Helping a friend install some equipment..

jemrey81

So we installed some polk RC85i for fronts, RC60i for rear and the CS20 for the center... and a PSW505 sub. He has a samsung lcd tv, denon avr-590? receiver, a samsung blu ray player (the new one with built in wifi), and the new TiVo. I finally got everything up and running last night, did the audyssey thing, set up all the internet stuff on the bd and the tivo. Everything is good, did some testing with the Master and Commander blu ray... sounded great, looked great. Oh, and set up the basic functions on his harmony remote.... I will be going back to finalize the remote setup in a week or so.

My problem--- He hasn't purchased any type of surge protection for any of it. I have told him numerous times that he needs to invest in this, but here it is.... all set up and no protection.

The shelf area that is built into the wall is VERY limited on space, any recommendations on a decent protector that isn't huge? I don't think that I can talk him into a conditioner at this point. And what about the tv, do they make little ones to put behind the tv since it's wall mounted and the outlet is right behind it? Is there something that he should do to his circuit breaker that would be better than adding surge protectors? Get an electrician to set up that part of the house on it's own breaker or something? Sorry, i am not too familiar with house electrical.

Zeros

You can use one of these to replace the receptacle:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100144069&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=100144069&ci_src=14110944&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D27X-_-100144069&locStoreNum=6866&marketID=34

Here are some breaker-type surge protectors:

http://www.stopsurges.com/BREAKER-TYPE-SURGE-PROTECTOR_c9.htm

On3s&Z3r0s

So that's at least 4 plugs... what's it all plugged into now if not a powerstrip?

Zeros wrote: »

You can use one of these to replace the receptacle:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100144069&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=100144069&ci_src=14110944&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D27X-_-100144069&locStoreNum=6866&marketID=34

Here are some breaker-type surge protectors:

http://www.stopsurges.com/BREAKER-TYPE-SURGE-PROTECTOR_c9.htm

The Leviton JBox deals are meant to be installed in a knockout in a structured media panel. You still could use them in place of a standard decora-style receptacle, but you'd have some parts left over. Leviton makes a commercial grade one that is just the outlet in white. (The blue signifies that it is "hospital grade.")

http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-5280-W-Suppressor-Receptacle-Specification/dp/B0006I33Y6/ref=pd_cp_hi_0

As for whole house surge protection, it's not complicated to install, much akin to installing or replacing a normal OCPD (circuit breaker). But if you haven't done this before and don't want to spend the time reading up on how to do it safely, you would want to have it done by an electrician. That would probably run you in the neighborhood of $300 to have a good one installed.

All told, I think whole house surge protection is probably worth having for protection if you live in an area where you have frequent outages, dips, spikes, etc. (I do, so I installed one, but if your buddy's area has stable clean power, he may not need one.) I think having a surge protector at the wall outlet can make the power connections easier to manage and make sure there's no power to any of the gear before messing with it (if you get one with an on/off switch).