Power Strip Question

[Carol]

So for some reason unknown to me, my power strip had what I call a "piggy back plug" on it.  You know those plugs that convert a 2 prong electrical appliance to a 3 pronger.  Don't know why because my power strip of course has the ground plug on it.  I hadn't used it for while but I purchased it for computer equipment.  I couldn't get the darn adapter off so I thought no harm done and ran it that way.  Well as you can see from the pics it melted!!!  OMG!!  This is why one should NEVER run their lamps when not at home!!!  Thank god all is safe and there wasn't a fire!!!  Now the surge protector is 100 percent fine.  Do you think there is a problem with the power strip not having enough wattage?  OR do you think it was just because of that adapter.  My REAL question is:  what are the common power strip/surge protectors that every one uses on here.  I am running 5 lamps and a small plasma light on it.  I do have an ace hardware, home depot and lowes local.  Are they like the dimmers and should I purchase one for incandescent lighting?  I thought because this strip said it was for computers and that they draw a lot of power I would be fine.  I can't seem to see a wattage or anything on the fine print on the back to even see what it is.  I just want to be safe.  What is the max lamps one should plug into a power strip?  Oh also it is a Belkin brand surge protector.

 

[Carol]

As you can see from the above pics, the surge protector plug is fine.  No signs of melting, blackening or damage. 

[VOXul]

That is creepy it melted!  The only thing I can think of is that little metal tab that comes off of it is meant to act as a ground I believe. Old plugs had a spot to screw down ground? I think? I know growing up we had a fridge piggy backed onto one of those ground adapters as the plug outlet didn't have a wired ground line. I think I recall a screw going through that tab and onto a switch plate, I could be wrong or that is entirely the wrong use for the tab, haha.

Belkin make good strips. Nicer strips like Belkin, APC and Monster tend to have a fuse in them to limit and break if there is too much draw into the power strip.  I run a maxxed out strip for my midnights but never run them when not around, I even unplug the strip when not in use.  Take note of wiring in your home, each socket pulling 120v/40w on old wiring might heat things up a bit in the wall. If you want to get real fancy get a UPC battery backup made by APC! They will deliver 'clean power' to each socket, protect from surges AND you can run your lamps if the power goes out... for like an hour until the battery backup dies

[Carol]

Yep Vox, melted!!!  The Belkin surge protector is fine so I'm thinking it was the old piggy back plug that had something to do with it.  I did plug in the power strip and it doesn't get hot at all.  Weird.  I'll just keep a close eye on it and keep feeling it for heat. 

Vox, I can look one up online but what do the UPC battery backups cost???  Will this contraption help if I have old wiring?

 

Thanx!!

[VOXul]

Carol, I have my entertainment center hooked into a couple of these, on entirely separate wall outlets. Though they are hardcore protection if you are only trying to run lamps off of it, HAHA.  You might be good with one of these for running lamps/battery backup for power failures. A full listing of options here.

I have to be a fanboy and say I love APC equipment.  It actually has some worth/value to the higher cost, built like a tank, only recently has a 10 year old unit of mine crapped out on the battery (makes a rather annoying alarm to let you know it is broke too). Belkin is a good go to as well.  While Monster stuff tends to work and be nice it is really marked up for what you get. Don't get me started on the people that pay $100+ for a Monster HDMI cable or BEATS headphones..

Edit: You may be able to find better prices than Micro Center on those too, maybe compare model numbers to Amazon. Best Buy will probably be more expensive, I have a local Micro Center so they tend to be on sale in the store.

[Carol]

Ut oh Vox, I was talked into a Monster HDMI cable and I have Monster speaker wire for my surround sound.  Then I talked to somebody at Office Depot and they said that the Monster HDMI cable gives you no better picture quality then the average joe brand.  I do have a battery backup on my 50 inch plasma tv/surround sound which the small mom/pop biz I bought from suggested it.  It was around 60-80 bucks I believe.  Not sure of the brand, but it might be an APC.  Oh wait a minute, it's not battery back up, I think it's just a surge protector because when the power goes out so does my cable box, wifi and surround sound.  BTW I listened to the BEATS headphones and I don't find the sound quality to be superior either.  My HP laptop came with beats and although it does sound louder then most laptops, it's nothing GREAT!!!  For now, I'm just going to keep feeling to see if my belkin strip gets hot.  Maybe i'll just upgrade my strip.  Would be nice to run my lamps in a power outage though, lol!!!

[Carol]

Vox, is it better to have more Joules (???) whatever they are.  Do those surge protectors come in wattages like dimmers or are they basically all the same.  What I'm trying to say is does one handle more wattage/power then another?  I noticed there are different Joules and the more they have the more expensive they are.  Sorry for all the questions, but that plug melting like that bugged me out!!!!

[VOXul]

Yes, 'Beats' is quite simply an equalizer setting that Dr. Dre tuned and branded and ended up bankrolling on a line of headphones.  My laptop and phone have Beats audio and the sound is quite good from such small speakers.  I have recommended a $40 pair of Sennheiser headphones to a fellow OG'er that can give a $300 pair of Beats by Dre a run for their money.

Yes when it comes to cables they are pretty much built the same. There is no magic diamond powder in a Monster cable that makes things sparkle on your TV.  A $2.50 HDMI cable from Monoprice is going to look the same as that fancy $100 Monster but you can get the cheap cable in DIFFERENT COLORS!!

[Carol]

ooops, off track here, but I just might try a pair of those Sennheiser headphones, lol!!!  Ya gotta luv you're music sounding good!!!!!

As far as my question on Joules and what they mean, I found this article.  At least I know now what type of quality to look for in my surge protectors......Thnx!!!

 

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/surge-protector7...

 

[VOXul]

Joules are going to let you know how much of a spike load the thing will abosrb before failure.  Higher Joules means it can get surged by a larger, more powerful bolt of lightning so to speak If you plan on only using it for lamps you should be fine with something less tanked.This unit will handle a 72,000 amp spike or 1,080 joules. It will draw voltage based on the needs of the items connected to it, you could theoretically run 6 - 1,000 watt amplifiers on that one adapter but remember you will then be drawing a potential 6,000 watts, (convert to volts and total amp draw) from a single outlet in your house, internal wall wires might get a bit spicy and mad. Now 6 - 40w lightbulbs drawing from that should be acceptable.

Figure, if it surges, it should handle the surge and/or cut power or blow the unit fuse, if it is a larger surge it will just jump the gap and blow your lightbulb.  Now when you have a super sweet HD flat panel hooked up to it you want to maximize the joules as the LED lighting in those things don't like jiggawatts, haha!

Edit: I am no electrician so... There is a lot of technical details when it comes to electricity and conversions and such, but plain and simple you should be fine with that APC wall unit for lamps. In the even of a lightning surge I would just be worried about wiring throughout the house in general, fire shooting from all outlets kinda thing, not much any surge protector is going to do in that event, haha.

[Carol]

I likey the 9.99 less tanked version Vox!!!  Thanx!!!  jiggawatts, haaahaahaaahaaa!!!!!  This is an informative thread for us electric for dummies people like myself.  Gotta keep ourselves and our lamps safe!!!

[VOXul]

I believe this is the pair I recommended.  They have a wide range of builds, high end and low end, this is a good middle ground that will give the finger to Dre.

Carol Morrow said:

ooops, off track here, but I just might try a pair of those Sennheiser headphones, lol!!!  Ya gotta luv you're music sounding good!!!!!

As far as my question on Joules and what they mean, I found this article.  At least I know now what type of quality to look for in my surge protectors......Thnx!!!

 

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/surge-protector7...

 

[Carol]

Thanx Vox, Sweet!!!!!  That might just be my Xmas present to myself!!!!!  I'll let the hubbie and kids buy me the lava!!!