Using two surge protectors

[BillP]

Hi everyone

My questions might seem stupid, but I don't have a lot of knowledge in electric stuff.


I have a APC UPS. My first question is: How good is it to protect against surges compared to a simple surge protector? Is there a difference between the battery-protected side and the surge one?
Is the time to switch on battery low enough to protect against surges?

I also have a APC surge protector on the same electric outlet. It is a bad thing to do? On the same outlet? I know that MOVs-based devices souldn't be plugged in a serial manner... but I can't find a good explanation for it... so if someone have one with some good sources... not just the "because it is bad" one...

My thought was that... understanding that there is MOVs in the ups and in the surge protector... and that the MOVs will divert surges to the ground wire... what if there is a big spike...

The spike will be directed to the ground wire by both the surge protector and the UPS... But in the outlet, the ground of the ups and the surge protector is the same... Can the surge redirected from one surge protector flow back in a device via the ground wire?

I guess not... if the ground is good, everything will flow to the ground since the voltage is lower here right? Is there a possible way for the curreht to go in another direction?


Thanks for your help and patience

Alex

[BillP]

Hi everyone

My questions might seem stupid, but I don't have a lot of knowledge in electric stuff.


I have a APC UPS. My first question is: How good is it to protect against surges compared to a simple surge protector? Is there a difference between the battery-protected side and the surge one?
Is the time to switch on battery low enough to protect against surges?

I also have a APC surge protector on the same electric outlet. It is a bad thing to do? On the same outlet? I know that MOVs-based devices souldn't be plugged in a serial manner... but I can't find a good explanation for it... so if someone have one with some good sources... not just the "because it is bad" one...

My thought was that... understanding that there is MOVs in the ups and in the surge protector... and that the MOVs will divert surges to the ground wire... what if there is a big spike...

The spike will be directed to the ground wire by both the surge protector and the UPS... But in the outlet, the ground of the ups and the surge protector is the same... Can the surge redirected from one surge protector flow back in a device via the ground wire?

I guess not... if the ground is good, everything will flow to the ground since the voltage is lower here right? Is there a possible way for the curreht to go in another direction?


Thanks for your help and patience

Alex

[BillP]

Thank you

Now... I understand that the "surge protection" part of my ups (well, I have the biggest ES and the biggest CS models) is really not the best.
But I only use the battery-protected side.

So on the battery side, the surge protection is far better because if the UPS surge protection can't take the load, the UPS will switch on battery so fast that it will prevent most damages on the equipement.

Am I right?

Thanks

Alex

[BillP · Accepted solution]

that is not correct. the UPS will only switch to battery if there is a power failure of some type - so a complete loss of power, low voltage, high voltage, frequency out of range, THD (total harmonic distortion) and any type of electrical noise.

the surge protection has nothing to do with battery operation of the UPS, only the fact that when the UPS is operating on battery, it is indeed still providing surge protection.