Steven Shelikoff
2003-12-25 01:46:04 UTC
I'm putting together a little rack for live performance and like any
good consumer, I'm checking out the surge and spike specs for power
conditioners. I want to protect my investment. I need only 15 amps but
am looking at the 20 amp ones as well if the price is right. Some form
of EMI/RFI noise supression is required but I'm more interested in
protecting the equipment from unknown power sources then getting rid of
that last little bit of noise. Bells and whistles like volt meters,
ammeters, lights, etc. are nice but not really required.
Let me know if I have my terms right because they're pretty confusing.
Clamping voltage: the highest voltage the equipment should see when a
spike hits. The lower the better.
Response time: the time a surge protector has to "kick in". The lower
the better. On the order of 1 nanosecond is common.
Those first 2 determine how well the surge supressor protects the
equipment. The next 3 determine how well the surge supressor protects
itself.
Max voltage: highest single voltage spike the protection circuit can
withstand before it breaks down and damages the surge protector
(hopefully not the equipment it protects). The higher the better.
Max current: highest single current spike the protection circuit can
withstand before it breaks down and damages the surge protector
(hopefully not the equipment it protects). The higher the better.
Max energy: cumulative amount of energy from all of the spikes the surge
protector has seen before it's clamping voltage spec increases by 10%.
The higher the better. This one determines pretty much how long the
surge protector will last in normal service compared to other surge
protectors if they never see *really big* spikes that exceed the max
voltage and max current.
Hopefully I have all those things correct above. If not, please feel
free to correct me. Now on to the numbers from the manufacturer's
literature. For each model the numbers are given in the order above:
clamping voltage, response time, max voltage, max current and max
energy. Also, the last spec is noise attenuation (higher the better).
ETA PD8/PD8L
330V, < 1 nanosecond, N/A, 65000A, 1665 joules, up to 68 dB
150kHz-100MHz
ETA PD9L
N/A, 1 nanosecond, 6000V, 12000A, 450 joules, >35 dB 1.5kHz-200MHz
ETA PD11LV
330V, < 1 nanosecond, N/A, 6500A, 630 joules, up to 20 dB 150kHz-200MHz
ETA PD11SS
200 V, 1 nanosecond, 6000 V, 12000 A, 450 joules, >35 dB 1.5kHz-200MHz
ETA PD11P
200 V, 1 nanosecond, 6000 V, 23000 A, 630 joules, >20 dB 1.5kHz-200MHz
ETA PD11SP
200V, 1 nanosecond, 6000 V, 26000 A, 630 joules, >35 dB 1.5kHz-200MHz
ETA PD11LVSP/PD11SSP
200V, 1 nanosecond, 6000 V, 26000 A, 630 joules, >20 dB 1.5kHz-200MHz
Furman PL-PLUSD/PL-PLUSDM/PM-8DM
400 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 6500 A, 240 joules, >40 dB 1MHz-200MHz
Furman PS-8/PS-8R/PL-PLUS/PM-8
400 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 6500 A, 240 joules, 20dB 200kHz, >40 dB
1MHz-200MHz
Furman PL-8
400 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 6500 A, 240 joules, N/A
Furman PL-PROD/PL-PRODM/PM-PRODM/PM-PRO/PS-PRO/PL-PRO
400 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 11000 A, 550 joules, >40 dB 1MHz-200MHz
Furman RR-15NL/RR-15/RR-15-PLUS
N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, 102 joules, >20 dB 1.5MHz-200MHz
Furman RP-8/RP-8L/RP-8D
250V, N/A, N/A, 4500A, 102 joules, >20 dB 1.5MHz-200MHz
Nady PCL-800/PCL-810/PCL-815
N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A
Powerwerks 1630
250 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 19500 A, 240 joules, 20 dB at 200kHz
Samson PS9/PB9/Pro7 (from the owners manual)
340 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 4500 A, 56 joules, > 20dB 1.5MHz-200MHz
Samson PB9 (from brochure)
400 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 8000 A, 85 joules, > 20dB 1.5MHz-200MHz
And just for comparison sake, my $10 15amp power strip:
330 V, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, 510 joules
What is Nady hiding? They don't give any specs in their literature.
The Samson has nice features like the tray but at 56 joules, it won't
last long before you have to replace the surge suppression components.
Why can't Samson get their specs consistent?
The Furmans, which I see everywhere, have a high clamping voltage
(except for the older RP line). Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't
think they can even pass UL certification with clamping voltage that
high. They are also middle of the road in terms of how much spike
energy they can absorb.
The ETAs look like the best overall supressors with the cheap Powerwerks
coming in a close second. My $10 power strip does a pretty good job as
well but I don't think it has any EMI/RFI filtering at all.
Anyone have any comments, recommendations? Why do I see Furmans all
over the place? Is it just marketing?
Steve
good consumer, I'm checking out the surge and spike specs for power
conditioners. I want to protect my investment. I need only 15 amps but
am looking at the 20 amp ones as well if the price is right. Some form
of EMI/RFI noise supression is required but I'm more interested in
protecting the equipment from unknown power sources then getting rid of
that last little bit of noise. Bells and whistles like volt meters,
ammeters, lights, etc. are nice but not really required.
Let me know if I have my terms right because they're pretty confusing.
Clamping voltage: the highest voltage the equipment should see when a
spike hits. The lower the better.
Response time: the time a surge protector has to "kick in". The lower
the better. On the order of 1 nanosecond is common.
Those first 2 determine how well the surge supressor protects the
equipment. The next 3 determine how well the surge supressor protects
itself.
Max voltage: highest single voltage spike the protection circuit can
withstand before it breaks down and damages the surge protector
(hopefully not the equipment it protects). The higher the better.
Max current: highest single current spike the protection circuit can
withstand before it breaks down and damages the surge protector
(hopefully not the equipment it protects). The higher the better.
Max energy: cumulative amount of energy from all of the spikes the surge
protector has seen before it's clamping voltage spec increases by 10%.
The higher the better. This one determines pretty much how long the
surge protector will last in normal service compared to other surge
protectors if they never see *really big* spikes that exceed the max
voltage and max current.
Hopefully I have all those things correct above. If not, please feel
free to correct me. Now on to the numbers from the manufacturer's
literature. For each model the numbers are given in the order above:
clamping voltage, response time, max voltage, max current and max
energy. Also, the last spec is noise attenuation (higher the better).
ETA PD8/PD8L
330V, < 1 nanosecond, N/A, 65000A, 1665 joules, up to 68 dB
150kHz-100MHz
ETA PD9L
N/A, 1 nanosecond, 6000V, 12000A, 450 joules, >35 dB 1.5kHz-200MHz
ETA PD11LV
330V, < 1 nanosecond, N/A, 6500A, 630 joules, up to 20 dB 150kHz-200MHz
ETA PD11SS
200 V, 1 nanosecond, 6000 V, 12000 A, 450 joules, >35 dB 1.5kHz-200MHz
ETA PD11P
200 V, 1 nanosecond, 6000 V, 23000 A, 630 joules, >20 dB 1.5kHz-200MHz
ETA PD11SP
200V, 1 nanosecond, 6000 V, 26000 A, 630 joules, >35 dB 1.5kHz-200MHz
ETA PD11LVSP/PD11SSP
200V, 1 nanosecond, 6000 V, 26000 A, 630 joules, >20 dB 1.5kHz-200MHz
Furman PL-PLUSD/PL-PLUSDM/PM-8DM
400 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 6500 A, 240 joules, >40 dB 1MHz-200MHz
Furman PS-8/PS-8R/PL-PLUS/PM-8
400 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 6500 A, 240 joules, 20dB 200kHz, >40 dB
1MHz-200MHz
Furman PL-8
400 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 6500 A, 240 joules, N/A
Furman PL-PROD/PL-PRODM/PM-PRODM/PM-PRO/PS-PRO/PL-PRO
400 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 11000 A, 550 joules, >40 dB 1MHz-200MHz
Furman RR-15NL/RR-15/RR-15-PLUS
N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, 102 joules, >20 dB 1.5MHz-200MHz
Furman RP-8/RP-8L/RP-8D
250V, N/A, N/A, 4500A, 102 joules, >20 dB 1.5MHz-200MHz
Nady PCL-800/PCL-810/PCL-815
N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A
Powerwerks 1630
250 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 19500 A, 240 joules, 20 dB at 200kHz
Samson PS9/PB9/Pro7 (from the owners manual)
340 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 4500 A, 56 joules, > 20dB 1.5MHz-200MHz
Samson PB9 (from brochure)
400 V, 1 nanosecond, N/A, 8000 A, 85 joules, > 20dB 1.5MHz-200MHz
And just for comparison sake, my $10 15amp power strip:
330 V, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, 510 joules
What is Nady hiding? They don't give any specs in their literature.
The Samson has nice features like the tray but at 56 joules, it won't
last long before you have to replace the surge suppression components.
Why can't Samson get their specs consistent?
The Furmans, which I see everywhere, have a high clamping voltage
(except for the older RP line). Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't
think they can even pass UL certification with clamping voltage that
high. They are also middle of the road in terms of how much spike
energy they can absorb.
The ETAs look like the best overall supressors with the cheap Powerwerks
coming in a close second. My $10 power strip does a pretty good job as
well but I don't think it has any EMI/RFI filtering at all.
Anyone have any comments, recommendations? Why do I see Furmans all
over the place? Is it just marketing?
Steve