FrznFire07

Surge Protection?

Recommended Posts

What kind of surge protection/surge arrester/ lightning arrestor does everyone have to protect their high dollar equipment?

 

We've been getting some pretty sever lightning and we want to do something a little more than just surge protectors. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

UNPLUG IT...  Best protector of all.   I am referring to vinyl cutter..  Not an expensive  printer..

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
UNPLUG IT...  Best protector of all.   I am referring to vinyl cutter..  Not an expensive  printer..

LOL yea no kidding, but our lightning storms are during business hours while we are printing.

My luck we would unplug it but forget to unplug the network cable.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
UNPLUG IT...  Best protector of all.   I am referring to vinyl cutter..  Not an expensive  printer..

Can't do that with most printers. They kick on every 4-6 hours and run self maintenance cycles to prevent heads from clogging/drying up.

 

I run my VS-300i through a Monster HTS 1000 power strip. Can absorb over 6000 joules of surge, plus has ports to run cable and Ethernet through as well. You never know where the surge will come from.

 

also run an APC UPS Pro1200 8 hour battery backup. I dont need a power outage costing me a $1500 print head replacement.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

From our plumbing and heating side . I have been recommending  people call a qualified electrician and have him install a surge protector on the main panel. As it has been explained to me the surge comes in on the neutral side. The entire house is protected for a couple of hundred dollars.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Can't do that with most printers. They kick on every 4-6 hours and run self maintenance cycles to prevent heads from clogging/drying up.

 

I run my VS-300i through a Monster HTS 1000 power strip. Can absorb over 6000 joules of surge, plus has ports to run cable and Ethernet through as well. You never know where the surge will come from.

 

also run an APC UPS Pro1200 8 hour battery backup. I dont need a power outage costing me a $1500 print head replacement.

so what do you do about lightning?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
so what do you do about lightning?

Lightning is what it is. There's no surge protector out there that will guarantee against any and all possibilities. There is always that one bolt of lightning strong enough to push through the surge protector, no matter what its rated at.

 

I will continue to leave mine plugged into the surge protector, and if an act of god comes along and fries my printer? Well that's why I pay for insurance.

 

 

To put it all in perspective, you could spend thousands of dollars on measures to protect your electronics from lightning, yet the bolt didn't fry your equipment, it just set the building its all stored in on fire. Now where does that leave you?

 

Its all relative, you can only do so much to protect your equipment. Take the right steps and be smart about it, but don't worry about the stuff you can't control.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

right, that was actually my point that a surge protector doesn't do anything for a direct strike, but I know there are lightning arrestors as well as entire building surge protectors and I'm just wondering what everyone else uses.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
What kind of surge protection/surge arrester/ lightning arrestor does everyone have to protect their high dollar equipment?

 

We've been getting some pretty sever lightning and we want to do something a little more than just surge protectors. 

 

 

I use these:

Belkin SurgeCube Surge Protector with 1 Outlet   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006BBAB/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

They work GREAT !! bad thing is they are a one hit wonder... meaning once they take a jolt they are toast. I figure $6 is a lot cheaper than $2000.

 

I had a board go bad on our generator and when the power went out it blew the surge protector and saved my cutter. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Mac & KYSIGN are correct, The best protection would be a UPS as you are Isolating the A/C circuit. In a UPS the AC voltage is charging a bank of batteries which are DC, The batteries are then isolated from the A/C voltage, it produces the AC voltage from DC through a rectifier circuit that is the safest most economical way to protect your equipment.

 

I worked 20 years at my County as Jail Maintenance Supervisor. It's pretty important that those 400 plus inmates of my County's finest, stay locked up in their cells.  :police:  We had over 250 cameras, 32 DVR's, Racks and racks of PLC's that control door locks and all kinds of communications equipment that needed protection. We had a Cummings Generator that would supply backup for more than 6,000 amps of current. For that moment until the generator was up to speed the emergency panels (electronics and vital equipment including electronics) were backed up by a huge UPS with a bank of 24 12 volt commercial batteries. Over those 20 years we took some major hits and never once did we loose our electronics. Nothing is 100% but a UPS is the closest your going to get. I am putting my small shop together now, and I am thinking a few searches On the internet today for a UPS may be in order not for the back up capability but for the surge protection. :D 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If you go the UPS as a surge protector option check the details of the UPS. Some of them don't isolate the circuites like CPMorgan describes. Some are a switching type, meaning they just pass the AC through and charge the batteries. Then when power is lost it switches over and produces AC power from the batteries.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now