Surge Protector Question

[Tom Anderson]

Was reading in the paper Saturday about that house fire that killed a local musician. AFD was quoted as saying that the cause was a surge protector issue.

Should you be using every outlet on a surge protector, or only 4 of 6? My guess is that they wouldn't put 6 outlets on a the strip if they weren't there to be used, but I don't know when you should start thinking about overloading these things. Especially with home PCs when you've got a printer, console, speakers, monitor, modem, etc. plugged in.

 

[Ignatius]

It depends on the power draw of what you've got plugged into it. If it's just cell/camera battery chargers and things like that you're probably OK, but you wouldn't want a washer, dryer, microwave, and fridge on the same strip.

Add up the total power draw from all the devices plugged in and make sure it doesn't exceed the maximum level of the power strip...

 

[wherzwaldo]

I wonder if it was a surge protector or just a power strip. There are a lot of power strips out there that look pretty cheaply made, and do not have built-in circuit breakers like surge protectors do.

They may cost more, but I've gotten in the habit of always buying name-brand (APC) surge protectors instead of generic-looking power strips.