[SKreme]

I was in CompUSA and the sales rep told me that surge protectors should be replaced once a year. I have never heard anything like this before and suspect he didn't know what he was talking about. Does anyone know anything about this?

[Who's Me]

I just googled "surge protector lifetime" and found a bunch of companies that offer lifetime warranties so my guess would be no.

[DoubleHelix]

Sounds like a heck of a scam to get people to buy more surge protectors. I use mine until the Protected light isn't on anymore.

[hewee]

Getting a good surge protector is what you really need to do and they have lifetime warranties.

[SouthParkXP101]

I Hope not , my old server is on a 8 year old surge prosesser

[loserOlimbs]

As the surge portectors get older the resistors and circuitry used to lessen the spikes wear out. So yes, he was right. However you can circumvent this in two ways.

1) A higher quality unit will last longer.
2) A Good quality UPS will last even longer and serve the same purpose as a good surge protector.

[Gibble]

I was going to say the same thing as Limbs, get a UPS instead.

[kiwiguy]

If the surge suppressor has not had to deal with any large surges, then it will not have "worn out" as suggested above. There is no defined "life".

The life is totally dependent on the magnitude and frequency of any surges that it has had to deal with. After handling even one good surge, it's future ability may be in doubt.

For those advising on using a UPS, I totally agree, but please remember that the input to the UPS also contains similar surge suppressor circuitry, that protects the UPS electronics.

[lexmarks567]

Sales people will say ANYTHING to make a sale as there on commission the more they sell the more money they make

[JohnWill]

There is a grain of truth in that statement. Most cheap surge protectors use MOVs (Metal-Oxide Varistor) as the active element. Every time the MOV clamps a surge, it loses a bit of it's longevity. Here's one of many references on the topic: http://www.iaei.org/subscriber/magaz...04_b_brown.htm

Cheap surge protectors don't last forever, and their lifetime is highly dependent on the environment. In Florida, the lightning capital of the world, it's likely that salesperson might be close to correct.

[ferrija1]

I would reccomend replacing it every 2-3 years. But like JW said it depends...

[SKreme]

How can I tell if the surge protector is worn out?

I have heard the UPSs should be replaced every couple of years also...

[kiwiguy]

You cannot physically tell if the MOV is internally degraded, the next good surge may tell you though as it goes straight through...

[lexmarks567]

A surge protecter can't protect your electronics from a lighting strike.NO surge protecter can.They all say that.Even a direct hit.

[SouthParkXP101]

Originally Posted by lexmarks567

A surge protecter can't protect your electronics from a lighting strike.NO surge protecter can.They all say that.Even a direct hit.

thats why i put a lightning arestor on my house