Power Surge Protector Recommendation?

Ghot · Oct 24, 2022

geneo said:
I think I didn't go for the isobar because the number of outlets - I needed 10 - and 4 of them spaced apart to accommodate transformer bricks.
But honestly, I don't need the telephone line protection. You'd think they would get off their arses and protect something relevant to this century.

LOL

newmann · Oct 26, 2022

Dav said:
I have 5 each of the:

CyberPower CP1500AVRLCD Intelligent LCD UPS System, 1500VA/900W, 12 Outlets, AVR, Mini-Tower
I use one for each of my 3 laptops.
One for my Printer, Router, and Modem.
One as a spare/backup.

I love them and have used that brand for many years.

I have this same exact UPS as you.

The issue is the battery is no good I believe. How often do you replace the battery? Is it powered on all the time? So if you don't power it on, you always leave it plugged in wall outlet right? Because if you pull it out, it hurts the UPS battery?

I can use this as a surge protector... even without a new battery right? It just won't act as a UPS when there is a power outage? I will most likely get a new battery replacement for it soon. In the back of the UPS, there are several surge protector outlets and also the surge plus battery outlets. Also what is the first one for each that is circuit breaker? So basically it would function as a surge protector just as if I were to buy another surge protector? How many of the 12 outlets can I use now? I can use the surge+battery outlets without issue right? They would act as surge outlets?

I bought this UPS few years ago. The issue was after i bought it, I rarely used it. Reason being I had a cheap Voltech 600 Joules Surge Protector a while back and just connect all my devices to it without any issue so I just stick with that method. But last time there was thunder where my old xps 9550 laptop hdmi port fried and so did the ethernet adapter cable. I believe I saw some electricity sparks come out but not exactly sure where. So do not keep this surge protector?

So after I bought that exact UPS as you posted... The CyberPower CP1500ACRLCD 1500WVA/.900W, I remember just charging it full. Then I powered it off. There was a time for a month it got unplugged out of the outlet. Then when I came back to the apartment, I then plugged it back in and I believe it was still fine. Did that do damage to it earlier on? I am aware you are suppose to always have it plugged into wall outlet. But it doesn't need to be powered on right? The reason I didn't connect my modem/router, 2 external monitors, laptop charger, phone charger etc to it... was because I had read UPS could increase your electric bill a lot. But that is false right? So I thought... just keep the old surge protector as my regular setup... only power on my UPS and connect my laptop to it when there is a power outage. That way I don't want money on electricity since I heard UPS on all the time cost a lot.

Would my laptop and monitors and everything connected to the Cyberpower UPS probably prevented the sparks that caused the hdmi port on my laptop to fry? I assume lesser chance?

So for now, just connect all my devices to the Cyberpower UPS. Make sure you leave it powered on 24/7 right? When you power it off while everything is plugged in, it doesn't work right? Right now I want to use it as a surge protector... until I get a new battery for it.

pparks1 · Oct 27, 2022

newmann said:
I have this same exact UPS as you.

How often do you replace the battery?

Average about 3 years, sometimes more, sometimes a bit less.

newmann said:
Because if you pull it out, it hurts the UPS battery?

You can leave them unplugged for some time. Think about it, it was shipped to you turned off, battery disconnected and who knows how long it sat on the shelf, it was fine.

newmann said:
There was a time for a month it got unplugged out of the outlet. Then when I came back to the apartment, I then plugged it back in and I believe it was still fine. Did that do damage to it earlier on? I am aware you are suppose to always have it plugged into wall outlet.

Being unplugged for a month shouldn't do it any harm. I've had a few UPS's in storage for 6 months and plugged them back in and they charged up and worked fine.

newmann said:
only power on my UPS and connect my laptop to it when there is a power outage. That way I don't want money on electricity since I heard UPS on all the time cost a lot.

It's not going to cost a lot to keep it plugged in and charging. The whole point of a UPS is to protect you WHEN the power goes out. It's there to give you time and save. You aren't intended to let your laptop to to it's battery, then go find your UPS, plug it and use it as a battery. I mean there is nothing physically going to stop you from doing that, but that's not what they are intended for.

newmann said:
Would my laptop and monitors and everything connected to the Cyberpower UPS probably prevented the sparks that caused the hdmi port on my laptop to fry? I assume lesser chance?

Most UPS brands offer protection against that sort of thing. That's one of the reasons I run my computers on one. Piece of mind, and safe shutdowns when I do get that rare power outage.

newmann said:
So for now, just connect all my devices to the Cyberpower UPS. Make sure you leave it powered on 24/7 right? When you power it off while everything is plugged in, it doesn't work right? Right now I want to use it as a surge protector... until I get a new battery for it.

Again, I don't see any good reason to shut it off. When you power it off, it turns off and therefore does not supply power to anything plugged into it.

newmann · Oct 29, 2022

pparks1 said:
Average about 3 years, sometimes more, sometimes a bit less.

You can leave them unplugged for some time. Think about it, it was shipped to you turned off, battery disconnected and who knows how long it sat on the shelf, it was fine.

Being unplugged for a month shouldn't do it any harm. I've had a few UPS's in storage for 6 months and plugged them back in and they charged up and worked fine.

It's not going to cost a lot to keep it plugged in and charging. The whole point of a UPS is to protect you WHEN the power goes out. It's there to give you time and save. You aren't intended to let your laptop to to it's battery, then go find your UPS, plug it and use it as a battery. I mean there is nothing physically going to stop you from doing that, but that's not what they are intended for.

Most UPS brands offer protection against that sort of thing. That's one of the reasons I run my computers on one. Piece of mind, and safe shutdowns when I do get that rare power outage.

Again, I don't see any good reason to shut it off. When you power it off, it turns off and therefore does not supply power to anything plugged into it.

Do you have the same UPS as me? I think it was someone else that said they have like 5 of the same UPS as me.

Yea I didn't think about when it was shipped to me it was turned off and how long it sat on shelf. So me leaving it unplugged over a month probably didn't do much to it. When I plugged it back in, it was no issue. I had this UPS for around 3 years so I guess that is why. But even if I rarely used it, it still needs battery replacement after time right?

I see a total of 12 outlets. On the left side, there is 6 and on the right there is 6. Left side reads surge+battery and the right side reads surge. However the first two outlets ... the one that is surge+battery and one that is surge... it shows circuit breaker next to the 1st surge outlet. Does that mean anything? Or you treat these 2 outlet the same as the 5 outlets below that?

So without a new UPS battery now, all the 12 outlets are basically surge then correct?

Could I connect electric toothbrush, electric razor and lot of things to this UPS? Main thing I am connecting is laptop charger, modem/router, 2 external monitors, camera. But will also connect phone chargers etc. These total should not go over the watt usage right

So you recommend use this UPS as surge protector for now... then once I get a new UPS battery for it... then it would be used as a UPS as it is intended?

newmann · Nov 17, 2022

I check online and I can buy the battery for the UPS. Has anyone here replaced their cyberpower UPS battery... and if so... is the process easy? Is there a way to mess it up somehow? I am not good with computers and opening things up and installing things.

Also what tools do you need to open the UPS up?

Dru2 · Nov 17, 2022

The process is pretty simple - remove a panel, slide the battery, remove two color coded wires, slide the battery out. Replace battery, connect wires, slide battery in all way, install panel securing battery, done. There are also YouTube videos on it.

Good luck.

newmann · Nov 28, 2023

So I didn't buy a surge protector yet. I just continue to use that cyberpower UPS that I have for years that I posted the link to earlier even though the battery needs replacement and I never bothered with that. Still no issue using it that way right? It works still has a power strip but obviously when power outage, all power goes out.

Now, the place that I'm at now which I'm here for a short time before I go back to my regular apartment later on, they have an old power strip that they been using for many years. I am pretty sure it's a power strip and not a surge protector. How do you know if it's a power strip and not surge protector? It looks like one of those plain white power strips with that red light so it's a power strip?

The thing is they only connect phones to it so no expensive equipment like a laptop or tv or anything like that. The thing is when I'm here, I use that power strip to connect my xps laptop and another laptop and 1 monitor at the most. I also connect my phone to charge it sometimes. It has 6 outlets only and looks like a power strip. Now all the times I have used it, there has never been an issue. I believe the most things I ever connected to it at once is... xps laptop, dell monitor, another laptop, phone charger and there has been no issue. Now I'm only here for a short time so I use this power strip to connect my electronics when I'm here.

The thing is should I buy a surge protector for them or not? The thing is they don't need one since they only connect maybe 2 devices to it at once and that never uses much power. Now when I'm here, I connect the devices I mention but is there any concern of too many things connected to it or not? I assume if I were to connect 2 laptops, 2 monitors and a phone and possibly use the last outlet for another phone, only then this would be a concern? The thing is this power strip of theirs... it is at least 5 years old minimum but it works for them and no issue.

On Amazon there are these 2 Belkin surge protectors and one that is anker. The belkin is a lot more joules than the anker one. Now I know these have very good reviews but my concern is when I read some of the negative reviews... obviously there will be tons of negative reviews when there are over 25000 reviews. But the 1st belkin one that is very popular, several posters mentioned how their belkin surge protector was burning and if they weren't home, well you know what would have happened. Several other posters mention how they notice smoke coming out of it so that is very similar. Now obviously if a surge protector just stops working, that sucks but when you just get a new one. My concern is... are there any surge protectors out there where you have no concern or very concern to worry about in terms of smoke and a heavy fire? Or pretty much every product will have that risk no matter what?

Amazon.com

Amazon.com: Belkin USB Power Strip Surge Protector - 12 AC Multiple Outlets & 2 USB Ports - 6 ft Long Flat Plug Extension Cord for Home, Office, Travel, Computer Desktop & Charging Brick - White (3,996 Joules) : Electronics

Amazon.com: Surge Protector Power Strip (2100J), Anker 12 Outlets with 1 USB C and 2 USB Ports foriPhone 15/15 Plus/15 Pro/15 Pro Max, 5ft Extension Cord, Flat Plug, 20W USB C Charging for Home, Office,TUV Listed : Electronics

So of all these 3 options, which would you choose? What about the rocketfish one's on best buy that cost a lot more? The other thing is this. The place where I'm at now, even though there are storms occasionally, I don't recall there ever being a power outage or anything like that here at this location. Thus if there was, obviously a surge protector is needed. But since they don't have any expensive equipment like tv, computer etc... would you saying buying a surge protector for them is a good idea or not? I thought it's good idea but then I thought well their old power strip has been working for them for years and no problems at all. Last thing I want is to buy a surge protector and then there is some fire and smoke issue if you know what I mean.

So based on this, what do you recommend? Now I'm here at this location for a short time in visits so I just use that same power strip for my expensive electronics. But should I buy one of these surge protectors just so I can them when I'm here? Then when I'm not here, well take it with me or just put it in their home?

Ghot · Nov 28, 2023

Tripp Lite IsoBar surge protectors are the best.

But no surge protector will be adequate unless the house has three prong plugs.

Dru2 · Nov 28, 2023

Ghot said:
Tripp Lite IsoBar surge protectors are the best.

Best is a matter of opinion and really comes down to who's reviewing.

My attitude it APC, CyberPower and Tripp Lite are all good. It really comes down to features and price. Also, which company you prefer.

In the past, I wouldn't use anything but APC, but when it came replacing the unit with another APC unit, because of APC.s rather confusing website in looking for some info, I ended up getting a CyberPower unit and haven't looked back in the 5-years since. And to boot, their customer service took care of a unit out of warranty by giving me a free battery replacement - A shout out to CyberPower - great customer support.

So yeah, a matter of opinion, or as I like to say... perspective.

Winuser · Nov 29, 2023

newmann said:
So I didn't buy a surge protector yet. I just continue to use that cyberpower UPS that I have for years that I posted the link to earlier even though the battery needs replacement and I never bothered with that.

I was just reading your old post about the battery in your UPS. I recently went through the UPS popping the circuit breaker every time I plugged something in. I was getting ready to recycle it but decided to do an online search first. I found a number of post stating that a dead battery will do this on some UPS so I went ahead and ordered a new battery on Amazon. The UPS is working again and is now being used on my old desktop. Before I purchased the battery I bought a new UPS from Walmart to replace the old one. I didn't want the drives on on my new desktop getting corrupted because of a sudden power failure.

Buddy · Nov 29, 2023

Ghot said:
But no surge protector will be adequate unless the house has three prong plugs.

My old house has only a few grounded outlets and they are a long way from my computer. Other than getting an electrician in, is there anything I can do to ground my surge protector? If not, would an ungrounded UPS be better, or are they subject to the same concerns?

Ghot · Nov 29, 2023

Buddy said:
My old house has only a few grounded outlets and they are a long way from my computer. Other than getting an electrician in, is there anything I can do to ground my surge protector? If not, would an ungrounded UPS be better, or are they subject to the same concerns?

Solutions...

1. Get a decent surge protector with a loooong cord. (I had to get one with a 25' cord, cause... old house)
2. Run a wire from any unpainted metal part of the surge protector to a good ground, like a copper water pipe.
3. Call an electrician and have them put a grounded 3 prong outlet (just one), right where your computer sits.

All my outlets are three prong plugs but there's very few of them.
My A/C is right near the computer and the outlet. (You shouldn't plug the A/C into a surge protector).
It should plug straight into the wall. Same for say... a microwave.
So I ran the A/C from the near outlet and my surge protector (for computer), to a far outlet.

Look around outside your house for a UFER ground, or a ground rod.
They usually look like a 1" diameter copper rod sticking out of the ground, about a foot.
You can clamp a ground wire to that also.

But the best method, is to just call an electrician. They can just run some exterior Romex from your sub-panel, and just poke it through the wall where you want the 3 prong plug. It'll be fairly cheap, that way.

With old houses, you need to get creative.

The house I live in was built in 1908. LOL

Buddy · Nov 29, 2023

Ghot said:
Solutions...

1. Get a decent surge protector with a loooong cord. (I had to get one with a 25' cord, cause... old house)
2. Run a wire from any unpainted metal part of the surge protector to a good ground, like a copper water pipe.
3. Call an electrician and have them put a 3 prong outlet right where your computer sits.

1-Possible, but not likely. The grounded outlets are three rooms away. I could run a 40 or 50 foot extension through the crawlspace, but that's pretty cheesy, not to mention a PITA crawling around under there.
2-Aha. The radiator for the heating system is maybe 12 inches from the surge protector. I'll try that. If it turns out the red light on the surge protector, that's a win.
3-Not interested in hearing the expected lecture about upgrading the whole house. Last resort.
Thanks, @Ghot

Ghot · Nov 29, 2023

Buddy said:
Not interested in hearing the expected lecture about upgrading the whole house

See my edits above.

If you happen to have a friend who's an electrician... they might do one outlet for a case of beer, especially since you have a crawl space. Those make running wires... easy.

Winuser · Nov 29, 2023

Buddy said:
2-Aha. The radiator for the heating system is maybe 12 inches from the surge protector. I'll try that. If it turns out the red light on the surge protector, that's a win.

The steam pipes will need to have ground contact. If needed you can buy a grounding rod ( just a long solid rod ) and drive it in the ground and run a heavy gauge wire from it and clamp it to your metal steam pipes.

Ghot · Nov 29, 2023

Buddy said:
The radiator for the heating system is maybe 12 inches from the surge protector

A radiator is a great ground... if it's fed by copper or galvanized pipe.
In either case, make sure you hook the ground wire to clean unpainted surfaces.

For galvanized pipe you'll need to sand the finish off the pipe where you clamp the wire.
Same for black pipe, if they used that. You need bare metal.

Ofc, if the surge protector is in a plastic housing... it won't work.

NavyLCDR · Nov 29, 2023

You could do a while house surge protector in the main power panel.

Ghot · Nov 29, 2023

Winuser said:
The steam pipes will need to have ground contact

Any pipes that carry water will have a good ground contact... all the way out to the water main, in the street.
Water mains are like really big ground rods.

This assumes that the entire water supply is metal pipes.
On newer houses they're starting to use PVC for water pipes.

NavyLCDR said:
You could do a while house surge protector in the main power panel.

Yep, a whole house surge protector is another way to go. I don't know what they cost though.
I'm also not sure that will work with two prong plugs.

I guess it depends on where the lightning strikes.

Buddy · Nov 29, 2023

Ghot said:
Ofc, if the surge protector is in a plastic housing... it won't work.

Yes, plastic housing. So, I tried running a wire from the ground on one of the unused outlets on the surge protector. I'm assuming that all the ground sockets are common to the ground pin on the surge protector power cable and to each other. Scraped off paint to bare metal on the radiator. The radiator *should* go to ground, because the system has a built-in fill pipe from the house plumbing. Punch line - the "Grounded" light on the protector didn't come on.

That was going to be too easy, wasn't it?

I'll need to actually be a little more diligent, now. I'll check ground continuity between the surge protector power cable and its outlet sockets. And investigate whether the radiator is grounded or needs some help - ground rod or whatever.