Surge Protector for flat panel??

[aich75013]

Anyone have suggestions on a surge protector for a flat panel TV?
I have 1 Plasma hung on the wall and I'm about to hang an LCD in my daughter's room.
I'm looking for something near the outlet, or something to replace the outlet with the surge protection built in (it that exists.)
I added an electrical outlet where the TV is for the plasma and I'll do the same for the LCD.

I've seen these: Monster Surge Protector

I was looking to see if there are any other options.

Thanks.

[jmsremax]

When looking at surge protectors, brands aren't as important as what the surge protector specs are. Now my advice is to look into house surge protectors. I prefer this method because it will protect much more than an expensive tv from outages, lightning strikes, and surges.

[kydsid]

Adrian, I dunno what you power is like up in Allen, but down here we get random spikes and quick losses of power all the time. That and the fact I really don't trust a speaker wire company to protect my investment from electrical issues is why I wouldn't buy that product.

All of my surge protectors for home theatre, computers, and home sound system are APC battery backup units. Yes they are big, but they prevent the expensive stuff from turning off in a brownout, which in terms of LCD's and Plasmas is important IMO, and APC has the best warranty should a lightning strike or something else take out the equipment plugged into it.

Plus APC is an electrical company that makes surge protectors and battery backups.

[JE3146]

Whatever you do, don't buy Monster products

[Volt]

OK, cost for a plasma tv? I'm guessing $3,000 and you want to put it on $17 worth of protection?????

For my home, office and other IT clients I only use APC products. For protection there are 2 specs you really want to look at:

1. Max hit the protection device can take
2. How fast does it clamp (in other words, how fast does it react to the surge.

Only you know how much protection you want to pay for as to the cost of the item being protected. APC has outstanding warranty/insurance on their protection devices.

My , you can get an inline APC UPS for $50 - $70 about anywhere. Does a TV need to be on an UPS, no, but the power feeds the battery and the battery feeds the TV. Re-conditioned power is cleaner and better for elctronic devices. Besides, more devices are damaged over time by brownouts than surge hits.

[poker]

I went with a Monster Power HTS 5100 MKII for my system.

[aich75013]

Actually, I wasn't too happy about the Monster one, I was just using that as an example of what I have seen.
The Plasma cost $1000 and the LCD $400.

We've lived in our house for 12 years (it was a new build) and have had less than one outage a year.
I did have one strike that went through my DSL and knocked out almost everything with an ethernet cable attached to it. Which is why I am looking for something.

What about something like this?
Furman In-Wall

[Volt]

On your item below
1. "This is a special order item and is non-cancelable and non-returnable."
2. Doesn't list any specs on what and how fast it protects?????

You have no idea as to it's worth.

try this as an example

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/APC+-+55...&skuId=9307788

$75K insurance on this one.

Originally Posted by aich75013

Actually, I wasn't too happy about the Monster one, I was just using that as an example of what I have seen.
The Plasma cost $1000 and the LCD $400.

We've lived in our house for 12 years (it was a new build) and have had less than one outage a year.
I did have one strike that went through my DSL and knocked out almost everything with an ethernet cable attached to it. Which is why I am looking for something.

What about something like this?
Furman In-Wall

[CigarNut]

Originally Posted by kydsid

Adrian, I dunno what you power is like up in Allen, but down here we get random spikes and quick losses of power all the time. That and the fact I really don't trust a speaker wire company to protect my investment from electrical issues is why I wouldn't buy that product.

All of my surge protectors for home theatre, computers, and home sound system are APC battery backup units. Yes they are big, but they prevent the expensive stuff from turning off in a brownout, which in terms of LCD's and Plasmas is important IMO, and APC has the best warranty should a lightning strike or something else take out the equipment plugged into it.

Plus APC is an electrical company that makes surge protectors and battery backups.

[mosesbotbol]

I bought a Furman Line Conditioner that is suppose to protect against surges, but also cleans the power. I think it was like $130...

[aich75013]

One more idea.
lifetime $100,000 connected equipment warranty

I'm just trying to keep everything behind the TV. Both of these TV's are in bedrooms and only have a Blu-Ray player attached to it (as well as OTA TV.)
Panamax

I'm considering the other options for my DLP TV which has all of the other AV Equipment attached to it.

[tsolomon]

Originally Posted by Volt

OK, cost for a plasma tv? I'm guessing $3,000 and you want to put it on $17 worth of protection?????

For my home, office and other IT clients I only use APC products. For protection there are 2 specs you really want to look at:

1. Max hit the protection device can take
2. How fast does it clamp (in other words, how fast does it react to the surge.

Only you know how much protection you want to pay for as to the cost of the item being protected. APC has outstanding warranty/insurance on their protection devices.

My , you can get an inline APC UPS for $50 - $70 about anywhere. Does a TV need to be on an UPS, no, but the power feeds the battery and the battery feeds the TV. Re-conditioned power is cleaner and better for elctronic devices. Besides, more devices are damaged over time by brownouts than surge hits.

I also use an APC UPS at home for my electronic equipment and think it's the only way to go.

[RGD.]

Originally Posted by Volt

. . .

try this as an example

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/APC+-+55...&skuId=9307788

. . .

Although our power network is really stable where I live (still have 30 year electronics, never lost a TV) I do have a similar APC unit on my LCD TV. In addition I have a whole house surge protector installed on the circuit box.


Ron

Originally Posted by aich75013

Anyone have suggestions on a surge protector for a flat panel TV?... I've seen these: Monster Surge Protector

A popular myth was that speaker wire had polarity. Many were sold wire with one end marked for the amp; other end for the speaker. Quite a few said they could hear a difference. So Monster jumped in to sell $7 speaker wire for $70 - because it was marked with polarity.

Any product also being sold by Monster is traditionally a scam. Take a $3 power strip. Add some ten cent protector parts. Sell it for $25 or $150. Because it costs so much, large numbers will insist it does something.

Did you read Monster's numeric specs? What do the numbers say? Where does it list protection from each type of surge? It does not for one glaring reason. It does not claim to protect from destructive surges. It protects from a type of surge that typically does no damage. That is enough for most everyone to hype "it does 100% surge protection". Yes, the scam is that egregious.

Did you not first read the tech numbers? That is the only place where lying is not legal.

Now read the spec numbers for that APC UPS. Hundreds of joules. How does that absorb surges that are hundreds of thousands of joules? It doesn't. The spec numbers say it has near-zero surge protection. Just enough above zero so that sales propaganda says it is 100% surge protection. Again, at what point so you read numbers rather than listen to so many who are so easily deceived? BTW, the same propaganda technique also proved Saddam had WMDs.

So how does that 2 cm part inside a protector stop what three miles of sky could not? It doesn't. It hopes you remain dumb - do not ask such damning questions. Do not learn how surge protection even from direct lightning strikes was done even 100 years ago.

No protector stop, blocks, or absorbs surges. Even though Monster, APC, and other scams need you to believe the myth. Let's see what the NIST (US government research agency) says:
> You cannot really suppress a surge altogether, nor "arrest" it. What these protective devices
> do is neither suppress nor arrest a surge, but simply divert it to ground, where it
> can do no harm.

A benchmark to filter out nonsense from a majority. Do they discuss where the energy dissipates? Do they discuss single point earth ground? If not, they 'know' only what they were ordered by propaganda to know. Notice only one - jmsremax - posted reality.

Effective protection is always about where energy dissipates. Either surge energy (hundreds of thousands of joules) is absorbed harmlessly outside the building. Or that energy goes hunting for earth destructively via appliances. That is everything.

Hunting. A surge on utility wires down the street is a surge directly to every powered off or on appliance. Every appliance. So which appliance is damaged? Hunting. Which appliance makes a better connection to earth? That appliance is most often damaged. The only way to stop the hunt is to earth a 'whole house' protector.

Why does lightning strike wooden church steeples? Because even wood is an electrical conductor. Linoleum tile and concrete are even better conductors. A surge has numerous secret and hidden paths to find earth destructively. Nothing inside a building will avert the hunt. Or you know that by reading the numeric specs. Either earth a 'whole house' protector for about $1 per protected appliance. Or you spend $hundreds on a magic box that claims near-zero surge protection.

Nothing new here. This science was understood even 100 years ago. Described by last 1800s patents. And ignored when so many are educated by retail propaganda rather than well proven science. Remember how many 'knew' Saddam had WMDs? Same process. How myths and wild speculation get a majority to believe lies.

Protection is and was always about earthing. Much more responsible companies sell 'whole house' protectors including Leviton, Siemens, General Electric, ABB, Keison, and Intermatic. A list of responsible companies is long. Does not include APC, Belkin, Tripplite or Monster. An effective Cutler-Hammer solution sells in Lowes and Home Depot for less than $50.

How to quickly identify ineffective protectors. 1) It has no dedicated earthing wire. 2) Manufacturer avoids all discussion about earth ground. And yes, you must read this multiple times to understand it.

Only effective solutions make that short (ie 'less than 10 foot') connection to single point earth ground. Only effective solutions are designed to earth direct lightning strikes - and the protector is not even damaged. Effective solutions also cost tens or 100 times less money - from more responsible companies.

Protection is always about where energy dissipates. Repeated because unlearning retail myths is that difficult. Protection means hundreds of thousands of joules dissipate harmlessly in earth. And nobody even knew the surge existed. A protector is only as effective as the only thing that does protection - single point earth ground. And this is only the executive summary.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by aich75013

One more idea.
lifetime $100,000 connected equipment warranty

I'm just trying to keep everything behind the TV. Both of these TV's are in bedrooms and only have a Blu-Ray player attached to it (as well as OTA TV.)
Panamax

I'm considering the other options for my DLP TV which has all of the other AV Equipment attached to it.

I'd be perfectly happy with that, Adrian.
I use surge protector plug bars, but I don't have space issues like you.
I have tons of electronic equipment and here in the woods the power does all kinds of goofy stuff. Haven't fried anything yet, knock on wood.
When I was in Troutville about five years ago, we'd have a community parade if a day went by when the power didn't go out.
I think it's another area where outfits profit on consumer fear. It doesn't cost a lot to protect your devices.

Edit:
That was really good stuff up there by westom. I kinda blew by it cause my attention span is really challenged.

Originally Posted by shilala

I use surge protector plug bars, but I don't have space issues like you.

The previous post asked "How does its hundreds of joules absorb surges that are hundreds of thousands of joules?" That power bar sits on a rug, behind furniture, or on a desktop covered in paper? View these scary pictures of what sometimes happens when a destructive surge occurs:
http://www.hanford.gov/rl/?page=556&parent=554
http://www.ddxg.net/old/surge_protectors.htm
http://www.zerosurge.com/HTML/movs.html
http://tinyurl.com/3x73ol entitled "Surge Protector Fires"
http://www3.cw56.com/news/articles/local/BO63312/
http://www.nmsu.edu/~safety/news/les...tectorfire.htm
http://www.pennsburgfireco.com/fullstory.php?58339

In one picture, all protector components were removed. And the protector light still said it was good. In another, a fire marshal describes why the threat exists.

Informed homeowners earth only one 'whole house' protector - because even plug-in protectors need that protection.

[cricky101]

Originally Posted by westom

The previous post asked "How does its hundreds of joules absorb surges that are hundreds of thousands of joules?" That power bar sits on a rug, behind furniture, or on a desktop covered in paper? View these scary pictures of what sometimes happens when a destructive surge occurs:
http://www.hanford.gov/rl/?page=556&parent=554
http://www.ddxg.net/old/surge_protectors.htm
http://www.zerosurge.com/HTML/movs.html
http://tinyurl.com/3x73ol entitled "Surge Protector Fires"
http://www3.cw56.com/news/articles/local/BO63312/
http://www.nmsu.edu/~safety/news/les...tectorfire.htm
http://www.pennsburgfireco.com/fullstory.php?58339

In one picture, all protector components were removed. And the protector light still said it was good. In another, a fire marshal describes why the threat exists.

Informed homeowners earth only one 'whole house' protector - because even plug-in protectors need that protection.

Welcome to Cigar Asylum?

[floydpink]

I live in the lightning capital of the world, Central Florida, and use Monster surge protectors and never had a problem.

On the tv's I use the one that has a signal boost.