Don’t fall behind on your maintenance schedule
So you’ve decided to get a surge protector. That’s great. It’s something a house should have. In fact, if your house isn’t protected at the source, then you should probably have a few of them.
Have you established your maintenance plan or better yet, have you been maintaining the devices you currently have?
The problem with most surge protectors is that they are designed to die. Essentially, whether it’s by a thousand small spikes over time or by way of a large power surge, the devices eventually use up their capacity to take the hit.
Unfortunately when that happens, many don’t notify you of the problem. They act as regular powerbars so you can plug as many devices into them as possible so when the failure occurs, your computer, stereo, satellite, and subwoofer will all go at once. In addition, those lights that indicate whether they’re working, don’t always operate properly either.
No, the best method of maintaining a powerbar is to periodically check to make sure they aren’t overheating, keep them free of dust, and then every year or two, depending on your geographic location and the quality of the device, replace them. You will notice that we don’t make the determination based on use. That’s because they are designed to take a hit, but we don’t always see that by way of the lights flickering. It doesn’t come down to how much you use the powerbar, but a how often it does its job.