When I see a computer that has expanded bulging capacitors someone always asks what caused that. Well it is not always as simple as it seems to determine the cause. It can be from a bad batch of capacitors, a defective motherboard, bad power supply, lightning strike or the power in the house going off and then coming back on. So usually the first question I ask is did the power go out and then come back on. Almost all of the time the person says yes that did happen recently.
The next question is why didn't my surge protector prevent that ? I then explain that the surge protector does not prevent damage from that situation. It is meant for when you have for example a lightning strike and it travels down the power line and into the house. The surge protector has a device in it call a varistor, also called an MOV. The varistor shunts the excess electricity coming down the main line to the ground line. Thus protecting your electronic equipment.
Some of the items you want to look for in a surge protector are the clamping voltage, response time, joule rating and the warranty. The clamping voltage is the point when the varistor kicks in. Clamping volts are any where from 330 volts to 500 volts. The response time again is how fast the varistor kicks in, which is usually a few nanoseconds. The joule rating is how much energy the surge protector can handle before it's overloaded. The higher the joule rating the better the surge protector. The rating is usually between 600 to 300 joules.
Finally you want to make sure the surge protector has a good warranty. The better surge protectors have a lifetime warranty. The better ones will offer the lifetime warranty to replace the damaged or the destroyed components. I have seen in some stores some very cheap surge protectors being sold. The best surge protectors I use and have seen are made by TrippLite http://www.tripplite.com/en/index.cfm .
The next item is the battery back up. This device usually has the surge protector and the battery, so that if the power goes out the battery kicks in and prevents that sudden spike that causes the popped or bulged capacitors. The best one I have seen is made by APC http://www.apc.com/site/products/index.cfm , while some of Belkins http://www.belkin.com/us/Products/Power/c/WSPWRSP/ high end battery back ups are also very good.
As a final note make sure all of your electronic equipment is well protected form any surge.
Thanks For reading. Any and all Comments are always welcomed and stay safe.
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