surge protectors

[nina_930]

I'm curious. Why are surge not allowed? I would think they would be preferred over an electric tap. I bring one that turns one plug outlet into 3 and it's allowed. No hate, just education. :) Thanks.

[Razor_Poke]

I don't know how accurate this is, but it's worth a read.

[hftmrock]

I'm curious. Why are surge not allowed? I would think they would be preferred over an electric tap. I bring one that turns one plug outlet into 3 and it's allowed. No hate, just education. :) Thanks.

 

you should clarify this.. you bring one and it gets through. its NOT allowed and its dangerous

 

Ill try to dig up one of the many posts that explain it

[coevan]

This is all you need, not a surge protector http://www.homedepot.com/p/6-Outlet-Power-Strip-F9P609-03-DP/100654575

[hftmrock]

This is from chengkp75 who is an expert in this field

 

The marine industry has known of this problem for a couple of years, as the USCG Safety Notice is from 2013:

 

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/csncoe/docs/safety%20alerts/USCG%20Marine%20Safety%20Alert%2003-13%20Surge%20Protective%20Devices%20Onboard%20Vessels.pdf

 

Carnival has changed their wording of prohibited items about a year ago, and they are about the only line to specifically list surge suppressors as the culprit that everyone is looking for, when they take power strips away.

 

Here is a top notch description of what happens to surge suppressors when used in marine electrical systems, by a CC member who didn't believe me and researched it himself, and now understands and agrees:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2271143

 

I implore people not to take surge suppressors onboard ships. CaveDivings post describes how a surge suppressor that is apparently operating normally, and powering your appliances, when exposed to repeated low voltage (below the "protection" or "clamping" voltage the suppressor is designed to protect against) in the reverse direction to what is normal in shoreside wiring, can suddenly fail and burst into flames. The more you use a surge suppressor onboard ships, the more dangerous they become.

 

QUOTE

[nina_930]

you should clarify this.. you bring one and it gets through. its NOT allowed and its dangerous

 

Ill try to dig up one of the many posts that explain it

 

Meaning, I bring an outlet tap, not a surge protector. This is what I bring, pretty sure it allowed.

 

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Heavy-Duty-3-Outlet-54203/dp/B000EU4HBO/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1502069758&sr=8-8&keywords=electrical+outlet++tap

[firemanbobswife]

Meaning, I bring an outlet tap, not a surge protector. This is what I bring, pretty sure it allowed.

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Heavy-Duty-3-Outlet-54203/dp/B000EU4HBO/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1502069758&sr=8-8&keywords=electrical+outlet++tap

 

That is perfectly safe.

[nina_930]

I don't know how accurate this is, but it's worth a read. https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/31nkbn/is_there_a_technical_reason_why_surge_suppressors/

 

That explains it great. Thank you so much. It was an interesting read in lay mans terms.

 

 

This is from chengkp75 who is an expert in this field

 

The marine industry has known of this problem for a couple of years, as the USCG Safety Notice is from 2013:

 

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/csncoe/docs/safety%20alerts/USCG%20Marine%20Safety%20Alert%2003-13%20Surge%20Protective%20Devices%20Onboard%20Vessels.pdf

 

Carnival has changed their wording of prohibited items about a year ago, and they are about the only line to specifically list surge suppressors as the culprit that everyone is looking for, when they take power strips away.

 

Here is a top notch description of what happens to surge suppressors when used in marine electrical systems, by a CC member who didn't believe me and researched it himself, and now understands and agrees:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2271143

 

I implore people not to take surge suppressors onboard ships. CaveDivings post describes how a surge suppressor that is apparently operating normally, and powering your appliances, when exposed to repeated low voltage (below the "protection" or "clamping" voltage the suppressor is designed to protect against) in the reverse direction to what is normal in shoreside wiring, can suddenly fail and burst into flames. The more you use a surge suppressor onboard ships, the more dangerous they become.

 

QUOTE

 

Wow, that was a lot of information. Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it. I just assumed that surge protectors were more preventative, but now I understand.

[hftmrock]

Meaning, I bring an outlet tap, not a surge protector. This is what I bring, pretty sure it allowed.

 

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Heavy-Duty-3-Outlet-54203/dp/B000EU4HBO/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1502069758&sr=8-8&keywords=electrical+outlet++tap

 

 

i read what you wrote wrong so my apologies on this

[Elaine5715]

That explains it great. Thank you so much. It was an interesting read in lay mans terms.

 

 

 

 

Wow, that was a lot of information. Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it. I just assumed that surge protectors were more preventative, but now I understand.

Just do a search for chengkp75 's posts and you will learn a boatload.

[nina_930]

i read what you wrote wrong so my apologies on this

 

No worries. I did write it in a way that I could have meant either way.

[steve4031]

I have a cord and outlet tap with 4 USB ports and plugs for my iPhone and Apple Watch. It has a light that shows it's receiving electricity but no reset button. Is this safe?

 

And thank you for the heads up and posting the information.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[chengkp75]

I have a cord and outlet tap with 4 USB ports and plugs for my iPhone and Apple Watch. It has a light that shows it's receiving electricity but no reset button. Is this safe?

 

And thank you for the heads up and posting the information.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

If the USB hub has a two prong plug (no ground pin), then is does not have surge protection, since surge protection, by definition shunts power to ground when the voltage gets too high. Many of these devices, however, will claim "surge protection" in their ads, but this is really only "voltage regulation" which will only shut off the output to the USB port when voltage gets too high, but which can get "overwhelmed" and burn through and not protect the electronics if the voltage is high enough. Also typically, devices that combine power outlets and USB ports will be surge protected (like the popular Belkin mini).

 

Now, saying that USB hubs with voltage regulation will not protect your electronics from very high voltage needs to be clarified. On land, you should have these devices plugged into a surge protected power strip or have a whole house surge protector to protect against voltage spikes from lightning or the pole transformer blowing and sending 10k volts into your house. On a ship that is struck by lightning, and I've been on numerous ones that have been struck, the lightning goes right through the hull to the sea, and because the power circuits are separated from ground, nothing gets damaged. Also, ships do not use transformers of the type that power utilities use on the poles, and they also step power down in stages: 10k to 480, 480 to 220, and 220 to 110, so you would have to have 3 separate transformers fail to get a 10k spike on a ship. As a reassurance, know that none of the ship's electronics, whether the POS registers, the multitude of desktop PCs, the navigation and communication equipment on the bridge, nor the computers that keep the engine room running are protected with surge protectors, since they are not needed.

[sassykitten74]

extension cords ok or no?

[SadieN]

extension cords ok or no?

 

 

 

Regular extension cords are fine. Make sure they're in perfect condition. Some have reported non-surge protected power strips being confiscated.

[disneylover89]

extension cords ok or no?

Yes, this is what we bring. Mine has 3 outlets on it.

 

We were pleasantly surprised when we saw that our lamps had phone chargers built in them on the Sensation this year. It was great to have our phones bedside at night to see the time.

Edited August 9, 2017 by disneylover89

[Toofarfromthesea]

I got a 4 socket USB charger with a European style plug. That takes care of all the phone/tablet/kindle charging while leaving the US style outlets free for other things.

[SadieN]

I got a 4 socket USB charger with a European style plug. That takes care of all the phone/tablet/kindle charging while leaving the US style outlets free for other things.

 

 

 

We use a Euro multi tap.