Belkin 1-Outlet SurgeCube Wall Tap With Indicators

Belkin has been in the surge suppressor business for a very long time. Belkin isn’t the cheapest, but they pack a lot into their products. They have a reputation to protect, whereas many “no-name” brands do not.

Every microwave I’ve owned, be it GE, LG or Samsung, has ended up with a fried control panel sooner or later. Any power outage comes with a surge no matter whether I lived in CA, MA or FL. And sooner than later one of those surges causes the microwave panel to flicker, lose certain digits or just go out altogether. Then I’m facing a $200 bill to have the circuit board replaced. I’ve learned to spend a few dollars for a single-socket surge protector to eliminate that problem. The Belkin product fits the bill. It’s inexpensive, has one socket and comes from a reputable company. Wisdom comes from experience. Experience comes from screwing things up.

I exaggerate a little. Putting one of these in front of a fifteen dollar toaster would be kind of silly. But for modern appliances, A/V equipment, computers, and other expensive/sensitive equipment, it’s a must for taming surges.

My home insurer recently started a program, distributing “Ting” household electrical monitoring devices to insurance holders, for free. Ting just plugs into the wall, you configure it for your wifi, and leave it alone. It does highly sensitive diagnostics of your home’s electrical system, continuously. It’s revealed in our case that we get regular voltage surges up to 140 or so volts (we’re in the US, with “120 volt” power, which normally does fluctuate throughout the day between about 110v and 130v).

Our surges are clearly coming from the washer/dryer motors starting and stopping. Not quite sure what the specific ‘trigger’ is, as usually there’s just one surge over the time period that multiple loads of wash and dry are running.

Regardless, controlling surges helps devices last longer, reduces the risk of their failure, and protects against anomalous surges, as in when power comes back on after an outage, or other utility events (here in Northern California, we have “Public Safety Power Shutoffs” when weather conditions threaten to knock down powerlines, which can spark wildfires).

I’m getting a whole-house surge suppressor installed next week – that’ll be great protection from utility events. However, that won’t protect devices inside the house from sending surges to _other_ devices in your house.

At roughly ten bucks per, these are an excellent protective buffer. I have one on:

1. The clothes washer
2. The clothes dryer
3. The furnace’s power (big motor for blower)
4. The dishwasher
5. The microwave
6. The audio and video stuff in the living room (in front of the UPS that also protects them)
7. My PC, which is homebuilt, full of high-end components – and it’s also in front of the UPS for that

If you do your typical online ‘research’, you will find countless claims that you should never plug an Uinterruptible Power Supply (UPS) into a surge suppressor. It’s ridiculous how many people repeat this myth uncritically, and with no evidence to back it up. Lots and lots of posturing and claims that the UPS can go sideways in a power event, with the surge suppressor and the UPS’s surge suppression “fighting each other”. Utter nonsense.

*ONE* UPS manufacturer advises against using surge suppressors: APC. Nobody else. They only present their opinion for it, rather than any actual data. That’s where just about everybody gets the ‘expertize’ to inform everyone else never to use a surge suppressor in front of a UPS.

UPS’s typically have very, very minimal surge protection built into them, typically less than enough to handle even small surges. But more important is this: nearly all surge suppressors are *sacrificial*. Meaning that each and ever surge reduces the lifetime of the surge suppressor, until eventually it becomes non-functional, offering no protection. Does your UPS have any sort of indicator on it to advise when the surge suppressor is no longer functional? Highly unlikely, most just tell you expected battery life, and that’s that.

The IEEE, NFPA, NEMA, *all* suggest that surge suppression be deployed before a UPS (‘before’ meaning you plug the surge suppressor into the wall, and the UPS into the surge suppressor). Note that they suggest it, they don’t require it. Surge suppression is required at the utility service equipment, but that’s to protect entire neighborhoods and regions from having homes set fire by a huge surge from the utility.

This surge suppressor is small, both in its physical size and in its protective capabilities. But the more surge suppressors installed throughout the house, the more the total surge suppression you’ll get – surges go to every outlet in your home, they aren’t particular – each surge supressor absorbs some of each surge, so there’s a cumulative benefit to having multiple suppressors around the house. And with these, you will know when the device has finally given up its life to protect your stuff – and it’s cheap to replace. It’s a fantastic bargain.

Another coffee-fueled review.

Perfect for protecting my CPAP. Only covers one plug and leaves the other free. I was told not to use a multi plug for my CPAP. This works so well, I’m keeping a second one in my CPAP travel bag.

Es sencillo, pero cumple con lo que ofrece. Marca reconocida, que garantiza buena calidad.

Compact but stronge

Belkin has been the choice in our household for years because of it’s quality, safety and reliability. It was a must-purchase for our new TV. It was a relief to plug it in and not worry about a power surge anymore.