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Power supply surges in thundery weather.

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kedaha
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Power supply surges in thundery weather.

#1 Post by kedaha »

Just a curiosity but it's the first time I've seen this today but ...there I was reading the news when suddenly I heard a distant roll of thunder, the light flickered and my desktop computer went off. When I pressed the power button on, I was greeted with:
Power supply surges detected during the previous power on.
ASUS Anti-Surge was triggered to protect system from unstable power supply unit!
Press F1 to run SETUP
Just as well because although I have two multi-socket adapters behind my computer table, chance would have it that my computer wasn't plugged into the second "Anti-Surge" adapter, which would've afforded additional protection.
Someone I know had to replace the motherboard because of a power supply surge during a thunderstorm. I don't know much about electricity and had forgotten it could be an issue; nevertheless it's good to have "Anti-Surge" protection just in case. Now I know that mine works in the rare event of such a surge.
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Re: Power supply surges in thundery weather.

#2 Post by CwF »

Ground quality is often poor. Drive in a ground rod to wet earth and run a multimeter from it to your outlets ground - you might find some voltage! ...and that's bad, and common!

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Re: Power supply surges in thundery weather.

#3 Post by Hallvor »

Don't you have surge protection in your fuse boxes over there?
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Re: Power supply surges in thundery weather.

#4 Post by kedaha »

Hallvor wrote:Don't you have surge protection in your fuse boxes over there?
Probably most folks do but not where I live; the fusebox is probably about 40 years old. About time it was changed. And the plugs and sockets are only two-pins with no earth wire. Still in the Stone Age.
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Re: Power supply surges in thundery weather.

#5 Post by CwF »

Surge protection is not code in the USA, most breaker panels don't have it. Breakers don't trip on voltage.

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Re: Power supply surges in thundery weather.

#6 Post by sgosnell »

I haven't seen a fuse in a power box since I was a kid. Circuit breakers replaced fuses long ago. Having a surge protector of some sort in the breaker box would be nice, but I've never heard of one with it. I have surge protectors for the electronics, but nothing else. I try not to plug any electronics directly into the wall plugs, and use protected power strips for them.
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Re: Power supply surges in thundery weather.

#7 Post by LE_746F6D617A7A69 »

kedaha wrote:And the plugs and sockets are only two-pins with no earth wire. Still in the Stone Age.
So You have TN-C type power network - but it can be easily "reconfigured" into a more safe TN-C-S topology, with "simulated" grounding:
https://www.lsp-international.com/power-supply-system/

The best surge protection devices are those specifically designed for use in main fuse boxes - they are several times more durable and efficient in filtering power spikes. Even the cheapest models can easily withstand 25..40 (typically over 100) *Kilo* Ampers and assuring reaction times well below 1 microsecond, while those used in typical wall outlet multipliers have just few kAmps and usually undefined reaction time.
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Re: Power supply surges in thundery weather.

#8 Post by edbarx »

The best precaution against lightning is to turn off all electronics and disconnect from the mains when very severe weather strikes. This is what I use, but businesses which cannot turn off their digital services, have to invest in protection.

I know what I will write might be laughable for some, but I disconnect my electricity supply from the mains by turning off the electricity meter's main switch, the house's main switch, the earth leakage circuit breaker and all MCBs. My country uses the British system.
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