Forums > Specific Focus > Home, Garden & Construction in Mexico

Liz & Don Oakley

Dec 25, 2005, 9:06 PM

Post #1 of 4 (1780 views)

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Whole House Surge Protectors

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We're nearing the completion of the "shell" of our house just outside Chapala. Last month we heard about an internet disruption caused by a power surge and decided to look into surge protectors. There are a number of products available that install before the electric panel and protect the whole house. The one we're looking at is manufactured by Square D and is available in Gudalajara. It protects not only the 120/240 supply but also phone lines and coax cables.

Does anybody have any experience with these devices? They're not cheap - but neither are appliances, tv's, computers, etc. that could get fried from a power surge.

Rolly / Moderator

Dec 26, 2005, 8:07 AM

Post #2 of 4 (1759 views)

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Re: [Liz & Don Oakley] Whole House Surge Protectors

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I don't have any experience with the device, but I do know that Square D is an old, reliable American Company. I would expect any of their products to perform as specified.

Rolly Pirate

mkdutch

Dec 28, 2005, 10:17 AM

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Re: [Rolly] Whole House Surge Protectors

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The following may sound like over-kill, but because of the meandering voltage levels in most areas of Mexico, and experiences of acquaintances, I think overdoing not only surge protection by voltage regulation may be cheap insurance. I would not only install whole-house protection, but also several good grounding rods at both the entry and mid-point areas of your home, as well as independent UPS's for your computer and expensive entertainment systems. We've done this, and had no problems. A neighbor with a very expensive whole-house system lost over $4,000 in hardware that wasn't protected where it was plugged in. Keep in mind that a 110V outlet may be consistently delivering 130V, with up & down variations in between, so voltage regulation can be critical.

Some power companies don't seamlessly adjust their power grids; ours shuts down power completely, then turns it back on a few seconds later. Not having a UPS in place may cause power problems or even loss of computer data to sensitive equipment. Finally, for appliances, buy Mexican; the refrigerators, etc. made in Mexico seem better able to handle local current than imported items. Buena Suerte.........Dutch

shoe

Dec 28, 2005, 10:54 AM

Post #4 of 4 (1714 views)

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Re: [mkdutch] Whole House Surge Protectors

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In Reply To

buy Mexican; the refrigerators, etc. made in Mexico seem better able to handle local current than imported items.

OK, we have all read this a few times on this and other message boards. Does anyone know what the designers build into the items made in Mexicoa (or for Mexico) that makes them accept the different voltage swings and lack of grounding?

shoe