2. tech-talk
  3. 1177440940

30 Years, 5 Cities, Many Storms - Not One Failure

As I am tempted by offerings for the newest crop of expensive, high end surge suppressors and power conditioners, I thought I might share with the Audiogon community a particuarly inexpensive one which I have been using since 1978.

Through the years, I have moved at least 8 times, lived in 5 different cities through all seasons including stormy Northeastern winters, Summer "brownouts", total blackouts and countless late Summer, high humidity thunderstorms.

I have owned tube gear, solid state gear, televisions, video devices, LCD projectors - the works - typically leaving all my components on 24/7.

In my latest house, I reported in another thread that the village infrastructure is not so robust; my wall voltage fluctuates from 114 - 124 volts, and we reguarly see brownouts in the summer and power outages in both winter and summer when storms knock branches into the above ground power lines.

Would you like to know my low cost secret for protecting all these components?

NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That right, I have NEVER used a surge suppressor or power conditioner of any kind. I have never unplugged any equipment during a storm - in fact I usually didnt even turn it off.

So as much as I am always seeking new ways to throw money at this lifelong hobby of mine, I am little confused about all the fuss on power conditioners and in particular, surge suppressors.

Does this thread surprise any of you?
cwlondon
armstrod
612 posts
 
Cwlondon,

I too have lost equipment to lightning strikes, but this is all anecdotal evidence, as is your experience in not losing any equipment. You said:

I am hoping someone will provide me with sufficient justification to add more expensive gear to my audio collection.

What would be sufficient justification? I'm not sure any of us are providing the information you're really looking for. If you give us a better idea, maybe we can be of more help.

David
jodus001
12 posts
 
In personal discussions with two Companies who's gear I own - Krell and Musical Fidelity - they both said, without allowing me to quote them, over the phone, to not use any type of conditioner or suppression device, unless you have massive interference problems(not storms, etc, but RFI Interference). We are fortunate to live in the countryside outside of Pittsburgh, and have our own transformer for power for our log home. Many, many storms, etc, never a problem, leave equipment on 24/7. I do, however, have photos and a DVD of all my equipment in the fireproof box, and talked with my insurance company - that's why you pay all those homeowner premiums that never get utilized - hopefully you never need them. I encourage all to review their policies, however, periodically, to ensure(no pun intended) that you receive purchase/replacement value, not current market value - under most circumstances.

Some areas do need them, I understand, and to each his own, but from my experience, for my system, an unnecessary expense. If I had a completely irreplaceable piece of gear, akin to a '58 Les Paul, I might change my tune(again, no pun intended), but that is rare in the audophile world. An insurance settlement would be an upgrade, as this stuff depreciates faster than a new Pontiac. Good luck in your quest.
edesilva
768 posts
 
"[I]nsurance settlement would be an upgrade, as this stuff depreciates faster than a new Pontiac." There's the rub. I thought insurance usually pays FMV, not replacement value. Are you *sure* your policy is replacement value?
jodus001
12 posts
 
In my case, yes. I also have a fair amount of automobiles, vintage parts, and other equipment that I purposely photographed/documented, and discussed with my agent, just to be safe. I am sure all policies are different, so it is wise to check. And maybe my statement was a bit incorrect - I am sure many of you have more vintage equipment that is much more difficult to replace, in that case, definitely check with your Company, just in case! Let's hope none of us need such measures......and for the record, one of my closest associates has a fantastic Krell/Thiel system, and thinks I am crazy for not using any of these devices, even though he also heard from the techs I mentioned. Whatever makes you sleep at night, esp during those storms!
cwlondon OP
1,210 posts
 
The insurance industry has no shortage of scummy underwriters, who will gladly cash your premiums for years, but in the event of a claim, do whatever they can to pay you nothing, or in their worst case, a deeply depreciated so called fair market value.

Good insurers - not necessarily easy to find - will gladly underwrite things at full replacement value, in the same way that a full service auto policy will have less of a deductible than a lesser or more dubious policy.

I have had great experiences with USAA which unfortunately is not available to everyone. But any good insurance company should - at least - allow you to request full replacement value, even if they raise your premiums accordingly.
More to discover