leaving powerstrip on all the time, is it safe?

[Aranarth]

Yup a backup is not just ONE copy.

 

[Vendor]

Yup a backup is not just ONE copy.

well i don't really have anything important maybe my youtube videos backup (but my channel is a total flop anyway) and my music which i can easily replace with a streaming service

 

[Bill_Bright]

well i don't really have anything important

Well a lot of other people have family photos, tax, work or school papers, emails, contacts, downloaded programs and a lot of other personal data they don't want to lose - not to mention the OS and hardware drivers, security, etc.

But now we are off on yet another off-topic tangent. And even though it is your thread, I think I will step out now.

 

[Vendor]

Well a lot of other people have family photos, tax, work or school papers, emails, contacts, downloaded programs and a lot of other personal data they don't want to lose - not to mention the OS and hardware drivers, security, etc.

well, i have do have my photos backed up on google drive (through their photos app). Can download drivers again? programs are also feasible through sites like ninite and idk why you guys are so cautious about everything. I don't wanna sound mean but it's getting bit out hand now, i mean it would be something absolute tragic if all these things of failures in a series ever take place. I know there's a possibility of everything but we have to be optimistic.

 

[Bill_Bright]

idk why you guys are so cautious about everything. I don't wanna sound mean but it's getting bit out hand now

LOL You don't sound mean. You sound naïve and too self-centered. And again, I am not criticizing. That's just an observation. You seem to think your scenario is the only one that's important or applicable.

For example, you just admitted in your previous post you don't have anything important on your computer. Yet it is clear you don't understand that many of us do. For many of us, our computers are absolutely essential and without, we cannot do our jobs, attend or participate in school, pay bills, communicate with our doctors, kids, grandkids or parents.

I have already explained why some folks are so cautious. We may live where there's frequent severe weather. Where a lot of downtime to download drivers again, or rebuild the OS installation, install and configure all our programs is unacceptable and costly. For many of us, our computers are essential tools for our very existence. For others, perhaps for folks like you, our computers are little more than toys or sources of entertainment.

I know there's a possibility of everything but we have to be optimistic.

Why do you assume you cannot be both? Optimistic and cautious?

The fact is, I am very optimistic my UPS will protect my computer and all my network gear. I am also very optimistic that should some catastrophic event take out my computer, the precautions I have taken to ensure I have a good backup means I will have fully restored and productive computers with minimal downtime.

As I said before, "a good UPS is like having good insurance". Having good insurance ensures you can be optimistic. That's not only being cautious, it is being wise too.

 

[Vendor]

For example, you just admitted in your previous post you don't have anything important on your computer. Yet it is clear you don't understand that many of us do. For many of us, our computers are absolutely essential and without, we cannot do our jobs, attend or participate in school, pay bills, communicate with our doctors, kids, grandkids or parents.

then do whatever you want, i am not forcing my opinion on others and just expressing what i feel makes sense for me

I have already explained why some folks are so cautious. We may live where there's frequent severe weather. Where a lot of downtime to download drivers again, or rebuild the OS installation, install and configure all our programs is unacceptable and costly. For many of us, our computers are essential tools for our very existence. For others, perhaps for folks like you, our computers are little more than toys or sources of entertainment.

yeah true, i mainly use my pc for entertainment and fun. About time i start doing something productive and make money. Since a long while, weather has been pretty stable here but for first couple of year when we shifted to this house there used to be alot of thunderstorm during summers and it used to worry it was weird because it didn't happen when we were in our previous house and this one is in the same street.

The fact is, I am very optimistic my UPS will protect my computer and all my network gear. I am also very optimistic that should some catastrophic event take out my computer, the precautions I have taken to ensure I have a good backup means I will have fully restored and productive computers with minimal downtime.

same way i am optimistic of having my PSU and inverter serving me well despite other things like cheap wires used in this house causing power to be not perfect but it's manageable. In my region, power is quite reliable nowadays there's hardly any long power cuts like old days where even inverter used to run out of backup only have 2 hours on downtime on rare occasions and last time it happened was more than a month ago.

 

[64K]

I always leave my power strip on and haven't run into any problems yet even when lightning struck our house and killed several of our electronics.

 

[Vendor]

I always leave my power strip on and haven't run into any problems yet even when lightning struck our house and killed several of our electronics.

afaik and my brother also once told me that even the basic powerstrip has that little fuse to prevent your electronics from frying in such circumstances, is that not true?

 

[64K]

afaik and my brother also once told me that even the basic powerstrip has that little fuse to prevent your electronics from frying in such circumstances, is that not true?

I think they all have that fuse but it depends on when they trip and if they get a chance to trip.

 

[80-watt Hamster]

afaik and my brother also once told me that even the basic powerstrip has that little fuse to prevent your electronics from frying in such circumstances, is that not true?

That might be true, but even if it is, you're counting on whatever's plugged in to be able to handle the current spike before the fuse blows. That's far from a guarantee. It's better to simply not consider a power strip as protection. That fuse isn't there to protect your electronics, it's there to protect the branch circuit and to prevent a fire.

In the US, household electronics are limited to 1500 watts, which is about the maximum a standard 15-amp circuit can handle. One could plug in 5 or 6 high-draw devices to a power strip, easily exceeding the circuit's amp rating. Now, the breaker/fuse on the circuit should trip, but what if it doesn't? So that fuse prevents the attached appliances from pulling more than the amount a basic circuit is rated for. Any protection said devices receive is simply a coincidental bonus.

 

[Vendor]

I think they all have that fuse but it depends on when they trip and if they get a chance to trip.

That might be true, but even if it is, you're counting on whatever's plugged in to be able to handle the current spike before the fuse blows. That's far from a guarantee. It's better to simply not consider a power strip as protection. That fuse isn't there to protect your electronics, it's there to protect the branch circuit and to prevent a fire.

well, had no idea of both of those things, it's always good to learn something new and useful

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Depends on how wonky your power sources are
In the USA it's fairly normal to have power outages
Worst thing about outages isn't the outage but the sudden on and maybe off again and on again thing this can melt alliances lol

 

[jboydgolfer]

if i leaving a cheap power strip on all the time can affect it's lifespan or something

i have never considered turning off a power bar, unless i need to reset the fuse/breaker, or maybe to move it.
ive run them for decades & never had one break, in the same place, covered with dust. also, wheres the down side if it does break? as you said its cheap.

 

[Bill_Bright]

i never had anything like that
I don't remember anything like that happening and causing a device failure.

This is the same thing I hear from folks about ESD damage. They believe it is not problem because they have never seen it - just as you have frequently done in this thread concerning power issues.

The problem with those arguments is that you (as a human being) can't see it. So how do you know a failed device was not damaged by a destructive surge or spike (or ESD)? You wouldn't.

An ESD sensitive device like a CPU or memory module can be destroyed by a static discharge that is so tiny, we (as humans) cannot see it, hear it, or feel the electrical arc (spark) leaving our fingertips. But that invisible, silent arc effectively torches a Grand Canyon sized scorched trench (microscopically speaking) through millions and millions of transistor gates on those sensitive devices! Essentially total destruction that can only be seen under a very powerful microscope.

The difference with power anomalies is they don't have to be one big one to do the damage. In fact, in many cases, it is a series of smaller surges and spikes over a period of time that just bang, bang, bang, bang, and bang on the device, wearing it down until it can tolerate the anomalies no longer. It is these frequent bombardments of smaller surges and spikes that routinely wear out surge and spike protectors, which is why it is recommended those devices be replaced every two years even though they "appear" to still be functioning just fine.

In other words, you don't have to see a lightning flash, hear the thunder, or see the lights flicker to have a power anomaly take out a computer power supply, big screen TV, home theater audio gear, or whatever. I mention those items because yes, I have a big UPS on my big screen TV and home theater gear too. I even have my 30 year old APC Smart-UPS 900 on my garage door opener (though that is there just for full power outages).

Some folks will say they have "whole-house" surge protection installed by the power company so they don't need an UPS. Wrong. A whole-house protector will protect from power anomalies originating off the grid. But as I said above destructive surges and spikes can originate from within the house too - from a faulty high wattage appliance, for example.

 

[Vendor]

This is the same thing I hear from folks about ESD damage. They believe it is not problem because they have never seen it - just as you have frequently done in this thread concerning power issues.

hmm... well, tbh i also never experienced it and neither my brother who used to flip alot of PCs before pandemic. Even Brain from Tech Yes City once admitted that he never had a component failure due to static discharge or anything along those lines.

The difference with power anomalies is they don't have to be one big one to do the damage. In fact, in many cases, it is a series of smaller surges and spikes over a period of time that just bang, bang, bang, bang, and bang on the device, wearing it down until it can tolerate the anomalies no longer. It is these frequent bombardments of smaller surges and spikes that routinely wear out surge and spike protectors, which is why it is recommended those devices be replaced every two years even though they "appear" to still be functioning just fine.

i think you are overthinking stuff, if something appears to be fine, it usually is. I might agree that surge protectors can wear as they have limited rating of joules but basic power strips are just simple circuit so they probably last for a very long time, if not ever. Secondly, did you see the post guy who said he had decades old power strips working fine despite being clogged in dust and stuff? man you don't need to be so cautious about everything.

 

[Shrek]

"Over 50% of equipment failure can be attributed to power surge/failure"
Do I Need a Surge Protector? - A1 Computer Repair

While I don't in any way wish to speak against the dangers of static electricity for electronics, they are very real, but some components are well protected by diodes across the inputs and outputs.

(1) Can static KILL your PC? (ft. Electroboom) - Bing video

(1) What It Takes to Break a RAM with ESD (ft. Linus Tech Tips) - Bing video

 

[Vendor]

While I don't in any way wish to speak against the dangers of static electricity for electronics, they are very real, but some components are well protected by diodes.

(1) Can static KILL your PC? (ft. Electroboom) - Bing video

(1) What It Takes to Break a RAM with ESD (ft. Linus Tech Tips) - Bing video

oh thanks, i remember watching both of those videos pretty much when they came out but i don't remember much about them, will watch again.

"Over 50% of equipment failure can be attributed to power surge/failure"
Do I Need a Surge Protector? - A1 Computer Repair

wow, that's unbelievable and a pretty high percentage. Can't believe half of the devices fail due to it.

 

[Shrek]

I have a house full of TrippLite isobar surge protectors (over 20); the neon lights in the switches age with time and can flicker, so I replaced the switches although they do not affect the surge functionality. I even have surge protectors on the furnace, washing machine and fridge.

 

[Bill_Bright]

hmm... well, tbh i also never experienced it and neither my brother who used to flip alot of PCs before pandemic.

LOL And again - how could you or your brother possibly know? You wouldn't.

Frankly, you keep contradicting yourself too. In post # 6 you said you have bad power issue in the house. Then you said you haven't had any major power but in the same sentence said "stuff gets shorted", fuses blow, and MCB triggers. Then you even said you believe your bad power is causing lags.

Then in post #19 you said, "i never had anything like that" but in the very next sentence you said, "few weeks back my pc did turn off due to power outage 3 times". Then another fan shorted.

i think you are overthinking stuff, if something appears to be fine, it usually is.

LOL

And again - you have admitted repeatedly that you have no expertise in this area. Then you tell us about all these various power issues you have had, then in the same breath claim you never have them.

You are all over the map on this.

If you don't think you need a good UPS with AVR, don't get one.

I'm done.

 

[Shrek]

I used to live on the Navajo Nation and power glitches were common; the problem was that the heated electric blankets would turn off for non-sine wave input so I ended up running them on sine-wave UPS units.

 

[Vendor]

LOL And again - how could you or your brother possibly know? You wouldn't.

Frankly, you keep contradicting yourself too. In post # 6 you said you have bad power issue in the house. Then you said you haven't had any major power but in the same sentence said "stuff gets shorted", fuses blow, and MCB triggers. Then you even said you believe your bad power is causing lags.

Then in post #19 you said, "i never had anything like that" but in the very next sentence you said, "few weeks back my pc did turn off due to power outage 3 times". Then another fan shorted.


LOL

And again - you have admitted repeatedly that you have no expertise in this area. Then you tell us about all these various power issues you have had, then in the same breath claim you never have them.

You are all over the map on this.

If you don't think you need a good UPS with AVR, don't get one.

I'm done.

sorry for you being bipolar, i think you're right. Bad power is really a concern in this house because back in the day i used to scroll my FB feed whole day and never had lag even with 4gb ram in our previous and i can't remember having this issue in our previous house (still wish we lived there, it was a decent modern house). We never had anything short like that there so your point is totally valid. I will see what we can do about it maybe get cheap wires replaced (i talked about it but they are not considering it because it's expensive) or change in circuit system (not sure about this one and unlikely to be the issue)

 

[64K]

We learned the hard way that lightning can strike your house even if it has lightning rods installed. A couple of years ago lightning hit the back porch light and traveled through the wiring and killed several electronics. You could tell where the lightning came in because it burned the wall switch. I asked the electrician that came out to do repairs how the lightning could hit the house even though it has lightning rods. He simply replied that sometimes they don't work. My power strip wasn't triggered and none of my PC equipment was damaged either but I leave mine on all the time just in case.

 

[Bill_Bright]

sorry for you being bipolar

Me? I'm not the one contradicting myself!

FTR, bad power does not cause FB lag. You are the one who said that was a problem. This is just another area showing you really don't understand the issue. Bad power causes computers to suddenly freeze, reboot, shut down and/or failing to start. But not lag.

Do you know what a "short" in electronics means? I don't think so. The fact is, it is more likely such anomalies would cause a device to "open", not short.

You can't "see" surges and spikes and you typically cannot see the immediate effects of surges and spikes except if very long in duration (>30ms) and then you might see the lights flicker. Most are much faster than that and cannot be seen. But contrary to your belief, just because you can't see them doesn't mean they don't exist.

@Andy Shiekh showed us a link showing 50% of electronics fail due to power anomalies but of course, you don't believe that. Why? Because you never saw it happened even though such things cannot be seen by our senses. But again, that makes no sense.

As I noted, it is the repeated banging by such anomalies that wear these devices out. In effect, they cause the device to age prematurely. You seem to think the device will suddenly blow up, catch fire, start smoking or in some way become visible. Nope. In most cases, the device just stops working (or fails to power up) for no apparent reason.

I used to live on the Navajo Nation and power glitches were common; the problem was that the heated electric blankets would turn off for non-sine wave input so I ended up running them on sine-wave UPS units.

That's really odd. Our electric blankets run fine on a 750VA APC stepped-approximated sinewave UPS.

We learned the hard way that lightning can strike your house even if it has lightning rods installed.

sometimes they don't work.

This is true. If Mother Nature is decides to throw a bolt directly at you, even a good lightning rod/grounding system may not be effective - especially if everything is wet from rain too.

 

[Frick]

We learned the hard way that lightning can strike your house even if it has lightning rods installed. A couple of years ago lightning hit the back porch light and traveled through the wiring and killed several electronics. You could tell where the lightning came in because it burned the wall switch. I asked the electrician that came out to do repairs how the lightning could hit the house even though it has lightning rods. He simply replied that sometimes they don't work. My power strip wasn't triggered and none of my PC equipment was damaged either.

Yeah... Don't mess around with lightening, was something hammered into us as kids. Unplug everything. I still do it if I'm away for a long time during holidays, including the ethernet to the router.

 

[Hemmingstamp]

Unplug everything. I still do it if I'm away for a long time during holidays, including the ethernet to the router.

This!

I didn't know what a power strip was so had to look it up.
Here in the UK it's called an extension socket or socket extender. Get into the habit of turning off everything off when not in use and save youself some money in the process. Even those little standby lights will cost you while you sleep.