[Melchior]

The brickwall/ZS units do not produce any heat at all under normal operating conditions. Should you encounter some massive power surge the likes of which cause appliances to explode it may get warm. I haven't lost a single piece of electronics connected to my unit since i started using it, and I keep everything turn on and plugged in during the thunderstorms we have here in florida. Prior to purchasing it I'd fried half a dozen sticks of ram 2 modems and 3 network cards. Admittedly the network cards were likely backdoor surges through the cable internet connection, I currenty use an APC UPS that has cable and ethernet surge protection.

on the 15 amp standard and AUD models. The difference between those is that the AUD models have isolated receptacles to prevent switching psu noise from reaching other components plugged into the unit. The 2 outlet AUD model has 20 amp internals to prevent any current limiting with very high power speaker amplifiers.

 

[Sovkiller]

The first question you need to answer is, do you really need a power conditioner? Do you have zag, spikes, low voltage that needs to be corrected by a power conditioner? If not trust me that the money will be a lot more rewarding being spent in other parts of the system, as better tranducers, better sources and amps...

Now if you need it for protection from a lighting, be aware than these devices will offer none....read here and here...also keep in mind that the ground is rarely protected, and there is where the lighting works...the lighting is simply looking for a wire or path to ground...

 

[Melchior]

That's true, no plug in device can protect from a direct lightning strike near your house's service, however with a proper electrical system and grounding they can protect from the surge generated by nearby lightning strikes as well as smaller surges from electrical grids coming back on after a power outage. It may not be common where you are but it's sort of an everyday thing here.

 

[shellylh]

Well, ok, I guess I will still try to unplug equipment when I can during a lightning storm. However, if a sudden storm happens when I am at work, then it is better to have some protection from lightning that is close by but not a direct hit, right? I am just not really sure about the equipment I have right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller /img/forum/go_quote.gif The first question you need to answer is, do you really need a power conditioner? Do you have zag, spikes, low voltage that needs to be corrected by a power conditioner? If not trust me that the money will be a lot more rewarding being spent in other parts of the system, as better tranducers, better sources and amps... Now if you need it for protection from a lighting, be aware than these devices will offer none....read here and here...also keep in mind that the ground is rarely protected, and there is where the lighting works...the lighting is simply looking for a wire or path to ground...

 

[shellylh]

I picked up a Zerosurge 8R15W-TWR (8 receptacles, 15 amp unit, stands vertically). The zerosurge was slightly cheaper ($199 + shipping) than the similar model at brickwall so I went with them. Thanks!

 

[Happy Camper]

You can always unplug when not in use. I use electrostatics for HT and have gotten in the habit of unplugging during storm season.

 

[wildroamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slwiser /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Zerosurge is a technological advance from the Brickwall. You can read about this on the Zerosurge site. The Brickwall does what you need at probably at a better price and with more configurations available. I put a Brickwall on my home HDTV and the blacks were much blacker. Even my wife noticed this. The advantage of the pure A/C conditioners that are good are the cut-off point for frequency is lower than the Brickwall. The Brickwall will be well down in dB level at 100kHz while the better conditioners will be at this level at some lower frequency. Note lots of interferences that degrade the power purity at about the 100 kHz point. But the better conditions will not have the pure surge protection of the Brickwall. The A/C conditioning of the Brickwall is a side benefit of its design. That is not to say you can't get both in the same unit. You can but at a much higher price point.

Hi,
New here, first post! Just wondering about this....I thought that Brickwall was basically an off-shoot of Zero Surge, and that their units offered line-conditioning that was not available in the Zero Surge units???

Thanks for any clarification you might add

 

[shellylh]

If this is true, maybe I should have bought a Brickwall instead of a zero surge. I would be interested to know since I may buy another one for my LCD TV + Home Theatre setup.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildroamer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, New here, first post! Just wondering about this....I thought that Brickwall was basically an off-shoot of Zero Surge, and that their units offered line-conditioning that was not available in the Zero Surge units??? Thanks for any clarification you might add

 

[slwiser]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildroamer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, New here, first post! Just wondering about this....I thought that Brickwall was basically an off-shoot of Zero Surge, and that their units offered line-conditioning that was not available in the Zero Surge units??? Thanks for any clarification you might add

On the Zerosurge site you can read that history where they note that the Brickwall design came first and the Zerosurge design is a further refinement/development of that design. Both of the designs gave the designer who lives in New Jersey the honor of designer of the year for that State for each design when they came out.

 

[Melchior]

There have been a few updates to the line. Zerosurge is the company that holds the patents regarding the technology. Brickwall is a licensee of that technology and Zerosurge is their OEM. The original zerosurge units used a different inductor than the modern units which sometimes made a buzzing noise, now as I understand it, zerosurge either came out with a new inductor design or brickwall came on the scene and asked for one that didn't make noise to sell to the audio market. The standard Brickwall 8r15 and Zerosurge 8r15 are identical, logos aside. The brickwall AUD units are the only ones I know of with isolated receptacles. Zerosurge has a new product out, their TSC or total surge cancellation line. This is currently being marketed to the professional market only, government, buisnesses, etc however they are available for anyone to purchase. These use a circuit which basically copies what little residual surge voltage that passes through the unit and inverts the waveform, thus cancelling it it completely.

 

[slwiser]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melchior /img/forum/go_quote.gif There have been a few updates to the line. Zerosurge is the company that holds the patents regarding the technology. Brickwall is a licensee of that technology and Zerosurge is their OEM. The original zerosurge units used a different inductor than the modern units which sometimes made a buzzing noise, now as I understand it, zerosurge either came out with a new inductor design or brickwall came on the scene and asked for one that didn't make noise to sell to the audio market. The standard Brickwall 8r15 and Zerosurge 8r15 are identical, logos aside. The brickwall AUD units are the only ones I know of with isolated receptacles. Zerosurge has a new product out, their TSC or total surge cancellation line. This is currently being marketed to the professional market only, government, buisnesses, etc however they are available for anyone to purchase. These use a circuit which basically copies what little residual surge voltage that passes through the unit and inverts the waveform, thus cancelling it it completely.

Excellent summary..Thanks