Equipment Protection

[phunge]

Hi there,

Yesterday, after a large ice storm, we experienced a brief power outage. I immediately could smell burnt electronics. I discovered that several breakers in my panels had tripped, and most of the surge protectors in the house were fried. The surge protectors were completely short circuiting the lines they were plugged into, tripping the breakers. Taking one apart, there were pieces rattling inside and large burn marks. all of the 'power bar' type surge protectors in my home were this way (10 in total), as well as my Transparent and API power conditioners servicing my audio and home theater systems.

After power was restored, it was with great trepidation that I plugged my audio and home theater gear one by one directly into the wall to check it's operation. I was relieved to discover that all equipment seems to be functioning fine. I feel very fortunate! It would seem that the surge protectors did their job.

I also have a whole house surge protection device (SquareD) installed at my main breaker panel. It seems to be adversely affected, though I wonder if it did anything at all to lessen the impact of the event.

Sorry for all of the rambling, but the net result is that I find myself needing to completely replace all of the power distribution, conditioning and protection in my home. I have heard and followed the advice (from Shunyata and others) to use whole home surge protection, but given the events yesterday I am extremely nervous about plugging anything directly into the wall, particularly my audio and home theatre equipment.

I have always been interested in the Shunyata offerings, and have read about the benefits of the technology with regards to improving power and sound quality -- but I have not seen or heard about Shunyata's ability to protect attached equipment in the event of power surges. Does anyone have any links or information?