leonffs wrote:Most houses have 15~20 Ampere circuit breakers. The breakers would flip before this thing fries. As a side note..you shouldnt go over 10 Ampere on a single circuit just to be safe.

Not true, house breakers aren't instantaneous, they are time delay most times, surge protects against instantaneous.

leonffs wrote:Most houses have 15~20 Ampere circuit breakers. The breakers would flip before this thing fries. As a side note..you shouldnt go over 10 Ampere on a single circuit just to be safe.

On a shared circuit, this is true. Be mindful of where you plug in your vacuum, toaster oven, counter-top microwave, or space heater. All of these things typically pull 1000W or more power, which starts around 8A and heads upward depending on exactly how much its using. When shared with other equipment, you run the risk of tripping circuits. For example, my g/f had the toaster oven and breadmaker plugged into the same circuit the other day and the circuit tripped (i believe it actually tripped at the GFCI switch, which is interesting). End result was undercooked food and bread that never quite made it to the finish line.

The covers on these are a nice touch. Especially if, like me, you have a cat that likes to chew on power cords that stick out from the wall...

Can anyone who owns this tell me how the cover may possibly hold up to children pulling at it? I have 2 year old twins and have outlet covers on all untapped outlets, but could really make use of one of them and was wondering if this would be a good option.

Thanks in advance for any and all replies!

ruadog wrote:The other great thing about APC products is that they are warrantied for life. If the strip ever takes a bullet due to a surge they will replace it for free. They may cost a little more, but they could literally be the last surge protectors you will ever buy.

Panamax is the same.

radi0j0hn wrote:Several years ago my property took a terrific lightning hit that knocked out my underground well pump and other things. One of the other things was my Sony Vaio, but NOT through my power line. It was via the phone line that went into the computer (pre DSL). Just something to consider, as the DSL line usually plugs into something.

There are surge protectors with phone/ethernet/coaxial protection.

crowbite wrote:
A ground loop is caused when two (or more) devices have their chassis connected to ground through two grounded power cords, and then also have their chassis connected together through the shield of the audio wiring. The actual loop could be described like this: ground pin on device #1, through power cord on device #1, to chassis on device #1, through signal (audio) cable to device #2, to chassis on device #2, through power cord of device #2, back to ground pin on device #2... at which point it is connected to ground pin on device #1 through the power plug.

Note that the POWER connections (hot and neutral) don't come into play at all... just the third ground pin. So, if both electronic devices do NOT have a ground pin (and most laptop power supplies do not) then your problem can't be a ground loop... it is something else. If either device (or both) are powered from two-prong wall-warts, your problem is not a ground loop. (As I said before, we don't know what the symptoms are, or why you self-diagnosed the problem as a "ground loop.")

Interesting - I hadn't done too much research into it, but the way you describe it seems to eliminate the ground loop diagnosis.

The Line 6 USB interface is USB powered. It's connected to my laptop (Macbook) via USB, and doesn't receive any other power. I have headphones coming straight out of it (I can also plug it into my sound system, but haven't done so yet). The only thing connected to a power outlet is my laptop, which has a three-pronged charger.

The one thing is that the hum almost completely disappears when I unplug the laptop from power supply and just run on the battery. That's what caused me to diagnose this as a ground loop. Does anyone have a better idea?

(finally, my laptop is old, and my batter doesn't last very long - that's why I want to fix the issue)

mikebone wrote:Can anyone who owns this tell me how the cover may possibly hold up to children pulling at it? I have 2 year old twins and have outlet covers on all untapped outlets, but could really make use of one of them and was wondering if this would be a good option.

Thanks in advance for any and all replies!

If you have 2-year-old twins, I recommend you take any items of real value that you own and THROW THEM AWAY!

Seriously, a cover may provide some protection, but it will not stop a rambunctious child. Can you use these in a gated or locked room?

NightGhost wrote:If you have 2-year-old twins, I recommend you take any items of real value that you own and THROW THEM AWAY!

Seriously, a cover may provide some protection, but it will not stop a rambunctious child. Can you use these in a gated or locked room?

One of the twins is a little more rambunctious than the other so I worry more about her more. I also worry about the LED attracting attention.
Anyhow. For the time being, it will be outside of a gated area, but I may need to use it in the play area sooner or later.

crazyswedishguy wrote:Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there is any chance this helps eliminate ground loop?

I just got a nice Line 6 POD Studio UX1 for my guitar, but when my laptop is connected to the power socket, I get a bad ground loop hum. Trying to find a way to solve that problem without dishing out $70.

Thanks!

Have you tried putting a Ground Loop isolator on the device? They work for me. YOu can find cheap ones almost anywhere:

http://www.amazon.com/Raptor-GL15-Ground-Loop-Isolator/dp/B0009O19LQ

Neosage1985 wrote:I was wondering who at a nuclear facility buys stuff off woot.com for the facility to necessitate this warning.

Homer Simpson is one of our best customers.

Does anyone know if removing the screw entirely would cause any problems? Will it stay in the wall without it?

sandalwood wrote:Anyone know if I could use this with my fish tank heater/light/bubbler? Does that count as a "small appliance?"

From the product description:

"Caution: Risk of electric shock. Not for use outdoors or in other wet or damp areas, with aquariums, in hazardous environments requiring buttafuocosafe performance (such as nuclear facilities or aircraft), or for medical or life support equipment."

I'd say that's a "no."

BigD wrote:Homer Simpson is one of our best customers.

mmmmmm. Joules

In for 1 er 2.

Thermistor based device = false sense of protection (or, throw it away after the fist thunderstorm)
Does the LED at least TRULY indicate that the thermistor has not blown????

Looking for bargain power protection is like looking for bargain eye surgery.

El passo for me.

DaZoneRanger wrote:So, what happens if I plug a big screen TV, heater, or portable A/C into this? Any problem with doing that?

Daaaaah!
lol

While this may not be good for computers, the cover makes it seem like this would be really nice in the living room for plugs that are out in the open- besides giving you more outlets, it will hide the plugs themselves

Mydnyte wrote:I like these for no other reason than the cover that helps with cabling issues, especially behind furniture.

I had something similar to this a long while ago, but that one actually plugged into BOTH outlets instead of just one like this.

I'm more concerned about turning 1 into 6 as opposed to 2 into 6.

Thoughts on that one?

I'm not an electrician, but...

As far as I know both sockets on a standard wall outlet are already one unit, connected to the same three wires, and generally as part of a series of outlets on a single circuit. If your concern is six devices worth of current running through a single socket as opposed to two sockets, I suspect there isn't a whit of difference. What matters is the total amperage being drawn through the circuit, whether that is connected to one socket or three separate "two hole" outlets all on the same circuit.

Warning! The product looks good to me, BUT it attaches to the receptacle on the wall via a small screw that replaces the original screw which holds the faceplate. That screw is only in that position on a traditional style electrical receptacle. On Decora receptacles (new sleek design), there are two screws at either end. It might still work, but might leave the box exposed under the cover.

sdc100 wrote:Guys, here's something a lot of people don't realize. Although is always smart to surge protect computers, there's no need to protect laptops if it has a battery. That's because the battery is like a UPS, providing a buffer between your electrical supply and your laptop. The electricity reaching the laptop's circuitry is therefore clean of spike and dips.

Sorry, that's both wrong and dangerous advice.

You plug the AC adapter into the wall - that's the first thing that's going to be fried.

The AC adapter plugs into your laptop - that's the second thing that's going to be fried.

The battery is plugged into your laptop - that's the third thing that's going to be fried. Even worse, batteries have on-board circuitry that will also be fried.

Additionally, batteries only take/release charge slowly. Capacitors (which are able to quickly adjust to changing currents) are what you want to buffer surges.

If you don't believe me, take a rechargeable 9V battery and hook it up to the mains*.

*I take no responsibility if you actually do this.

geoffreysteinman wrote:the way this is designed, it looks like it will block both wall outlets

Yes, it does, but youre turning 2 outlets into 6 surge protected outlets. No biggie.

In for 1, but only because I feel like buying something today, I want to support wEWt.com and I could use something to protect my coffee maker.

lipnerlaw wrote:Warning! The product looks good to me, BUT it attaches to the receptacle on the wall via a small screw that replaces the original screw which holds the faceplate. That screw is only in that position on a traditional style electrical receptacle. On Decora receptacles (new sleek design), there are two screws at either end. It might still work, but might leave the box exposed under the cover.

I think that screw is optional and can probably be removed completely from the unit through the front.

thebert99 wrote:Does anyone know if removing the screw entirely would cause any problems? Will it stay in the wall without it?

I have one in the living room that for some reason I couldn't get the center screw to go in so it is sitting in the wall outlet without a screw securing it. I don't do a lot of pulling out and pushing in plugs.....vacuum or toys occassionally but I haven't had any problems with the unit itself coming off. It's a pretty snug fit. Plus the unit has a nub spacer that holds it out against the second wall socket so that the unit aligns straight once plugged in.

sdc100 wrote:Guys, here's something a lot of people don't realize. Although is always smart to surge protect computers, there's no need to protect laptops if it has a battery. That's because the battery is like a UPS, providing a buffer between your electrical supply and your laptop. The electricity reaching the laptop's circuitry is therefore clean of spike and dips.

Not true, laptops still should use surge protectors. My netbook was victim of a surge from lightning. It fried the power brick and fried something inside which prevented my battery from charging when I got a new power brick. I thought it maybe fried the battery too so I bought a second battery only to discover that wasn't the problem. so I sent it in to get repaired, luckily it was on the last month of warranty coverage. laptops are like a UPS when the power goes out it will still run, but it is not like a UPS when it suffers a power surge, well maybe very small surges but a laptop will not protect you as any surge protector.

sandalwood wrote:Anyone know if I could use this with my fish tank heater/light/bubbler? Does that count as a "small appliance?"

I use one just for this purpose. It's not like I have water dripping down the cords. But if perchance that should happen, god forbid, since the wires are coming out of the bottom of the unit (after the cover is snapped on) then loop back up to the tank equipment, once the liquid hits the loops gravity should have it run onto the floor, it's not going to roll up cord into the wall socket.

No these are not for large electronics, but having been in a house when a downed powerline sent a huge power surge to the neighborhood...when EVERY clock radio, toaster, coffee pot you name it in the house dies, well that can get expensive to replace

I've lived in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon for 30 years. I've never lost a single electric or electronic component to a power surge in all those years. Could it happen? Sure. Is a surge protector worth the money for "insurance"? I don't think so.

Must be a weak moment - they got me. (Gads! If I'm this gullible today, maybe I shouldn't vote afterall!)

After having used surge protectors and UPS's, I prefer the UPS (Uninterupted Power Supply/back up battery system). No surge worries, and when power goes out, your electronics stay on more than long enough to bring them down properly.

Bottom line on this item:

This is, essentially, equivalent to the cheapo surge protectors you find at places like Staples or Home Depot for under $10. The difference is that instead of a cord with a few outlets at the end, it fits against the wall outlet and replaces a two outlet wall switch with six outlets. It offers very modest surge protection.

The joule rating has nothing to do with how power hungry a device you can hang off this, and everything to do with how big a surge this thing will--in the best case--handle. You can plug your PC into this if you want. The truth is that you SHOULDN'T--a PC should really be attached to a decent quality UPS that offers protection not only against surges and blackouts, but against the real culprit: The brown out (undervoltage). That's what kills sensitive electronics more than anything.

At any rate, if the ergnomics of this device suit you and you want to increase the number of outlets from 2->6, go for it. But if you are looking for serious surge protection, look elsewhere.

Would it be safe to say this thing only looks cool if your two outlets are in an up/down, top/bottom configuration? I imagine it'd look goofy-ish sideways with the cover on.

overslacked wrote:Try plugging your laptop into either an outlet on a different circuit, or an outlet on the same circuit (whichever the opposite of what you're doing now). But no, there's nothing about this power strip that would eliminate the ground loop over any other power strip.

Use an adapter that goes from two pings to three and remove the ground pin for one of your devices. This disables the safety ground, but also prevents the ground loop. We do this for remote broadcasting situations where we don't have time to troubleshoot the problem.

mikebone wrote:One of the twins is a little more rambunctious than the other so I worry more about her more. I also worry about the LED attracting attention.
Anyhow. For the time being, it will be outside of a gated area, but I may need to use it in the play area sooner or later.

I recommend tethering small children to a pole either inside or outside the house...but make sure the lead isn't long enough as to allow them to get to anything of value.

If you live in an area where the power is never 100% stable, as I do in South Florida, surge protectors are a way of life. We lose power at least once or twice a month. I use wall mount surge protectors in every outlet (6 plug flat mount - plugs into both outlets and screws into the outlet replacing the plastic cover. These are 1080 joules. The home theater has a 2100 joule Monster I got cheap, and the main computer is on a 4500 joule control box) I also use UPS boxes for all electronics - computers, Audio, TV, size varying with device.
As someone said before, its the brownouts that hurt the electronics. However we have had a number of incidents where a surge follows the brownouts. After replacing one TV, and finding a melted surge protector on the wall that protected a computer, the surge protectors are cheap insurance.

"The one thing is that the hum almost completely disappears when I unplug the laptop from power supply and just run on the battery. That's what caused me to diagnose this as a ground loop. Does anyone have a better idea?"

The hum may not be a ground loop, but caused instead by the power converter in the laptop power supply. It could be ripple from the voltage regulation, or insufficient capacitors. I doubt if a surge protector would affect that noise.

crazyswedishguy wrote:Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there is any chance this helps eliminate ground loop?

I just got a nice Line 6 POD Studio UX1 for my guitar, but when my laptop is connected to the power socket, I get a bad ground loop hum. Trying to find a way to solve that problem without dishing out $70.

Thanks!

This question has been answered 10x already!! PLEASE STOP ANSWERING THE SAME QUESTION.

SHORT ANSWER IS NO according to 10 out of 10 replies.

I suspect these will be adding weight to a future Bag-O-Crap.

I wish they would make these so they plugged into the lower socket. Several rooms in my house have the upper socket rigged to a light switch for plugging lamps into...I think this is a fairly common construction practice. Why not put the plug on the lower socket? Seems like an obvious design flaw...but all powerstips like this have the same flaw.

geoffreysteinman wrote:the way this is designed, it looks like it will block both wall outlets

This is because they are obviously feeding all 6 outlets on the surge protector from the top half of your wall outlet.

If it had two plugs on it, they would have to double up on the electronics within it in order to feed three from each.

They can't cross connect the upper and lower halves of a wall outlet because it could create a short across what could be a split-plug (like in a kitchen, or a switch-controlled half-outlet)