"w_tom" wrote in message
...

[snip]


If refrigerators and air conditioners were creating
destructive surges, then all would be trooping daily to
hardware stores to replace damaged dimmer switches, electronic
timers switches, X-10 remote controllers, and touch on-off
lamps. Surges created by refrigerators, et al are urban myth
because you don't replace those other appliances daily.

Well, who'd have figured? Here's a variation on that urban legand. Cut
the current to an inductive load such as a motor, and it makes a surge
of voltage! I'm so glad the clued-in know better.

Furthermore if refrigerators, et al created those surges,
then surge protector must be installed in that surge creating
appliance - not on every other appliance.


As all the Clueminati know, that's a big, big if.


If refrigerators created those voltages in excess of 330
volts (as listed on surge protector boxes), then we must
remove those appliances as a threat to human life. We don't
remove those appliances because they don't create 'urban myth'
surges.


E-mail is certainly more responsible than appliances for the urban myth
surges. We have the case down cold.


MOVs have limited life expectancy as defined by joules. If
refrigerators and air conditioners were creating destructive
surges, then those plug-in surge protectors would be degraded
in weeks or months without any indication of failure. What
good is a $50 surge protector that must be replaced every
month? Ineffective.

I ruined my surge supressor by reading posts on AFU.


HowStuffWorks on surge protectors has numerous technical
errors. It begins accurately, but then makes serious errors.
It preaches what plug-in surge protectors promote rather than
the principles of surge protection proven in the 1930s. It
preaches concept that if accurate, negate any need for 'whole
house' type protectors. The author probably did not have
sufficient knowledge to see through half truths promoted by
his information source - plug-in protector manufacturers.
Therefore HowStuffWorks is riddled with errors and
misrepresentations.


That's right. Don't trust advertising literature!


Because plug-in surge protectors don't claim protection from
direct lightning strikes, then instead HowStuffWorks claims
most surge damage comes from refrigerators, et al.
Demonstrated is that such surges don't typically exist. In
reality, lightning is a most common source of surge damage -
in direct contradiction to plug-in manufacturer claims and to
text in HowStuffWorks. Surges occur typically once every
eight years.


Surges every eight years? Then I gotta ask Art Bell just what's ruining
those surge supressors!


HowStuffWorks provides so much wrong information that it
should be outrightly avoided and should not be recommended -
except to demonstrate how to promote urban myths.

Example: since plug-in surge protectors don't claim
protection from lightning, then an outright lie is declared:


You know it, d00d!! Here's what the liar Wendell H. Laidley, President,
Zero Surge Inc., wrote:

"Myth #10. NOTHING CAN STOP LIGHTNING.

While this simple statement is true in absolute terms"

This is from:

http://www.totse.com/en/technology/c...ogy/surge.html

Well, he goes on to claim that his products offer better partial
protection from induced lightning surges than the partial protection
offered by the supressors offered by other companies. Well, I say
protection and partial protection aren't exactly the same thing. I wish
I could get one of those surge protectors the Clueminati use. Those
supressors must throw the lightning bolts back into the clouds, where
they belong.


Actually lightning only overpowers the undersized surge
protector sold by plug-in manufacturers. Visit real surge
protector manufacturers to learn why man has shunted direct
strikes without damage since before WWII.

Man has shunted direct strikes without damage since before WWI. Man has
shunted direct strikes without damage since before the Spanish-American
war. Man has shunted direct strikes without damage since before the
Civil War. Man has shunted direct strikes without damage since before
the Mexican American war. Man has shunted direct strikes without damage
since before the War of 1812. Man has shunted direct strikes without
damage since before the Revolution. Man has shunted direct strikes
without damage since Ben "Freemason" Franklin figured it out. But why?
Why shunt protection when series protection is claimed to be better?
And why is such manly knowledge parceled out by the manufacturers of
real surge protectors? Must be a Clueminati thing.


'Whole house'
protectors are properly sized to avoid lightning damage.
HowStuffWorks is biased towards grossly overpriced,
undersized, ineffective, plug-in surge protectors - that
cannot protect from the most common source of surge damage -
the common mode transient.

Yes! Finally we get to the all damaging common mode transient! There
are still morons who discount the dangers!! To quote from the idiotic,
inane fools at the ZeroSurge website:

"We can readily see the common mode surge risk is not just low, it is
nonexistent."

This is from:

http://www.zerosurge.com/HTML/mode2.html

Thank goodness the unnamed makers of Real Surge Protectors who know what
the hell they are talking about.





More errors are about those indicator lamps. The OK lamp
does not report that a surge protector is functional. Remove
all MOVs and the indicator lamp would still claim the surge
protector is OK as demonstrated in these scary pictures:
http://www.zerosurge.com/truth.htm

Did Art Bell clip those out?



HowStuffWorks provides so much wrong information that it
should be avoided.



Only a grossly undersized surge protector will fail
catastrophically. Only catastrophic type of failures can be
reported by the light. Properly sized surge protectors only
degrade.

A degraded surge protector will still indicate OK on that
lamp. Indicator can report that a surge protector has grossly
failed (because it was undersized) BUT cannot report that a
surge protector is good. Scary pictures demonstrate this
problem by removing all MOVs - and still the surge protector
indicator lamp says it is OK:
http://www.zerosurge.com/truth.htm

HowStuffWorks has outrightly mislead about that indicator
lamp since the English major did not really understand how
that light works.



They forget to mention that phone lines have been installed
with 'whole house' surge protector for decades. Yes. The
telco provides a 'whole house' protector on household phone
lines - for FREE! Again propaganda from ineffective plug-in
manufacturers that routinely forgets to mention, for example,
that surge protection is earth ground. An effective surge
protector only connects to surge protection - earth ground. A
surge protector is not surge protection - as they would have
everyone believe to sell their overpriced product. The
HowStuffWorks article ignores the most critical component in
all surge protection 'systems' - central earth ground.

However *real* surge protector manufacturers discuss
earthing extensively:
http://www.polyphaser.com/ppc_technical.asp

Why does HowStuffWork ignore fundamentals of surge
protection? Why does it completely ignore the most critical
component of a surge protection 'system'? Urban myths are
common even though those fundamentals have been proven since
the 1930s. Unfortunately, HowStuffWorks mixes accurate
information with urban myths. For example, we are not
replacing damaged dimmer switches and other appliances daily.
Therefore refrigerator and air conditioner are not creating
those damaging surges claimed by HowStuffWorks.


Here's another related urban myth for 'ya. Underwriter's Labs requires
electrical devices to withstand these surges or they don't get approved!



The HowStuffWorks surge protectors article is chock full of
such misrepresentations. So full of errors and
misrepresentations as to best avoid. Fundamental to surge
protection and not mentioned by HowStuffWorks - a surge
protector is only as effective as its earth ground.
HowStuffWorks does not even mention the most critical
component in any surge protection 'system' - single point
earth ground - because it is not discussing effective surge
protectors.


What can you expect? They hardly mention the miracle of shortwave
radio!! Maybe you could write some clear articles about grounding and
SW radio. Show those English majors a thing or two!

Frank Dresser