vintagefan Messages: 166 Registered: March 2014 Location: Dallas
Senior Member
Do amps need surge protectors and is anybody using surge protectors? Do surges damage amps, particularly Kustoms?
10 months ago a car ran thru our home's front wall and wiped out an electrical outlet and pretty much totalling the house. Since we moved back in after the rebuild, a tv, hot water heater, AC system, garage door opener, and dryer have all gone out. Best guess from techs is the wreck caused an electrical surge. But no definate proof.
However, the Kustoms I had plugged in(but not turned on ) still work great. So they must be tough, or so far I am just lucky,
In case you don't have any of the amps with the external fuse holder, its kind of a pain to have to pull the amp out of the case to change the blown fuse. All my equipment including tv, stereo, computers are ran thru surge protection........and I don't buy the cheap $5 or $10 one's. My PA unit has a stand alone protector right in the cabinet with the amps, equalizer and maxamizer. $50 well spent considering the cost of a service call. The higher the joule rating the better. Just good insurance to have.
I also have taken an extra precaution of wiring a automotive fuse holder into the speaker jacks on all my speaker cabinets. I lost two speakers because of not having this added protection. Hard lesson learned first hand.
stevem Messages: 4730 Registered: June 2004 Location: NY
Senior Member
I would have to take a educated guess that all of your household items that when south when your house was hit was due to your electrical panel taking a hit also, this would have put the 220 volts that comes into your house onto the 120 volt lines in your walls that make up that 220 volt feed, and that 220 voltage level took those things out!
Surge protectors are nice to have , but if a lighting strike hits the power lines outside your house even they will not help and anything that is plugged into a outlet in your house ( sometimes even if it's not on will ) will die !
When leave my home in the summer time and there is any slight chance of a T storm popping upI unplug all of my household items that a can afford to loose but for my refrigerator!
The surge protectors that I have also come with an insurance policy that the manufacturer will pay such and such amount to repair any damage to an item plugged into it. Not sure how it works since I have never had a problem yet and we have power surges weekly here during the summer. Your homeowners insurance will usually cover damage caused by a storm since it can be verified by the utility company.
Stevem is right about pulling the plug on everything, but surges can come at any time when you least expect them and not necessarily be caused by a storm.
Better to be safe than sorry......you do have smoke detectors and Co2 monitors right?
vintagefan Messages: 166 Registered: March 2014 Location: Dallas
Senior Member
Yes we have smoke detecters & Co2....and 100% all new wiring in the house. Our house was built in 1957. So nothing was up to code. So the insurance policy covered putting everything up to code. And I had extra 20amp outlets put in 4 rooms & kitchen, more than what was required.
stevem Messages: 4730 Registered: June 2004 Location: NY
Senior Member
Yes that's true ! Surges can come in at anytime , and most times due from a step down transformer out on a pole that bights the dust,or has taken a lighting strike from further up the circuit .
Epidrake Messages: 28 Registered: July 2016 Location: NYC
Junior Member
Speaking as someone who has had a direct lightning strike destroy my computer and other electronics, surge protectors are good, but up to a point. Interestingly, wall warts really fry easily and sometimes save your stuff.
I'm gonna guess that it depends upon what the root cause was, equipment failure or external influences. If lightning strikes the line, that's probably considered an act of nature. If the step-down transformer fails and puts a few thousand volts on your outlets, then you can file a claim.
Who knows what you'll get, because unless everything is brand new they will probably want to depreciate everything down to a small percentage of replacement value.
vintagefan Messages: 166 Registered: March 2014 Location: Dallas
Senior Member
The electric company checked their outside equipment from the pole to their box on my outside wall. All checks ok. Tuesday a contractor will check the lugs on my new electrical box in the garage. Then when I can find somebody to do it, I'll have every outlet connection in the house checked for loose connections.
Utility company's will not be held liable for power surges.....but when your insurance company can verify that a storm was in your location on such and such a date, then the insurance company will pay a claim using lighting as the cause. At least that is the case here in Iowa. Local utility company's keep a very accurate record of the weather.