Got new appliances after 18 years

[vacerator]

But here's the thing... how do you even know if you have surges? And if you do or don't have a surge, how do you know that that was the cause of a control board dying? That's what I've been saying. I honestly do not know if the surge protector is even doing ANYTHING at all. The only data I have is the fact that the first control board went out and was replaced with a new one and that since the new one was put on, it's been plugged into a surge protector and there hasn't been an issue... but at the same time, the dishwasher also has a control board and is NOT plugged into one and has had no issues.

I guess you only know for certain if the protector trips. I think mine cuts the power and you have to set the power switch off then back on.

 

[jkm]

What is the sacrificial element?

I don't know know. I imagine is like a giant fuse, except they are not replaceable. That's why most surge protection strips and even uninterrupted power supplies with surge protection have some want to indicate when the surge element is gone.

Of course it's a biased source, but ZeroSurge talks about sacrificial surge elements on their site. I will also say that ZeroSurge is NOT the only company that makes a mechanical, re-usable surge protector. The other brands I found weren't making there in the USA, so I've forgotten them by now.

 

[jkm]

But here's the thing... how do you even know if you have surges? And if you do or don't have a surge, how do you know that that was the cause of a control board dying? That's what I've been saying. I honestly do not know if the surge protector is even doing ANYTHING at all. The only data I have is the fact that the first control board went out and was replaced with a new one and that since the new one was put on, it's been plugged into a surge protector and there hasn't been an issue... but at the same time, the dishwasher also has a control board and is NOT plugged into one and has had no issues.

Although it's a biased source, if you did around on ZeroSurge's website they explain that most of the "surges" experienced in your house come from appliances that draw a lot of current immediately away from other devices when they start up. Supposedly there can be a spike after the initial big draw. The particularly cite vacuum cleaners... I'm not an expert enough to know whether that's accurate. But I do have a couple of things that will temporarily dim the lights when they start up. Also it probably depends upon the wiring. I have a couple of lights in the house that can't seem reliably run LED or Compact Fluorescent bulbs to their lifetime. It's like their power supply isn't consistent enough for more touchy modern lights.

As far as knowing, if I have surges, I can't really say except that I have lost items before without surge protectors and now that I have the ZeroSurges in place I haven't had any losses. That said, when a really big Texas thunderstorm rolls through I unplug everything anyway. Because even a ZeroSurge isn't going to protect you from that.

 

[vacerator]

Exactly JKM. So why spend hundreds of dollars on one? I'm unplugging everything at risk during a storm system and when we leave long term, including the surge protector.
Now I've seen a major data storage facility in Alpharetta GA that not only had one safety backup system but several. They handle benefits and payroll data for many companies. The power safety was in a junction unit outside the building. I was told that it would cut off the power before the surge exited it. Every system inside had battery operated storage backup power supplies.

 

[vacerator]

I don't know know. I imagine is like a giant fuse, except they are not replaceable. That's why most surge protection strips and even uninterrupted power supplies with surge protection have some want to indicate when the surge element is gone.

Of course it's a biased source, but ZeroSurge talks about sacrificial surge elements on their site. I will also say that ZeroSurge is NOT the only company that makes a mechanical, re-usable surge protector. The other brands I found weren't making there in the USA, so I've forgotten them by now.

The one I have is from China. It has a metal bottom and screws to remove it. I except it's like any electronic device that gets zapped by a surge. A capacitor, fuses,or two, and resistors. So checking it out with a meter and replacing the bad part's might be possible.

 

[me]

Most surge protectors use MOVs - Metal oxide Varistors, their resistance decreases as the voltage across them increases, and decreases sharply above a specified operating voltage, following a sort of bathtub curve. You'll typically find at least one MOV on the circuit board in most switch mode power supplies, including those used in appliances., they're usually a blue disc, and look a little like a ceramic disc capacitor.

A surge protector will typically use 3 MOVs, to connect between live, neutral and earth, so they dump the excess power from a surge, pulling down the voltage and therefore generating heat. The MOVs are degraded by surges, so don't last forever. Surge protectors may also have a fuse to kill the power before the mov gets overloaded, which might otherwise cause it to catch fire.

There's a much better explanation in Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varistor

There's a teardown, plus circuit diagram of a surge protection device here, with a LED to show if it is working or not.



Here's a more typical plug in one

I think the mains filters you find in appliances like washing machines primary purpose is to suppress common mode interference and mains spikes produced by the machine traveling up thee power line, so it doesn't cause electrical noise, and I think it may improve/ correct the power factor too. My mum had a nice 1980 microprocessor controlled Hotpoint (UK) washing machine, which had a large mains filter that violently exploded after about ten years, while I was using it. Didn't hurt the machine, which continued to work fine without one for years, once I'd cleaned up the mess and bridged past it, although the blast from it did hurt my face and hearing.