IMHO Superb Post GDETrailer!
Down here transient voltages eat IC and discrete components like Nachos. They go on and on, 24/7 wearing down the p/n barriers. Electrolytic caps eventually talk to each other by smoke signals. Light off a microwave and eventually you will hear the Frankenstein "NYANNN ZOOOT" from the control board.
I tried to make it clear from the onset maybe I failed - my device does NOTHING to correct voltage irregularities lasting more than a few milli-seconds. That is a job for another type of device. But voltage correction devices are based on autoformer design which absolutely does ZIP as far as transients are concerned. An autoformer must have additional circuitry built in for it to do anything at all about transient voltage spikes. These spikes can be and are often positive, negative amplitude or BOTH oriented.
What is clearly different about what I build is the overkill redundancy of the MOV capacity and the TVS capacity. Both have finite lifetimes. Like having 64 shock absorbers. When a standard "surge suppressor" is throwing in the towel, my device is laughing. The last Tripplite box I tore into had every single MOV open circuit and both TVS diodes shorted. The GDT device, emphasis on singular was fine as it fluoresced at 210 volts.
I meant it when I wrote a worn out "surge protector" is like an empty fire extinguisher. False lying sense of security.
I cannot open up and examine every "surge protector" on the market. But I damned sure can tell you nothing affordable is going going to have six 20 mm MOVS (4) TVS and a pair of GDT, one from L1 to L0 the other from L1 to earth ground.
A direct lightning strike on a transmission line, enables relays to shunt the jolt to earth. Upstream and downstream to cut affected phase continuity and a third to earth the strike. A second's worth of interruption. DISTRIBUTION transformers are not auto transformers, so to a great degree they shunt power through L0 to earth ground. But obviously lots of runaway "joules" run down the line and hide in your precious electronics circuitry.
A strike on a powerline DISTRIBUTION circuit, the WYE connected 240 web down here is Armageddon for the entire line. I have seen 40Kw transformers ON FIRE jump their brackets and drag wires to the ground. Most people are too busy putting out fires in their home electrical to notice. The USA uses individual transformers for residences. Mexico uses much larger transformers that feed 240 volt four wire networks that can power 50 homes. All that network is exposed to lightning.
Unplugging is absolutely the best way to interrupt a lightning strike path. Down here a strike can occur two miles distant on a distribution network and it's time to pray.
To say lightning acts Quixotic may be the understatement of the century.
The sole hope is diversion...
IF an alternate path is presented to the pre-ionization feeler
THE post ionization feeler MAY choose the easier path
The nanosecond response time of the TVS diodes allows time to be bought.
Enough time for the MOVS to light off and burn out
And the GDT to delay long enough for a path to be decided upon.
Microseconds later the main pulse USUSALLY follows the trail of ionization and the pulse feeler.
To the easiest way.
Up the ground wire, and out the rig to L1 and the clouds.
Lots of if's but lots of undeniable successes. The best success a person can hope for is a disappeared service, vaporized shore power plug, utterly destroyed breaker box, and a hopefully small fire.
oI won't bother telling you what the alternative to this is like in an RV. A bad strike can dig a two foot deep trench, blast through foot thick solid concrete like it was paper, melt fifty feet of copper water pipe and blast out of the other side of the house. I've audited this type of damage with my own eyes (Tahoe National Forest Fallen Leaf Lake USFS station on the ridge) Not a tower. A ground single story facility. It happened in the early 70's. Anyone living up there should inquire with the USFS. It shows the power of lightning.
There EXIST good spike protectors. But none of them mate well with a recreational vehicle electrical circuit. BTW in hopes and prayer my circuit uses a 12 gauge earth ground conductor. Most RVs have 8 gauge ground circuits.
One can only hope. Thank God for individual RICE GRAIN fuses. It's stupid IMHO to have an individual fuse fail and fail the entire circuit.
