How do I use my appliances on a Furman PL8CE?

[jitter]

Direct or near lightening strikes cannot be protected against very well the amount of energy involved is frightening, all you want to do is minimise the down stream damage.

Indeed. Even though I use power strips with built in surge protection, when a lightning storm passes straight over, I unplug my beloved and expensive audio/video gear from the mains and TV coax. Over here, usually it takes no longer than 15 mins to pass over, that short time I can do without TV/audio/internet.... (but only just )...

 

[westom]

Indeed. Even though I use power strips with built in surge protection, when a lightning storm passes straight over, I unplug my beloved and expensive audio/video gear from the mains and TV coax.

By the time one thinks about unplugging, damage has already happened. Unplugging is a least reliable solutions. Especially since nobody is home or awake most of every day. Threat made worse because so many expensive appliances cannot be unplugged including the dishwasher, refrigerator, furnace, air conditioner, telephones, clocks .... What most needs protection during a surge? Smoke detectors. What protects them?

Power strip protectors need replacement due to undersizing. Undersizing increases profits. A surge too tiny to overwhelm protection inside all appliances can damage plug-in protectors. Then power strips are purchased and recommended only because subjective advertising ordered naïve consumers to buy them. And because urban myths claim nothing can protect from direct lightning strikes.

Power strips do not claim to protect from surges strong enough to overwhelm protection already inside every appliance. But undersizing them gets most to recommend and buy more.

Does your Telco unplug their expensive switching computer with each approaching storm? Of course not. Phones work normally during all storms. But that switching center suffers about 100 surges with each storm. Why does your town still have phone service four days after each storm? Because they do not waste money on ineffective, many times more expensive, and undersized protectors. They do not use unreliable unplugging. Instead, well proven 'whole house' type protectors are properly earthed. Only proven solution always has earthing. Then even direct lightning strikes do not cause damage.

Defined was a solution available to consumers. Even much more expensive and so less robust plug-in protectors need that protection.