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MOVs are like circuit breakers?

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MOVs are like circuit breakers? Mike S. 02-23-2007
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Posted by Mike S. on February 23, 2007, 2:22 am


I was doing some research on surge protectors and the articles
suggested getting one with internal circuit breakers. So then I
emailed a few companies to ask about their surge protectors and they
said that the new ones don't use circuit breakers, they use MOVs. So,
what's the story here? Do only older surge protectors have circuit
breakers? Do MOVs work the same way?

I noticed that the older surge protectors do have a little reset
button on them that the newer ones don't have. I assume the ones with
the button have circuit breakers and the ones without the button have
MOVs, would that be correct? Maybe, it's me but it seems like the ones
with the reset button would be better.


Posted by buffalobill on February 23, 2007, 4:25 am


> I was doing some research on surge protectors and the articles
> suggested getting one with internal circuit breakers. So then I
> emailed a few companies to ask about their surge protectors and they
> said that the new ones don't use circuit breakers, they use MOVs. So,
> what's the story here? Do only older surge protectors have circuit
> breakers? Do MOVs work the same way?
>
> I noticed that the older surge protectors do have a little reset
> button on them that the newer ones don't have. I assume the ones with
> the button have circuit breakers and the ones without the button have
> MOVs, would that be correct? Maybe, it's me but it seems like the ones
> with the reset button would be better.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_oxide_varistor


Posted by HeyBub on February 23, 2007, 10:33 am


Mike S. wrote:
> I was doing some research on surge protectors and the articles
> suggested getting one with internal circuit breakers. So then I
> emailed a few companies to ask about their surge protectors and they
> said that the new ones don't use circuit breakers, they use MOVs. So,
> what's the story here? Do only older surge protectors have circuit
> breakers? Do MOVs work the same way?
>
> I noticed that the older surge protectors do have a little reset
> button on them that the newer ones don't have. I assume the ones with
> the button have circuit breakers and the ones without the button have
> MOVs, would that be correct? Maybe, it's me but it seems like the ones
> with the reset button would be better.

MOVs are more like fuses than circuit breakers. Often they only work once.

After that, you're unprotected.



Posted by Bob F on February 23, 2007, 11:45 am



> Mike S. wrote:
> > I was doing some research on surge protectors and the articles
> > suggested getting one with internal circuit breakers. So then I
> > emailed a few companies to ask about their surge protectors and they
> > said that the new ones don't use circuit breakers, they use MOVs. So,
> > what's the story here? Do only older surge protectors have circuit
> > breakers? Do MOVs work the same way?
> >
> > I noticed that the older surge protectors do have a little reset
> > button on them that the newer ones don't have. I assume the ones with
> > the button have circuit breakers and the ones without the button have
> > MOVs, would that be correct? Maybe, it's me but it seems like the ones
> > with the reset button would be better.
>
> MOVs are more like fuses than circuit breakers. Often they only work once.
>

MOVs are not like fuses or circuit breakers. MOVs are a device that
shorts out when the voltage goes too high. Fuses and breakers do the
opposite - they go open circuit. They are not mutually exclusive - they
can work well together. A MOV can be used to trip a breaker on a
voltage spike. Normally, they are used to short the voltage spike to
ground, thereby limiting the voltage that gets to the protected equipment.

Bob



Posted by Jim Yanik on February 23, 2007, 12:12 pm



>
>> Mike S. wrote:
>> > I was doing some research on surge protectors and the articles
>> > suggested getting one with internal circuit breakers. So then I
>> > emailed a few companies to ask about their surge protectors and
>> > they said that the new ones don't use circuit breakers, they use
>> > MOVs. So, what's the story here? Do only older surge protectors
>> > have circuit breakers? Do MOVs work the same way?
>> >
>> > I noticed that the older surge protectors do have a little reset
>> > button on them that the newer ones don't have. I assume the ones
>> > with the button have circuit breakers and the ones without the
>> > button have MOVs, would that be correct? Maybe, it's me but it
>> > seems like the ones with the reset button would be better.
>>
>> MOVs are more like fuses than circuit breakers. Often they only work
>> once.
>>
>
> MOVs are not like fuses or circuit breakers. MOVs are a device that
> shorts out when the voltage goes too high. Fuses and breakers do the
> opposite - they go open circuit. They are not mutually exclusive -
> they can work well together. A MOV can be used to trip a breaker on a
> voltage spike. Normally, they are used to short the voltage spike to
> ground, thereby limiting the voltage that gets to the protected
> equipment.
>
> Bob
>
>
>

I've seen quite a number of MOVs blow apart from absorbing surges.
And many times,the protected circuit still worked once the blown fuse and
MOV were replaced.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

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