Posted by Trevor on 11/15/93 11:39

On Thu, 9 Feb 2006 12:37:36 -0600, "Deke" <no spam@today.com> wrote:

>
>"w_tom" <w_tom1@usa.net> wrote in message
>news:1139461014.571192.99720@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
>> Deke wrote:
>> > ...
>> > And they do work, regardless of what you think.
>> > I live in a very rural area, and last summer a very close lightning
>strike
>> > to a tree behind the house resulted in the death of several surge
>> > protectors, but no damage to the
>> > items plugged into them (electronics, freezer, refrigerator).
>>
>> Deke - its not what I think. It is what I know from decades of
>> experience preceded by professional training. In your example, clearly
>> every smoke detector, bathroom GFCI, dishwasher, doorbell, clock radio,
>> and dimmer switch also were damaged. After all, they were not on
>> plug-in protectors. What protected them if not on plug-in protectors?
>>
>> They were protected by 'invisible' surge protectors. Those
>> protectors must be invisible to make your claim.
>>
>> Returning to reality: appliances already have effective internal
>> protection. Disconnect those appliances from a plug-in protector and
>> the "electronics, freezer, refrigerator" also would have been protected
>> by 'invisible' protectors - or by existing internal protection.
>>
>> You have assumed that everything was subject equally to a destructive
>> transient. More electrical concepts. To be damaged, an appliance must
>> be in a path from cloud to earth. Therefore a VCR may be damaged, but
>> an adjacent TV not damaged. Been there - seen it. How can this be?
>> Was TV on an 'invisible' protector while VCR was not?
>>
>> You did not demonstrate "electronics, freezer, refrigerator" would
>> have been damaged. For your example to be valid, then literally
>> everything not on a protector must have been destroyed. So the
>> microwave oven, garbage disposal, and dishwasher was destroyed? Smoke
>> detector, recahrgeable flashlight, and electric clocks all destroyed?
>> If not, then why not? 'Invisible' protectors?
>>
>> From years of real world engineering, from tracing destructive
>> transients. from fixing damaged electronics by learning the path from
>> cloud to ground, and from building protectors that did (and sometimes
>> did not) provide protection. No way you can claim that plug-in
>> protector did what even its manufacturer does not claim - without also
>> citing 'invisible' protectors.
>>
>> If your reasoning is valid, then I advise you to patent those
>> 'invisible' protectors. No one has been able to prove what you have
>> just claimed. Using your reasoning, then you have discovered
>> 'invisible' protectors. Or those plug-in protectors did not perform as
>> you have only assumed.
>>
>Where did I say that nothing was damaged? Actually, there was quite a bit
>of damage, from coffee pots, microwave, dryer, washer, waterbed heater, and
>other things I cant recall. But everything that was expensive, or a pain in
>the butt to replace (60" tv, vintage electronics, new electronics, satellite
>receivers, freezers, refrigerator) was plugged into
>surge protectors, and was not harmed. Thats proof enough for me.
>I now also have a surge protector installed at the power pole to my house.
>It was installed by the power coop, but it will only protect transients
>coming thru the power grid, not originating on my side of the meter, such as
>a lightning strike.
>As I said, I live in a very rural area, surge protectors are widely used in
>this area, and they work. Even the local power coop sells the power strip
>type. Most all my neighbors have protectors on their well pumps, and so do
>I.
>If what you say is true, I suggest you file a class action suit against all
>those dirty rotten scamming companies that make surge protectors. Since
>none of them work, according to you, you could be a billionaire.
>Have a nice day.

You forgot to mention that those same surge protectors also do an
outstanding job of keeping giraffes away. Be honest, when was the last
time you had a problem with giraffes on your property? That's proof
enough for me.

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