TVSS receptacles

[mshields]

We've got a paragraph in our spec for these things. I'm thinking about eliminating them from the spec. My suspicion is that they consist of an MOV or two and that they can be counted on to burn out young and in all likelyhood never get replaced.

Best design practice for sensitive electronics is to provide 2 levels of TVSS protection; One at the service entrance and one at the branch circuit breaker panelboard.

do you agree?

thanks,

Mike

 

[barbeer]

I toured the "DiTEK" factory here in FL a few years ago and they preached that redundancy is the key.

 

[mhulbert]

I took a Leviton one apart. They are some big MOV's accross the lines. So, they equate to a quality surge suppression power strip. Whether or not they burn out would depend on the number/duration of surges you are getting. I can't recommend power strips to anybody, they seem like a band-aid approach, so TVSS receptacles would be the best permanent solution if you have to guarantee some equipment is protected.

They make one that sets off an alarm (in the front of the plug) when it fails. It can be silenced by turning a little screw on the front. I can just imagine this going off behind somebody's desk at 10 in the morning, with everybody in the office trying to figure out where the noise is coming from.

2 Levels of surge protection seems prudent for sensitive facilities, especially if there are things within a facility causing spikes that would trigger a TVSS (probably rare that they'd be high enough to start an MOV conducting!). It seems that if you are talking a larger facility, a TVSS mounted in the branch circuit panelboard may be more economical. Of course, more than 6" of wire can make the best TVSS almost useless, so it's best to use bus-mounted units that are integral to the panelboard.

Mike

 

[ghostbuster]

Best design practice for sensitive electronics is to provide 2 levels of TVSS protection; One at the service entrance and one at the branch circuit breaker panelboard.

do you agree?

thanks,

Mike

Mike
I agree in principle with this approach.Some suppliers also place caps between phase and ground in addition to the mov,s-be careful.This creates ground current and in a video studio environment can create horizontal black thick video hum bars.

 

[petersonra]

if one feels the need to provide TVSS, and I am not saying it is always desirable, I suspect the best place to put it is where it will do the most good, and that is at the service point, and maybe at every panelboard if there are any downstream panelboards.

I am not convinced that the little surge suppressor strips people buy to plug their PCs into are of all that much value.

 

[LAYMAN JOE]

Best design practice for sensitive electronics is to provide 2 levels of TVSS protection; One at the service entrance and one at the branch circuit breaker panelboard.

Agreed. Thats all you need.