Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Power Conditioner or Amplifier ?

Surges...
I have assumed (rightly or wrongly) that when the power comes back on after an outage that there is, or might be a surge. Anyone know if this is true? Since when the power goes out, it often comes right back on in less than a minute. I used to run to unplug the HT surge protector, which all gear is plugged into. Now I just run for the main circuit breaker in the house, to shut it off. Though I work from home mostly, I realize I surely will not be able to catch this a good percentage of the time, but it makes me 'feel' better when I can do it. Of course, often times power comes back in a few seconds before I can get to the breaker.

I guess I am asking if, when the utility company turns the power back on after an outage, is there a surge? Am I correct to assume there is no surge when I simply turn on the main breaker. That would just be like turning on a light switch... no current/current, correct?

Brown outs...
This is the other reason I shut the breaker off because motors, like the refrigerator to not do well on low voltage. I would think electronic devices have circuits that shut down when voltage is out of spec (high or low). Either way, if electronic devices are OFF, they should not be affected by surges OR low voltage, I'd guess. But what about AVRs, cable boxes, etc that are partially powered in standby mode?

Good discussion of current as your friend and possible foe.

Anytime you switch the power on/off there is a surge, this is why lightbulbs quite often POP when the light switch is flipped. After a brown/blackout the same applies, but lots of equipment turn off when the power is cut and won't turn back on till the user flips the switch minimizing the surge to what can normally be expected on daily use and not the higher surge sometimes associated with the power lines being re-energized.

Oh yea, and what might be considered adequate protection at say a
minimal and a maximum (ie utility transformer blows up on your block or whatever) level?

I have Belkin BE112234-10 suppressors on my HT and computer. Where on the protection spectrum does this fall?
- AC RATING 15A/125V/1875W
- CIRCUIT TOTAL JOULES (8X20 US) 3996J
- CLAMPING VOLTAGE 330V
- MAX. SPIKE CURRENT (TOTAL) H-N 120000A, H-G 48000A, N-G 48000A
- MAX. SPIKE VOLTAGE 6000V

I don't know what all this means in real world terms. I just know the more Jules, the better. Is 3,996J pretty good?

Any electricians or EEs out there to add some light?

I don't see the use in conditioning the line, but have been toying with a UPS battery backup to allow the various fans to run for a bit when the power dies. I know (read: "I read somewhere") on Rear Pro TVs not running the fan to cool the bulb can cause some issues. Figure it can't help amps either.

Interesting. So would our AVRs in standby be open to surge damage when power lines are re-energized? Since my Denon 1909 has a manual toggle on/off main power button, it would re-energize when power was restored. Could that be a problem?

Charles,
Is the baby now puffing away in a more 'animated' way to due concerns of this power issue, or the broader economic/world worries of the day? Is he a see'er of impending (further) doom?

I do believe that anything in stand by mode is susceptible to the power surge from the re-energizing of the system as they are still technically 'on' and not switched off from the grid.

I've heard if you rub Hemp oil on your circuit breakers, it will condition your entire home and condition you lines.

Will hemp residue suffice, or due I really need to squeeze the oil out?