Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Which power strip do you recommend? Is IKEA's OK?
- Thread starter hajime
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Again, the $10 Walmart protector is electrically similar to a more expensive APC or Tripplite. A $90 Monster protector is same protection only with more expensive paint. Did those reviews mention that? A majority recommend this thing without any idea what it does.
Each is only a $3 power strip with ten cent protector parts. All those protectors need protection only provided by the proven and effective 'whole house' solution. A best solution only costs $1 per protected appliance. And is the solution found in every facility that cannot have damage. Those numbers remain unchallenged by anything that would recommend a Tripplite. Why continue doing what is never recommended by science or spec numbers? Why can Monster sell an equivalent product for $90? Because so many recommend it - subjectively just like a Tripplite and APC.
Where is one spec number that claims to protect from a destructive surge? When did a surge destroy the dishwasher, refrigerator, clocks, and smoke detectors. But not damage an item plugged into an APC? If all that damage does not exist, then APC protector did nothing. Nobody can honestly recommend it even using observation.
Why buy something when even that manufacturer does not claim effective protection? Because so many others (who are not engineers and did not do this stuff even before PCs existed) recommended it?
I can only speak from personal experience about them and for me, thus far, they've been excellent.
Anybody knows what happened when I turned on the protector?
Many years ago I used Belkin. No problem even with strong lightings. Don't know the read why stores I mentioned above don't sell them anymore. Stores I mentioned above sell brands that I have not heard of. For example, Walmart and Rona sell lots of Woods products. BestBuy sells lots of Insignia's. Never heard of such brands.
Many years ago I used Belkin. No problem even with strong lightings. Don't know the read why stores I mentioned above don't sell them anymore. Stores I mentioned above sell brands that I have not heard of. For example, Walmart and Rona sell lots of Woods products. BestBuy sells lots of Insignia's. Never heard of such brands.
Last edited:
The power goes on just like power restoration or as if the plug was connected to a wall receptacle. No magic exists inside a protector. It powers on just like the Ikea. It powers on just like any other electrical switch. When switched on, a connection from electronics to wall receptacle is a direct hardwired connection through a power switch (and hopefully through a critically important 15 amp circuit breaker).
Last edited:
Insignia is their private brand. Along with Rocket(something) and a few others. I steer clear of those 'private brands', because they are likely made by the 'lowest bidder', and the specs can change between production runs, and even when they swap manufacturers and keep the same packaging, etc.
My first power strip was a Tripp Lite, and it was bullet proof. When I sold the computer plugged in to it, I included the strip. A client had one in their 'paint line' and it survived in that environment.
I have been trying to find a website that reviewed power supplies for PC's, and it had a lot of points to consider for power strips too.
The cheaper power supplies use cheaper and lower rated components, and have thinner wire, and thinner traces on the circuit board(s). The same with cheap power strips. Thin wire, thin boards, thin traces, no 'protection', unreliable protection, easily bumped power switch, thin blades in the receptacles, poor grounding, etc...
The APC's that I have have HUGE traces, and large gauge wire. It doesn't mean they are 'perfect', but it does give me some comfort...
You tend to get what you pay for...
Power strip had a manufacturing defect. That defect could have existed in any power strip with or without protector parts. And that defect should not have existed. It usually would have tripped a breaker in the strip or in the breaker box.
That assumes one condo circuit lost power (circuit breaker tripped). If multiple circuits lost power (ie and breakers did not trip), then a defect known as an open neutral may still exist. That defect would have been and still may be observed earlier because incandescent bulbs periodically changed intensity. (And then sparking would have come only from protector type strips.)
Open neutral is not an issue to be ignored. Reason for it should be discovered for human safety reasons.
This thread is hilarious.
Why would you not trust your $2,000 mac to a glorified extension cord (or a regular extension cord)?
[doublepost=1474377037][/doublepost]
And why do you think a "pure sine output" is important to feed into the SMPS on your computer hardware?
Why would you not trust your $2,000 mac to a glorified extension cord (or a regular extension cord)?
[doublepost=1474377037][/doublepost]
And why do you think a "pure sine output" is important to feed into the SMPS on your computer hardware?
Wrong.....
.... and wrong.
------
a) You seem to not understand that electronics use an SMPS to provide DC.
b) You seem to have no clue how inductive loads (such as motors) work, but they are far less forgiving of noise than an SMPS. Also it's not an incoming signal, it's incoming power. Try reading the wikipedia page on how **AC** motors work.
It's the voltage 'quality' that is important. Transient spikes can be HUGE, and very damaging. To a computer, a huge voltage spike can be lethal, and a cheap power strip is going to do nothing to stop one from passing through. Heck, even the good ones will not stop all of a spike from getting through, but living in fear of a voltage spike taking out your computer is crazy. A properly designed power supply should be able to handle most power issues, except for, obviously, a power outage. But anyway...
I bought a 21.5" fluorescent light (undercabinet fixture). There is a warning that "To prevent electric shock do not use this polarized plug with an extention cord, receptacle or other outlet unless the blades can be fully inserted to prevent blade exposure."
Does that mean I cannot plug it into a power bar or surge protector?
These days, some manufacturers do not seem to recommend users to plug electrical appliances (such as this and wireless routers) into power bar or surge protector. I don't recall seeing such warnings many years ago.
Does that mean I cannot plug it into a power bar or surge protector?
These days, some manufacturers do not seem to recommend users to plug electrical appliances (such as this and wireless routers) into power bar or surge protector. I don't recall seeing such warnings many years ago.
See the bolded part of that statement, which is the important one. It's telling you to not try to plug a polarized plug into a non-polarized extension cord. The latter are unfortunately very common, and many people try to jam a polarized plug into one, hoping to stretch the rubber enough to get it to fit.
Any respectable power strip will have polarized sockets, I should think.
Tom's Hardware did some tear downs a few years ago. Unfortunately it isn't a case of 'you get what you pay for'. Some branded products had serious design and build faults. Now they do tear downs on individual units from time to time.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/picturestory/101-power-strip-bar-surge-protection.html#s1
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/picturestory/114-cheap-power-surge-protector.html
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/picturestory/117-cheap-power-surge-protector.html
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/picturestory/101-power-strip-bar-surge-protection.html#s1
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/picturestory/114-cheap-power-surge-protector.html
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/picturestory/117-cheap-power-surge-protector.html
Love those teardowns; maybe they should use clear plastic cases so we can check the quality before buying. BTW, that site really chews up some CPU. What kind for code are they using and how do you disable it?
A connection to Tom's also means your computer must make something like 50 other connections to other web sites including akamitechnologies.com, adnexus.net, sl-reverse.com, twitter.com, facebook.com, amazonaws.com, hdxen.com, latisys.com, aol.com, cloudfront.net, and many others who are only identified by their IP address.
I have Ghostery installed in Safari to prevent that kind of stuff; obviously not working or maybe it needs to be updated.
It is probably working. But a web site will not load until those other connections have first been established. (Typically something like 40 or 50 connections.) So you are waiting for Tom's to update while Tom's is waiting for those other connection to first be established. Either those other connections complete (ie an advertisement). Or eventually Tom's assumed those sites are down, times out. and loads their information on your screen.
To you, it appears that Tom's is slow or downloading much to your screen.
Last edited: