PaperPrincess

I agree with getting a good one. Mine was around $100, but it has a backup battery so if you are embroidering, you can jot down the stitch number you are at before you power down. We've lost power about 4-5 times today, which is pretty unusual.

Quiltforme

we have a whole house surge protecter and it works very well!

scowlkat

We have a whole house surge protector purchased through our electric co-op. I also have a UPS that I used to use on my destop computer that I now use for my sewing machine - BUT -I couldn't stand it if anything happened to it, so as a matter of course, every time I am through sewing, I unplug the machine and even move the plug away from the outlet. My brother was a fireman for 21 years and told me that with a direct lightning strike, it can actually arc from the outlet for a distance. After all, a few simple steps helps me rest easier if I am away from home and a storm has developed at my house!

westom

Take a $3 power strip. Add some ten cent protector parts. Sell it for $7 in a supermarket. Similar circuit sells in Walmart or Staples for $25 or $60. Or Monster sells a similar circuit in Best Buy for $80 or $150. When does a profit margin become excessive?

Read each numeric spec. No power strip protector claims to protect from typically destructive surges. None. But don't take my word for it. View numbers for protection from each type of surge.

Destructive surges are typically hundreds of thousands of joules. How many hundreds of joules does that power strip claim to absorb? How does it make hundreds of thousands of joules just magically disappear? It doesn't. It makes money disappear.

Monster has a long history of identifying scams. Then selling similar products at even higher prices. Because it costs more, then many will recommend it.

Either a protector connects a surge short (ie 'less than 10 feet') to protection. Or it is ineffective. Any facility that can never have damage always upgrades earthing. Uses a 'whole house' protector. And wastes no money on power strip protectors. What does Sun Microsystems recommend in their "Planning Guide for the Sun Server Room"? Whole house protector. Not power strips.

More details and solutions from responsible sources is provided in "saved by surge protector" at
http://www.quiltingboard.com/user_po...m=19457&page=1

Power strip protectors too close to a computerized appliance and too far from earth ground can even make damage easier. Can compromise protection already inside the appliance. May also create house fires as demonstrated recently by Whitneyd88 entitled "My house caught on fire and my tank busted" at:
http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forum...ad.php?t=55174
> A plug caught fire in my room (which was plugged into a surge protector) it was
> caused by a power surge and caused my tank to burst.

Protection is always about where energy dissipates.

Read "saved by surge protector" for protectors that do what is even routine in munitions dumps. Because munitions dumps also must have best protection. They do not waste money on power strip protectors. More important, they upgrade the only item that provides protection - single point earth ground.

What is necessary to protect power strip protectors? One properly earthed 'whole house' protector.

sueisallaboutquilts

Great topic. Thanks for bringing it up!