Reddit reviews Tripp Lite Isobar 6 Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip, 6ft Cord, Right-Angle Plug, Metal, Lifetime Limited Warranty & $50,000 Insurance (ISOBAR6ULTRA)

I'll go ahead and give you links to Amazon, but they're available everywhere. Tripp Lite, as /u/Knobodycares said, is a great brand. They're most known for their server racks, and UPS systems, but more importantly their PDU (power distribution units), which is what you need.

Their best (pricey but best-in-class), is the Isobar line. 4 outlet, 6 outlet, 10 outlet. They shutdown when a surge which would otherwise fry your equipment occurs, instead of simply allowing the power through.

Their other models, 7 outlet, 8 outlet, 10 outlet, are also much better than your average retail brand, and are generally cheaper. They all come with some form of insurance, as-well.

These are only a handful of options, check out the rest here.

Tripp-Lite https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Protector-Right-Angle-ISOBAR6ULTRA/dp/B0000513US/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1538781581&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=tripp+lite+surge+protector&dpPl=1&dpID=41btj3R2tEL&ref=plSrch

isobar

It's basically one of the only REAL surge protectors you can buy. More importantly, it removes EMI and RFI and takes a cruddy electrical system in an old house or even a new house if your electrician sucked, and makes it clean so it stops burning your electronics. Other surge protectors have no filters and don't stabilize the electrical signal. Most surge protectors don't do squat and aren't even rated for lightning.

Hey TBone, before I respond to what you wrote, I just wanted to let you know how much I've appreciated your ongoing support here, it's definitely recognized and has been very helpful! Also, I've spent a good 8+ hours reading about UPS+SP technology/physics since my last message. :)


> First, the concern about the load and fire risk...

Totally get it. Realistically, I'm expecting a load of 800w to 900w, which is why I raised it. The 1.5k I'm citing is a truly one-off extreme I doubt I'd achieve (involves SLI, OCing GPUs, CPU, RAM, and monitors), while also benchmark testing all of these components at the same time, doing an audio recording, and moving the desk up. I wanted to plan for this level (works out to 12.5A, btw - this room is provided 15A, per my apartment's unit's circuit breaker). Getting back to it though, if I exceed 900w, which realistically I think I will 1-3% of the time I'm using the computer, based on rough napkin math, it seems you're saying I won't have mechanical failures. That's great! Hopefully this isn't used as a set point to break the circuit however, as I'd rather not have to disconnect things to avoid power loss 1-3% of the time! That would be really frustrating. However, if the 900w rating is purely for UPS, then it's a non-issue and I don't mind losing those few seconds of power supply if I have an outage just then. Do you know which it is?

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> Next, how do know know what surge suppression amount is enough and concerns about lightning prone area...

Terrific analogy, really helped get me going and reading tons more to understand. So, I see there are home SPs at 3K joules that can be bought, but from what I can tell, I don't think I can install them directly to my apartment unit's circuit breaker. Furthermore, everything I'm reading is saying neither this or outlet-SPs are capable of withstanding nearby lightning strikes, it's really just for far-away ones (and other surges). That home-based SPs are really intended more for outside surges (that's my major concern), while outlet-based SPs do that (to a lesser extent), but also protect for in-home surges (e.g. a motor kicking-off on a fridge or A/C). The latter being a lesser concern for me probably, as I don't perceive any symptoms of that being an issue (i.e. no flickering lights when appliances get plugged in or kicked-on).

The product you mentioned doesn't indicate clamping or response times, which seem important - these were the sort of metrics I was wondering about if SPs had, and with reading, I see they are accounted for, just not with this product! Not sure where you'd look to get that info, since manufacturer doesn't provide? (seems like a bad sign) Btw, this is the SP I was considering prior to our discussion (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000513US), which is 3k joules, 140 clamp (unnecessarily low, since I'm not running labratory precise equipment and the "safe zone" is purportedly 330v for a 120v railed for most appliances, I wouldn't want to go too far below 300v [othewise it'll just lead to the MOVs "burning out" sooner), but also unknown response time. Sadly, it's not a UPS, and as you say, daisy-chaining it with one probably voids warranty and is a risk to renter's insurance!

Regarding SPs not being useful once the protection dies out, I had no idea! I did dig into this a lot more though and, at least with MOV based surge suppression, I think you can salvage them. Many retailers sell them in bulk for cheaper (e.g. https://www.radioshack.com/products/surge-protector?variant=20332051141). Seems to me it should be a straight-forward DIY to replace them. An indicator light to know when they have failed would be preferred over setting an arbitrary date on a calendar to do so, however. I'm reading some indicator lights may be misleading though? And of course, we'd have to make a point of periodically checking them (kind of like tire pressure for cars - I'd rather check those regularly to discover if I have a leak, rather than arbitrarily replacing my tires every few years).
Regarding SP technology, there appears to be three main ones. The MOVs and "other" gas-chambered approaches, both of which are rated in joules. The third doesn't have joules rating though and apparently can last virtually indefinitely, as it never "burns out". Take a look here; I'm curious what you'll think (sadly, they don't have any UPS options, which brings up the below discussion on daisy-chaining): https://zerosurge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/6R-8R-Series-0318.pdf It appears to be 175 clamp, "unlimited" joules, and similarly unknown response time. It costs $290, btw.

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> What about Daisy chaining surge suppression?

Makes perfect sense. And that's really frustrating. As I've gotten to know more, I feel confident in daisy chaining safely and understanding the associated risks, but this loss of insurance protection is not worth it, as my renter's agreement would cover the cost of my equipment. As for the warranty-voiding, that too would be frustrating, although I'm reading most people never manage to get them to make good on the claims (even with meticulous receipts). As mentioned earlier, sadly, I don't think I can get a SP for my whole apartment unit...correct me if you think otherwise, but it seems this is a touch elaborate. Of course, you don't see my unit, so that might be too hard to respond to meaningfully, in which case, no worries.

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As an aside to all of the above, I've been reading evaluations of coaxial/ethernet SPs have shown not to be beneficial during surges. Seems it may not be as greater as one would think. :(

I would venture the noise depending ds on how much current is being drawn from the supply. The wifi probably draws one or two orders of magnitude more current than the mfj bulb.

About the outlets- if you can't easily add more, try a tripp-lite isobar surge protector/ powerstrip. They include rfi filters, so great for the shack.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000513US/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1469831091&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=tripp+lite+surge+protector&dpPl=1&dpID=41btj3R2tEL&ref=plSrch

I have the same problem... I just got a surge protector with a flat plug to move the outlets to the side of my nightstand.

https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Protector-Right-Angle-ISOBAR6ULTRA/dp/B0000513US

That's a great question actually. Here's a good example.

Here's a typical home 'surge protector', but they are only rated for 200 joules.

The thing to understand is that surge protectors can protect via several different methods, but the most common is for it to essentially fry the internal protection. You have to think of the rating kind of like the health meter in a video game. If you have a 1,000 joule surge protector, its probably wasted after ten hits of 100 joules.

If you want something that will protect expensive stuff from lightning, you're looking for something with a rating in the multiple thousands of joules. Like here's an example that's rated for 3,330.

Of course, there's more to it if you want to read about amp ratings and such, but that's the quick rundown.

This is why everyone's home router or printer seems to die every time a lightning storm comes around. Because they are plugged into a surge protector that likely had a very low rating, and its been in use for years and years.

/source: Am an IT guy with a computer science degree who routinely has to deal with server rooms and networking equipment that has to be protected.

As mentioned they don't effect quality but do protect from surges.

I recommend a Tripp lite Isobar.

Belkin isn't particularly well known for paying that warranty...

I would be wary of $15 surge protector that comes with a $300k warranty.

This is a much more reliable product and company.