from surges originating inside the home.

 

[LittleBill21]

Do whole home surge protectors provide any protection for any type of wired data connection? Or are they just for mains power?

just mains power, they sell coax and ethernet surge protectors, I own both as I have an access point on the roof. I also use fiber between all network components, we use to get a lot of lightning here.

 

[mikester]

just mains power, they sell coax and ethernet surge protectors, I own both as I have an access point on the roof. I also use fiber between all network components, we use to get a lot of lightning here.

Ethernet surge protection

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B079HXKRW1

 

[LittleBill21]

Ethernet surge protection

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B079HXKRW1

yep I use that one.

 

[dougtrr2]

Mind you, I didn’t do it right away like I should have, and we had several of those weird power outages where the power flashes on and off before finally going out. And then my garage door opener stopped working properly!

Bad James!

My brother worked for a power company. Those outages where the power flashes are due to automatic re-closers. They detect a short and open up. Then they try to reapply power. They are set for three tries and then they lock open. That way if a something temporarily shorts a line, like a tree branch, you don't lose power.

So if your lights blink three times and then go out, your are screwed. Your power will be out for a while.

Doug in SW IA

 

[R134a]

The "strip" surge protectors (any brand) are worthless. Most use MOVs...Metal oxide varistor which sacrafices itself in a surge. The damage is done because it can't react fast enough. I use a box from ZEROSURGE.COM. No issues in 15+ years. You will pay for it but it works.