Whole house surge protection

[42etus]

I'm going to add a whole house surge protector to my house and ran across the Leveton model at what seemed like a good price($175) from Smart Home, http://www.smarthome...rotector/p.aspx . Then after surfing a little I was supprised to find this one for $79. http://www.lightning...es/page0005.htm .The Leveton unit has great reviews and I don't mind spending the $175, but if I can save nearly $100 on a comparable unit, that would be great. Does anyone have experience with either or both of these units? Any recomendations one way or another?

 

[apostolakisl]

I have two of the Leviton units. I need to get a third as I still have one subpanel unprotrected.

I have no idea if they work! To the best of my knowledge I have never had a power surge. They install quite easily.

I have one installed on an outdoor panel and for that I bought a water proof j-box of the same size and installed mounting screws in the same location as the original. I siliconed the holes where I ran the mounting screws through the box lid and filled the two holes I drilled for the led's to shine through with clear silicone. That was about a year ago.

The little green led's glow as expected giving me a sense (real or imagined) of being protected.

 

[Steve]

I would probably stay away from that cheap one and go with the Leviton at a minimum. There is a thread here with more options and you can also search for the term 'electronic rust' and you will find more as well. If cost is the main factor then I guess anything is better than nothing but I believe this is one of those areas (for the most part) where you get what you pay for.

 

[video321]

I have a Leviton 51120-PTC myself.

But I would also look into units by:
Siemens
Intermatic
Cutler-Hammer
Innovative Technology
PolyPhaser Corp.
....and I know I'm missing others.

 

[wuench]

I had the Leviton in my old house, seemed to work fine, I did have one surge that I think came in on an unprotected modem line and wiped out a PC but all my swittchlincs, etc were fine. Just install it correctly, top of panel separate breakers.

 

[video321]

Just install it correctly, top of panel separate breakers.

Just to note...."top of panel" is not always where the service lines enter and it really doesn't matter either. As long as you keep the leads to the device as short as possible and have a "good" ground, you'll be fine.

 

[pete_c]

I went with the Eaton one. A bit of work to install it adajacent to the fuse panel.

http://www.eaton.com/Electrical/USA/ProductsandServices/PowerQualityandMonitoring/InnovativeTechnologyTVSS/Protector/index.htm

 

[gatchel]

I'll bring it up again...I have used Ditek products in the industry with good success and sometimes attainable results at customers sites. I have their Whole House products in my home. I haven't had any issues thus far but is hard to tell if I have ever been subject to a surge. Someday, if it ever happens, I'll post up if anyone on the same transformer has issues and I don't suffer any.

Surge protection is practical and it gives piece of mind. Something is better than nothing but, as prevoiusly said, you really do get what you pay for.

 

[Monk]

I installed the Leviton. Peace of mind, indeed.
http://cocoontech.com/forums/blog/17/entry-350-paranoid/

I'm going to add a whole house surge protector to my house and ran across the Leveton model at what seemed like a good price($175) from Smart Home, http://www.smarthome...rotector/p.aspx . Then after surfing a little I was supprised to find this one for $79. http://www.lightning...es/page0005.htm .The Leveton unit has great reviews and I don't mind spending the $175, but if I can save nearly $100 on a comparable unit, that would be great. Does anyone have experience with either or both of these units? Any recomendations one way or another?

 

[Neurorad]

I like the Eaton/Cutler-Hammer brand, residential series.

 

[42etus]

I like the Eaton/Cutler-Hammer brand, residential series.

Like this one http://www.mrsupply.com/cutler-hammer-chspultra-surge-suppressor-brand-new.html ?
The more I research this, the more confused I become. Prices seem to vary widely for products that (seemingly) are the same.

 

[gatchel]

Everybody has their favorites. Unless you can find some sort of comparison done by a 3rd party then you sort of just have to choose something. There are different ratings as far as current clamping capacity and voltage so make sure you compare them carefully. Some have buzzers that go off when they fail. Some have dry contacts so that they can be monitored by a alarm panel or other device.

Don't forget about incoming phone and cable lines too...

This is the setup I have:
http://www.ditekcorp.com/Docs/ProdGuides/WH8PLUS%20Datasheet.pdf

 

[Mr Spock]

I really like what I see in the Eaton IT Protector series with the options for SMART diagnostics and Active Tracking Network. From what I can tell you can monitor the unit for surge history using their Power Event Monitor software to the unit's built-in Ethernet port. This appears to be model number PTE160-1S101-SD-E for typical US split phase systems, if I assembled the part number correctly. Eaton/IT seems to provide the most technical suppression specs compared to Cutler Hammer, Square D, Leviton, and the other big names in the industry.

Pete, is this what you have?

I'm wondering if their Active Tracking Network (noise filtering) is compatible with UPB, X10, and other powerline carrier communication systems. If they provide attenuation of input (street) to output (house), this is good. However if this "filter" provides a very low impedance to ground at the house side for 40kHz through 120kHz frequencies then its probably not compatible.

 

[Del91574]

As stated, everyone has their favorites, but I've always dealt with Ditek or Edco for HV surge protection or specialty devices. Elk 950's for phone/alarm applications. Ditek was always specified on GSM installs, FWIW.

 

[Mr Spock]

It took some digging, but finally found some prices on the Eaton/IT series. I've come back down to earth.

The PTE160-1S101-SD-E, if it exists, is over $5000. It's rated for 160kA/phase surges. Clearly a superior device, but...

The Ditek D200-120/2401 is closer to $755. Its rated for 200kA/phase surges. It has a contact closure output.

I think I'll go with the Ditek part.