(Surge
Protector Questions?)
BRICK
WALL SURGE PROTECTORS DO NOT FAIL
TESTED TO ONE THOUSAND SURGES OF 6000V,
3000A
We
believe that surge protectors should not fail. At the heart of
our Series Mode Surge Protector is a massive inductor. This is
not a sacrificial component. It will never fail. It will not
degrade with use. In fact no component used in the construction
of our surge protectors is sacrificial. A Brick Wall Surge Protector
will never experience a surge related failure.
You do not have to take our word for it. Consider
the following:
- IEEE (The Institute of Electrical
and Electronic Engineers) states that 6000V is the largest
transient that the interior of a building would experience.
- IEEE defines its harshest interior
surge environment as one that could experience 100 surges of
6000V, 3000A in a years time (category B3).
- A new federal guideline recommends
that a surge protector utilized in a harsh environment should be
capable of withstanding 1000 surges of 6000V, 3000A or ten years
worth of IEEE’s category B3.
- UL (Underwriters Laboratories) now
provides a new adjunct testing service (in addition to the 1449
safety classification) that will test surge protectors to the 1000
surge, 6000V, 3000A federal protocol.
Early in 1996 1000 surges (at 60 second
intervals) of 6000V, 3000A were applied to an off-the-shelf Series
Mode Surge Protector.
There was no failure. There was no
performance degradation. Let through voltage did not exceed 400V.
We still perform this testing on our
equipment today.
You cannot do any better than this for a building interior
surge protector.
Reliability is usually the number one
parameter for selecting surge protectors. Unfortunately most of
what is available is not very reliable. Surge protectors are notorious
for failing.
MOV’s: SACRIFICIAL BY
DESIGN
| MOV’s are the
mainstay component of the surge protector industry. For
certain electronic applications they are an excellent choice.
For AC power line surge protectors they are not a good choice.
MOV’s function by creating a short circuit (usually to the
neutral and the ground) when a preset voltage threshold is
exceeded. Essentially they divert surge current away from what
the surge protector is protecting. Unfortunately MOV’s are
sacrificial components. This means that
the performance life of any surge protector utilizing this
technology is finite. With every surge current
diversion above a modest level an MOV comes closer to its
inevitable end. |
 |
JOULE
RATING/SURGE CURRENT LIMITATIONS
The joule rating
of any MOV is a measure of the amount of energy it can absorb at one
time without failing. With an MOV this level declines with
use.
When exceeded it can cause an explosion or a fire. In a
harsh, lightning prone environment this limit can easily be reached.
The massive inductor used in our Brick Wall Surge Protectors limits
current (hence voltage) and has no real world surge current/joule
rating limitations. Our surge protectors can withstand the harshest
surge environment indefinitely.
THERMAL RUNAWAY (FIRE)
Clamping
threshold is the voltage level where the MOV activates. Typically it
is set around 220V at 1 milliamp current. With the peak of the sine
wave normally at 172V, a surge of only an additional 50V will
activate that MOV. Just as repeated usage causes the joule limit of
an MOV to drop it can also cause the clamping level to do the same.
Eventually the clamping point can fall below the peak of the normal
sine wave. In essence the MOV turns on with every cycle of the
powerwave and experiences thermal runaway (fire). This
characteristic of an MOV made them totally unacceptable to our
engineers. Our surge protector products do not utilize MOV’s and
have none of their inherent limitations. Brickwall Surge Protectors
will not catch on fire. Brick Wall Surge Protectors Will Not Fail
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