Effective protectors ALWAYS answer this question. Then this need not happen.Īnyone can quickly identify a scam. Then better protection, already inside each appliance, is not compromised (bypassed). Those fur digits in a UL number are important. So they saw dollar signs.īest power strip has a 15 amp circuit breaker, no protector parts, and a UL 1363 listing. You did not demand 'why it works with specification numbers' for each claim. She said she saw flames shooting up from a surge protector sitting on top of her dresser. 'It was like a buzzing noise sound,' Lizzie said. Lizzie Steinmetz, 5, was getting ready for bed with her little brother when she heard a strange noise. And can do this when not protected by something completely different called a surge protector. Reality: even that plug-in protector can compromise (bypass) what is superior protection inside all electronics. If a power off somehow created a 1000 volts (the widely believed myth), then a salesmen will also try to sell the Brooklyn bridge. Clearly, no protector does anything during any outage. Such as what a protector does and its let-through voltage number. Marketed to many who cannot learn simplest stuff.

You spent $25 or $80 for a $3 power strip with five cent protector parts. How does a power off (voltage dropping to zero) create a voltage approaching or exceeding 1000 volts? Only an emotion would conclude that. That means it remains inert - does nothing - until a voltage is approaching or exceeding 1000 volts. That protector has a let-through voltage: typically 330 volts. Learn what stuff does long before making any decision.

The wirecutter surge protector