Rant: My $90 surge protector fried my whole entertainment setup

Last Tuesday I plugged a new 4K TV into this cheap surge protector I've had since 2019. A lightning strike hit the transformer down the street and that thing just died, but it took the TV, soundbar, and my router with it. Replacing all that is gonna cost me around $1,800, which completely trashed my emergency fund I was bragging about last month. I should've spent the extra $40 on a real UPS with actual protection ratings. Has anyone else lost gear to a cheap power strip and found a decent brand that won't bankrupt you?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathankim3d agoTop Commenter

Man, that sucks. I lost a 700 dollar receiver to a cheap strip back in 2017, same kind of thing, one good zap and it was toast. I switched to a Tripp Lite with a real joule rating after that, it's been fine for the last few years. Hopefully your insurance covers some of it, mine sure as hell didn't.

charles7203d ago

My place got hit back in 2021 and the surge protector did its job, but the real killer was everything plugged into the phone line ports. That's the spot nobody checks. Dude, check if your router was on a coax or ethernet connection, some insurance policies actually cover that specific kind of damage even if you think they won't.