Easiest wasy to check how damaged your metal oxide varistors are is with lighted switches.
I've been using the same
Fellowes computer power centre (one of those flat things that goes under your monitor, six switches on it) for about 8 years, the lights act as indicators for MOV life (as do all but the cheapest power bar "on" lights) the "accessory" switches/lights are all on solid (since they've really not had to contend with much), the monitor I'd guess is at about 90% of original, the computer switch is at about 50-60% of original (since it stays on to power CMOS settings even when the computer is off) since installing APCs with boost/buck protection on all the computers, I haven't really noticed any degradation of the MOVs, I believe most of the sacrificial damage done was quite a while ago before the APCs when a transformer went ka-powie in a sleet storm here about 7 years ago. Enough to destroy a microwave.
And all this, I'm talking about a $15 Office Depot purchase protecting a PC... the home theatre plugs into a multiplexer (ie: the thing that turns two wall plugs into 6) straight into the wall. For all the chance of damage to a receiver I paid under $600CDN for over it's useful life until the next encoding scheme comes out (DTS-EEEEES or whatever) I'll keep the $200 for a fancy "complete total HT power unit" in my pocket to pay for the next receiver.
But I'm a believer that insurance is just a person betting that something bad will happen and, like Vegas, the odds are stacked in favour of the house.
Bren R.
