I am just getting the destruction of another power surge cleaned up and wondering what others are doing in the line of prevention. June 4th at about 6 pm a surge ripped through 8-9 yards at last count doing thousands of damage at probably every one. There was a small thunderstorm that rolled through right about then but later the power company Fortis called and apologized for all the power outages and things going on. They are doing some major construction in the area. So not sure where the problem came from. Insurance deductible is $2,500 so it will be just over that to get everything running again and if I did make a claim I lose my claims free status for 6 years so will be paying back all I got and then some. My biggest damage was to my high efficiency condensing boiler combustion motor board and a couple of I Links. Relay panels for pumps. I have accumulated quite a stack of these components over 10 years. The old style boiler got hit, tripped the breaker, but all it needed was to turn the breaker back on. So I have been trying to educate myself (and all the local electricians) about the right way to do this. We live at the very end of a small power line. 14,400 V or maybe lower. We often get hit here. Way more often than neighbors on other lines. So I am leaning toward doing something a little more than average at suppression. From what I read, a "cascading system" is the best protection. That means I would have a large Type 1 MOV (metalic oxide varistor - which is two metal conductors precisely placed about .002 - .003" apart that a high voltage can jump and be bled off to ground) located close to the transformer pole to "grab" the big voltage surges that can be in the 10,000s of volts and 10,000s of amps. The second level would then be smaller and more precise Type 1 or Type 2 MOV units on each breaker panel where it enters a building. This cleans up the power even more to get down to the 117 - 122 volts that so much modern solid state controls require. As a third level in the cascade approach would be your power bar type surge suppressors on your computer, TV, etc. But what about all the other appliances and almost everything in your house and shop that has mini computers in them? Like a half dozen small maintenance battery chargers that are now dead. And these suppressors clean up voltage surges within your system that come from fridge, water pump, any motors in the shop etc.that shorten the life of all your electronics. So that's what I think I know. The more I read and talk, the more confused I become. There are dozens of companies making these things and each company has dozens of models with different technology, and different warranties for downline protection of your electronics.
So I found a smart electrician that has installed lots of these "systems" on large industrial complexes that use huge amounts of power for all kinds of things. And lots of computer based controls and monitoring. He said I should do the cascading method. In my travels I have heard about several customers installing small MOV units that are supposed to be adequate for the job, that have them blow out every time there is a surge and need replacing. If not every time, it seriously shortens their life to 2-3-4 hits. So I mentioned that I had found a very high capacity permanent suppressor designed for 347/600 V 3 phase WYE 4 wire plus ground. It is rated for up to 500 KW power supply and capable of suppressing 500,000 Amps of surge. There is no voltage rating but some of the small ones mention up to 6,000 volt spikes so this one is likely a lot more. This suppressor is a Surge Pure MACH 4 TVSS M4-1600-4 for primary locations. I will install this one just off the splitter panel that is close to my transformer pole. The second level of 4 suppressors I am looking at is Square D (now Schneider) SDSA1175 that can be mounted to a 20-30 amp breaker as close to the main as possible in the main panel of each building. This allows install and maintenance work without having to shut down the whole yard or building. So if the Surge Pure brings the voltage down to 600ish, then the 1175 can handle up to 700ish, we should be covered. Some of the larger suppressors can cost in the 5 figures range. I have found some of my parts on Ebay for just over $1,000. This smart electrician thought this was a very good approach to my problem and said I should go for it. He said no problem hooking the two 120 V hot legs to A and C and hook neutral to B on the big one. From some more reading I find that UL code in the US has made surge suppression a part of code as of 2014 I believe it was. Does anyone on this forum have any experience or suggestions? I was hoping Ken would weigh in!!
So I found a smart electrician that has installed lots of these "systems" on large industrial complexes that use huge amounts of power for all kinds of things. And lots of computer based controls and monitoring. He said I should do the cascading method. In my travels I have heard about several customers installing small MOV units that are supposed to be adequate for the job, that have them blow out every time there is a surge and need replacing. If not every time, it seriously shortens their life to 2-3-4 hits. So I mentioned that I had found a very high capacity permanent suppressor designed for 347/600 V 3 phase WYE 4 wire plus ground. It is rated for up to 500 KW power supply and capable of suppressing 500,000 Amps of surge. There is no voltage rating but some of the small ones mention up to 6,000 volt spikes so this one is likely a lot more. This suppressor is a Surge Pure MACH 4 TVSS M4-1600-4 for primary locations. I will install this one just off the splitter panel that is close to my transformer pole. The second level of 4 suppressors I am looking at is Square D (now Schneider) SDSA1175 that can be mounted to a 20-30 amp breaker as close to the main as possible in the main panel of each building. This allows install and maintenance work without having to shut down the whole yard or building. So if the Surge Pure brings the voltage down to 600ish, then the 1175 can handle up to 700ish, we should be covered. Some of the larger suppressors can cost in the 5 figures range. I have found some of my parts on Ebay for just over $1,000. This smart electrician thought this was a very good approach to my problem and said I should go for it. He said no problem hooking the two 120 V hot legs to A and C and hook neutral to B on the big one. From some more reading I find that UL code in the US has made surge suppression a part of code as of 2014 I believe it was. Does anyone on this forum have any experience or suggestions? I was hoping Ken would weigh in!!
