surge protector for laptop

[Sheryl]

Just lost my motherboard to a power spike. Going to Pantip tomorrow to pick up the repaired computer, needless to say very expensibe repair.

I will pick up a surge protector while I'm there. Can anyone suggest a specific brand or advise what specs to look for?

Never bothered before as I have the whole house on a surge protector but liveand learn....

[RandomSand]

Use a battery back-up power supply (UPS) and make sure it's properly earthed by testing the power outlet with a multi meter... http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/694261-how-to-check-your-earthing-system/

[Costas2008]

Mine is called "SurgeGuard" and I bought it in Emporium, BKK about 2 years ago, don't remember the shop.

It's got a red and a green indicator, and 4 plugs.

When the green is on, it shows that there is a surge and it's taken care by the Surgeguard.

They should be a lot different makes around.

If I remember well I saw one in Tesco the other day.

Very important in Thailand as you already know.

[Tywais]

APC, makers of the top UPSes, would be a good choice. Example - . http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=P5-VN

[guzzi850m2]

I am surprised that you need a surge protector for a laptop pc?

The laptop already have a battery fitted and will thus keeping constant voltage to the motherboard and other consumers.

Are you sure it burn because of surge?

[Pib]

The battery/charging circuit in a laptop does not stop surges; it only provides a source of power if not operating on line voltage or the line voltage drops out due to line power loss.

Unless the laptop died during a lightning storm or some surge that was apparent via other electronics/electrics in the house like a momentary loss of power noticed by lights changing brightness, TV screen/air con doing something funny just when your laptop also died, it would be indeed be hard to definitely peg the cause on a surge. Now repeated surges over time could have just stressed the electronic/electric item to fail early....kinda like how "one big" punch didn't KO the opposing fighter but repeated smaller punches during the boxing match finally puts him down.

Up until I installed whole house surge protection on my main circuit box and modified my voltage power strips with varistors/MOVs to enhance surge protection a couple of years ago, I was losing a couple electronic devices (usually power adapters) per year due to voltage surges, lightning storms, etc.. After doing this I haven't loss any...knock on wood (my head).

A UPS with good surge protection (even a UPS can allow a surge through unless it also comes with good surge protection built-in) would probably be the best protection for a computer, especially for a desktop. But for me my whole house and individual power strip surge protection seems to be doing the job for my electronic devices to include my three laptops.

[Codesh]

I always wonder if surge protectors are just another scam. My computer has never suffered despite many drop-outs, blackouts and weird sh-- from the electricity. I am happy to listen to advice from knowledgeable tech types - so, are they really worth it?

[guzzi850m2]

It looks like Pib is right, here is what I found with a quick goggling around:

http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-choose-the-best-laptop-surge-protector.htm

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-surge-protector/

http://www.howtogeek.com/166938/protect-your-gadgets-why-you-need-a-surge-protector/

Looks like I will have to go look around for a couple of them: One for the UPS for the desktop pc and one for my TV.

Do you guys know if they sell them here at the big outlets like HomePro- Powerbuy ??

That being said, I never had any electronics blow up on me, the ups for the desk top pc sometimes kick in for a second or 2 but I don't know if it is because of power surges.

I live in the Pattaya area, I guess it all depends where you live.

[dddave]

I once lost an expensive fax machine to a power surge from a lightning strike on a nearby utility pole. The surge didn't come in on the power cord though. It entered instead on the phone line that was plugged in to the fax. It fried my portable phone unit and the router on my computer as well but not the computer itself. All this to say that if you have an ADSL line plugged directly into your computer, that needs to be protected also.

Some UPS units have in & out phone line outlets as well as power outlets.

I go with those suggesting a decent UPS, both for the protection and the advantage of having a power source during a power outage. I use my UPS to run my household fan during short outages.

Edited September 5, 2014 by dddave

[Sheryl]

Thanks all. It is a laptop not desktop and I prefer a surge protector to UPS as the latter never last more than 3 to 6 months for me. I think it is the extteme humidity where I live...all other batteries, large and small, likewise don't last long.

That cause was power surgr is what the computer repair guy thinks (Khun Woody, IT House at Pantip...seems to know his stuff.). I am puzzled though since main power to house is on a whole house surge protector which is still working and no other appliances affected. Computer was connected to a broadband cable but router is OK as is landline phone, surely it would have been knocked out as well?

But what else than a surge would fry the motherboard?

One other question....how to protect phone line surges? Surge protector only protects durges thtough the power line. ??

[lopburi3]

Make sure there is a lightning ground at connection box of phone line to home phone wires on outside of house - you should have on recent home but in the distant past ToT did not provide and just attached wires directly and never bothered to install on the old lines. This is first protection. Many of the UPS units will also have a phone line protection input/output for added protection. Then your modem should also help and be first to fall.

Like you not at all sure how your computer was fried without other damage to phone/modem if lightning type spike. Lost a number of phones over the years on our (now removed) unprotected line.

[Pib]

I always wonder if surge protectors are just another scam. My computer has never suffered despite many drop-outs, blackouts and weird sh-- from the electricity. I am happy to listen to advice from knowledgeable tech types - so, are they really worth it?

You've been lucky assuming you live in Thailand, the land of power surges and lightning storms. And a lot can depend on the quality of surge protection built into your electronics and the quality of your local electrical system. And maybe even how long you own/hold onto your electronic items. Everyone going to have different experiences with the impact of surges, spikes, transients (whatever you want to refer to them as) on the line. But I will be the first to admit that the manufacturers who sell UPSs and surge protectors make it sound like everyone needs such a device and also their device will protect you 100%---that's just marketing hype to sell their stuff.

"At least" several times a week here in western Bangkok we experience surges/power loss from the electric company switching loads around my area...that is, a momentary loss in power usually long enough to require you to reset the clock on the microwave oven, maybe cause your TV settop box to lose signal for a second, your A/C start to turn off but immediately turns back on, etc...and you just know as the power is restored voltage spikes of X-milliseconds and gosh knows what voltage level are being injected on the line. As we frequently get lightning storms....I loss several devices during a lightning storm several years ago...I saw the devices die as the nearby lighting bolt occurred...after that I installed whole house and individual power strip surge protection. And even before that when there hadn't been any storms for weeks, an external power adapter feeding some device would just fail (I've had several fail not even a year old yet)---maybe low quality...maybe repeat surges just sent the power adapters to an early grave...and I think one TV settop box probably died from a surge as the internal power supply failed shortly we experienced several days of the electric company having load switching problems in our area.

And remember, it may not be that one big surge/spike that takes out your electronic device like during a lightning storm, but repeated smaller surges/spikes over time you probably don't even notice since they are so brief...in the milliseconds, microseconds, etc. Maybe that repair shop not to far away using a welding machine is feeding some healthy spikes back into the local electrical system, that elevator motor feeding spikes into the building electrical system, or even your home air con or water pump turning off and on is feeding some small spikes into your system. Over time all these spikes can take a toll on electronics.

The electrical distribution system in Thailand still has a ways to go to catch-up to western quality and safety standards...but it's slowly getting there. I've experienced more power losses during my first year in Thailand than all my years of living in the States.

[Sheryl]

Well got the computer back repaired (14K for 2 day service..it's a Mac, apparently these are especially hard to repair).

And bought a Leonics surge protector http://www.leonics.com/product/power_quality/surge_protector/dl/TPS-190.pdf which has slots for the tel line as well. I can't fully follow the specs but gather this should be OK.

The repair guy showed me the damaged motherboard...no question it was fried. How remains a mystery given that I have whole house protection and nothing else damaged. I have in past months used the computer in rural Cambodia with the electricity going on & off during thunderstorms so maybe it was a gradual accumulation of spikes as Pib suggested.

Anyhow from now on I will be scrupulous about using a surge protector. Bought one for my TV/DVD while I was at it.

ToT line was installed in 1997 and is not grounded. Will see to that when I can...not easy to find"real" electricians out here in the boondocks and the untrained version don't comprehend the concept of ground other than that they think "no need in Thai".

Thanks for all the help.

[Pib]

The one you bought should be a good one. It comes with three line modes of protection (i.e., L-N, L-E, and N-E) which is good as surges/spikes can occur on all three line modes, especially when it comes to lightning.

[Sheryl]

Glad to hear it. I know Leonics is a good line, that was basically how I selected it.

[guzzi850m2]

How much was it?

I looked at one in PowerBuy today, 1990 baht and it also has one LAN cable connection (in/out), I might buy one for the desk top area.

Bought a cheap "Power Max" today, 490 baht, it have two LEDs for green= surge protected and red= Ungrounded and even a USB charger.