SAC.55SRW-LGS@E.ISI.EDU (08/25/88)
A co-worker of mine was recently told that, if he used his surge
protector multi-outlet power strip to power his microcomputer and all
peripherals on and off, electric power surges would gradually wear
out power supplies in the individual components, eventually
destroying them.
I have powered my home and work systems from the power box for a
number of years, with no problems. The only thing I do is to park the
winchester before powering off. I'd like to hear from anyone who has
actually had component power supplies ruined by this practice.
Thanx in advance,
Frank Starr
SAC.55SRW-LGS@E.ISI.EDUTAC.1912-SCTC@E.ISI.EDU (08/25/88)
Received: SAC.55SRW-LGS created at 24-Aug-88 22:21:58
Date: 24 Aug 1988 22:21-CDT
From: SAC.55SRW-LGS@E.ISI.EDU
To: info-micro-request@SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL, info-hz100@RADC-TOPS20.ARPA, info-ibmpc-request@WALKER-EMH.ARPA
Cc: DDN.SIG:
Subject: Power on/off from outlet box
Message-ID: <[E.ISI.EDU]24-Aug-88 22:21:42.SAC.55SRW-LGS>
Sender: SAC.55SRW-LGS@E.ISI.EDU
A co-worker of mine was recently told that, if he used his surge
protector multi-outlet power strip to power his microcomputer and all
peripherals on and off, electric power surges would gradually wear
out power supplies in the individual components, eventually
destroying them.
I have powered my home and work systems from the power box for a
number of years, with no problems. The only thing I do is to park the
winchester before powering off. I'd like to hear from anyone who has
actually had component power supplies ruined by this practice.
Thanx in advance,
Frank Starr
SAC.55SRW-LGS@E.ISI.EDU
--------------------
Frank,
Your co-worker is mostly correct. More likely than the gradual wear
and tear is an all-of-a-sudden burn out. The reason is fairly straight
forward given some knowledge of electrical circuits. I am not an electrical engineer, but the fol
electrical engineer, but the following is accurate given what I know.
Suppose you have three devices plugged into your power strip and each
device uses 100 units of power. The power strip is off but all three
devices are on (i.e. PC, monitor, and printer). When a device is in the
on mode, it is an open circuit creating a potential. The potential on
the power strip, then, is the sum of the potential of all open circuits,
in this case 300 units. When the power strip is turned on, 300 units
of power flow into the strip (and usually a little more, but that is
another issue). The problem is that there is no way to guarantee that
the distribution of the 300 units will be 100 units to each device.
200 units may go to one device and 50 to each of the others (there is
an infinite number of possible distributions). When 200 units of power
hits a 100 power unit device, the result is electrical overload, hence
equipment damage.
I hope this helps explain the problem. If I have spouted forth any
inaccuracies, please let me know. What I do is leave the PC on and
turn everything else off (The PC is the hardest to reach being under
my desk). I do not think leaving only one device on creates a problem.
(If it does, tell me, someone).
Steve