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ZeroSurge 2R15W Surge Protector Review

Rate this surge protector:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 49 37.4%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 33 25.2%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 29 22.1%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 20 15.3%

  • Total voters
    131

solderdude

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Hit it with 220 vac and measure the output. That would be a simple and effective surge test.

Alas it doesn't work that way.
A surge protector for 115V will fry it's MOVs on 230V AC. MOVs can only handle very short pulses not a constant trigger.
It needs to be tested with EFT and Surge tests. These use different polarity peaks between L, N and safety ground.
These pulses must be repetitive, short (there are norms for this for various types of equipment, industrial, home, railway, automotive etc) and of a minimum duration.
That requires specific (expensive) test gear.

These devices won't protect against near-by lightning strikes anyway.

Also there is common mode filtering which Amir does not test for.
Common mode noise is a bigger issue than differential mode (what Amir tests for).

These devices do work within the specified range. The MOVs inside can handle a bit more peak currents than the ones used in equipment itself (if it has some).

Would I buy one ? no.
When I want to protect for lightning strikes I would use serious protection where the cable enters the house.
When I have erratic mains with surges and brown/black outs, look for a different solution.
When I want to improve audio.... buy different speakers treat a room.
When I had 'audio gremlins' (ticks, noises, hum) I would try to find out what causes it and address it at the source or look for what is needed to get rid of the noises.
 

Doodski

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To tell you the truth, I don't understand what would be said of a power conditioner that can produce a perfect 60 Hz sign wave, because from what has been shown on ASR, such clean AC power is not necessary and provides little benefit. So such a device would get a golfing panther because it does something well, but unnecessary? That's for another day.
In a metrology lab setting or better the purity of the AC mains is important to enable the calibration of gear and measurement down to parts per million or better.
 

jomo

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Alas it doesn't work that way.
A surge protector for 115V will fry it's MOVs on 230V AC. MOVs can only handle very short pulses not a constant trigger.
It needs to be tested with EFT and Surge tests. These use different polarity peaks between L, N and safety ground.
These pulses must be repetitive, short (there are norms for this for various types of equipment, industrial, home, railway, automotive etc) and of a minimum duration.
That requires specific (expensive) test gear.

These devices won't protect against near-by lightning strikes anyway.

Also there is common mode filtering which Amir does not test for.
Common mode noise is a bigger issue than differential mode (what Amir tests for).

These devices do work within the specified range. The MOVs inside can handle a bit more peak currents than the ones used in equipment itself (if it has some).

Would I buy one ? no.
When I want to protect for lightning strikes I would use serious protection where the cable enters the house.
When I have erratic mains with surges and brown/black outs, look for a different solution.
When I want to improve audio.... buy different speakers treat a room.
When I had 'audio gremlins' (ticks, noises, hum) I would try to find out what causes it and address it at the source or look for what is needed to get rid of the noises.
This surge protector has no MOVs. They say it reacts on higher than rated voltage and high frequency (pulse). So maybe you can see how it works at lower voltage pulses.
 
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solderdude

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The same goes for TVS.

You cannot simply connect a 115V surge protector to 230V. It will blow its over voltage protection simply because 230V is an over voltage and not a short peak but constant.
 
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Robbo99999

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You might want to check with your local fire department on that. My fire fighting friends have had a few things to say about it.
Hmm, I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it.
 

57gold

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Still waiting on tests of Shunyata products. They make significant claims about their power products and have provided measurements that they believe back up the claims that their elaborately designed cables and conditioners achieve.

Years ago used an early "magic dust" Shunyata cable on a Theta Den Va DAC that seemed to smooth out the edginess of early digital in a musically positive manner. Had previously tried an early Transparent power conditioner that did nothing positive. It is presently used as a power strip for my TV, cable box, DVD and Sonos Soundbase, an expensive power strip!
 
Last edited:

fpitas

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He is saying that these devices filter SURGES. Good enough? Did Amir measure what happens if you send a surge of power through it? NO. He doesn't have capability.

If you want to say a surge protector isn't a filtering device you can play that semantic game if you like. I assume when they say their products filter they are speaking generally and have products that do filter in the way you expect.

With a sufficient power surge, this filter will protect your equipment and having it work after is an improvement.

There isn't a claim every product improves audio performance in real time in every instance. Clearly, if your gear is good enough and your power is clean enough, you aren't a customer for this product.
I've been designing filters for 45 years. They do not "filter" surges. You can misuse words as you like, ala Humpty Dumpty.
 

Nathan Raymond

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I've been designing filters for 45 years. They do not "filter" surges. You can misuse words as you like, ala Humpty Dumpty.
Does anyone have some rough numbers for the BOM for the EMI/RFI filtering components they add to surge protectors? I've long suspected that the AC filtering aspect is mostly to have a marketing bullet point. If the material cost is very low, I can see the incentive to include it.
 

Kaameelis

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...

I then plugged in the hypex Amp to see if it makes an incremental difference and it did:
...

But as you can see, it is very slight.
Thank you.
Also with real load filtration is very small.
I didn't expect additional filtration with load is so small.
 

KMN

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I've been designing filters for 45 years. They do not "filter" surges. You can misuse words as you like, ala Humpty Dumpty.
In those 45 years, what word or words have you been using for circuits whos job it is to remove unwanted artifacts and improve signal purity? Filter seems like the perfect word, especially if everyone knows exactly what is meant when it is being used this way.... ie in this case, removing unwanted surges from utility power.
 

EJ3

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Hmm, I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it.
I live in an area where spikes, surges are a problem. Before I lived in that type of area the only issue that I had was a lightning strike next door. A little too close for comfort but did not harm anything of mine. I did not run any kind of mains protection back then (it never even occurred to me to do so, as it was not an issue). But at my current location, it's a frequent issue. So I try to mitigate it. If I was where it is not a common problem, I likely wouldn't be bothered with it either (except for the fact that I already have the equipment, then I would hook it up. But, if I did not already have it, I wouldn't buy it.
 

Robbo99999

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I live in an area where spikes, surges are a problem. Before I lived in that type of area the only issue that I had was a lightning strike next door. A little too close for comfort but did not harm anything of mine. I did not run any kind of mains protection back then (it never even occurred to me to do so, as it was not an issue). But at my current location, it's a frequent issue. So I try to mitigate it. If I was where it is not a common problem, I likely wouldn't be bothered with it either (except for the fact that I already have the equipment, then I would hook it up. But, if I did not already have it, I wouldn't buy it.
Not that many lightning storms in the UK and the power grid is generally pretty reliable it seems, so I'm not gonna be going to the expense of upgrading my surge protection beyond the current cheap powerstrip surge protection that I own.
 

DonR

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Not that many lightning storms in the UK and the power grid is generally pretty reliable it seems, so I'm not gonna be going to the expense of upgrading my surge protection beyond the current cheap powerstrip surge protection that I own.
The MOVs used in surge protectors today are much better than those of even 20 years ago when it was recommended to change out your protector strips every 5-10 years. Modern strips should be good for about 20 years unless they are in a high-stress environment, repeated small surges that occur frequently.
 

KMN

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Does anyone have some rough numbers for the BOM for the EMI/RFI filtering components they add to surge protectors? I've long suspected that the AC filtering aspect is mostly to have a marketing bullet point. If the material cost is very low, I can see the incentive to include it.
Cost is going to scale with complexity, ie filter toplogy, # of stages etc, and size which scales with energy levels, loss/thermal issues, cost of materials etc.

Misapplied and poorly designed filtering may be far less effective than their marketting hype, but it does not mean that AC line filtering in't real or can't be used to solve real problems.

These series SPD's are a niche product and targetted at a specific set of problems. It's irrational buying something like this with no objective way to evaluate 1. the need for one in the first place, and 2. how effectively it performs in solving that problem.
 
OP
amirm

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I didn't expect additional filtration with load is so small.
If you mean power drawn, that won't make a difference since the impedance does not change. Indeed, i pushed the Hypex to good few watts and it made zero difference.
 

Robbo99999

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The MOVs used in surge protectors today are much better than those of even 20 years ago when it was recommended to change out your protector strips every 5-10 years. Modern strips should be good for about 20 years unless they are in a high-stress environment, repeated small surges that occur frequently.
The ones I've got have a little light that says whether it's still protected or not, so I'm guessing that's good enough re decision to change them or not. My oldest one is about 15 yrs old (mind you that ones on the floor at the moment not being used now that I look - I'm using ones from 2015 onwards).
 

pablolie

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Sacrificial (or semi-sacrificial) surge protection is a simple fuse :) They come in many designs, but they are functionally simple devices.
 

DonR

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The ones I've got have a little light that says whether it's still protected or not, so I'm guessing that's good enough re decision to change them or not. My oldest one is about 15 yrs old (mind you that ones on the floor at the moment not being used now that I look - I'm using ones from 2015 onwards).
Depending on the design of the circuit, the LED will usually indicate that an internal fuse has blown because a MOV has failed. Definitely a candidate for replacement.
 

Nathan Raymond

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Depending on the design of the circuit, the LED will usually indicate that an internal fuse has blown because a MOV has failed. Definitely a candidate for replacement.
A light is better than nothing, but there are models designed to stop passing power when they wear out:

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-surge-protector/
Many cheap models continue to pass power to their outlets even after the protection is long gone. That’s why we suggest looking for a surge protector with an auto-shutoff feature, which stops the device from conveying power when the protection wears out.
Contrary to some advice earlier in this thread, they recommend replacing MOV based surge protectors every 2-5 years:

Most estimates put the average lifespan of a surge protector at three to five years. And if your home is subject to frequent brownouts or blackouts, you might want to replace your surge protectors as often as every two years.
 

supercargo

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These series SPD's are a niche product and targetted at a specific set of problems. It's irrational buying something like this with no objective way to evaluate 1. the need for one in the first place, and 2. how effectively it performs in solving that problem.
This reminds me of my primary rationale for going this route: my house has some old wiring which lacks equipment ground. GFCI breakers help with electrocution safety, but MOV based surge suppression needs a ground wire to shunt surge current to. The series protection doesn’t require a ground. Expensive for a surge protector is still cheaper than rewiring.
 
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