Recent content by westom1

A completely different circuit - completely unrelated to your load - is measured in joules. Those 1500 joules are often related to why power strips cause a fire. And why safer power strips have zero joules. All power strips must provide a full 15 amp rating that the wall receptacle must...

Your surge protector did exactly what its spec numbers said it would do. Unfortunately, too many recommended devices without even reading those numbers. Those recommendations were just as useless. Those protectors only claim to protect from a type of anomaly that typically causes no damage...

Your telco connects their $multi-million computer to overhead wires all over town. Therefore it suffers typically 100 surges with each storm. Why is it not damaged? Because protection even from direct lightning strikes has been routine for over 100 plus years. Electronics atop the Empire State...

Electronics are hyped as 'sensitive' when claims are made without numbers. For example, click for specifications for an LED driver sold by Clare: Why would anyone spend $100 for a UPS or line conditioner? When superior protection is easily inside an LED driver for so much less money. What...

Those devices claim to protect from transients that typically are not destructive. A Brickwall or Surgex will stop what three miles of sky could not? Not likely. How often does a destructive surge exist? Typically once every seven years. A number that varies with venue. To say more would...

Some line conditioners selling even for $100 are a same circuit selling in a power strip for $7 in Wal-Mart. Any *subjective* answer can even prove Obama is a Martian. A typically 120 volt UPS may output 200 volt square waves with a spike up to 270 volts. That may be harmful to some electric...

How does a millimeter gap in a circuit breaker stop what could not be stopped by kilometers of sky? How does a circuit breaker that takes milliseconds or minutes to trip stop a destructive transient that is done in microseconds? Hundreds of consecutive transients could pass through that circuit...

Read the spec numbers for each suggestion. That power strip only claims to protect from surges that are typically so tiny as to not do damage. Typical numbers for a UPS are even smaller - only hundreds of joules - near zero protection. Power output from a UPS in battery backup mode can be...

This answer changes for many different electric motors. To create a magnetic field, the motor must spin. This created what is called back EMF. Then too much current does not flow through wires that generate a magnetic field. Lower voltage means less back EMF. Therefore lower voltage also means...

First read the label on each appliances where the power cord connects. Each has a watt number or an amp number. Sum those numbers from all appliances. A 15 amp cirucit will support up to 1560 watts. If your sum exceeds that number, then you have created a potential house fire. Breaker is telling...