Surge Protection for ARC Tube Amps


I have to admit the more I read about power conditioning, the more confused I get. I am looking for a recommendation on protecting my Audio Research Reference 110 from power surges, and my speakers which are of course cabled to the amp. I had an incident last summer which might have been related to a surge, perhaps from lightning in the area. I have a PS Audio Premier Regenerator for other components, which is said to provide surge protection. But the PS Audio unit doesn't seem to like being connected to the amp -- it becomes very hot when I do that. So....at the moment I just have the amp plugged into the wall, perhaps not the best idea. Anyone have any suggestions how to handle this?
Ag insider logo xs@2xscottwsmith
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It's true that the surge suppressors that use only MOVs or transorb devices are very unlikely to cause problems. Those devices are totally passive until the voltage reaches too high a level, then they kick in and clip the high voltage down.

The more expensive suppressors use not only MOVs and transorbs, they also throw in noise filtering by using inductors. It's the reactance of the inductor that causes the problems I described above. So... the cheaper surge suppressors that don't have filtering are most likely to be best for this application.

But again, remember to over-rate the current capacity of the suppressor, as I mentioned above. If you use too skimpy of a suppressor bar then you might get a voltage drop on the wiring or burn out the On/Off switch contacts. It has to handle the high surge currents without causing a voltage droop.

The current capacity of the bar is not the same rating as the surge current handling rating of the device. So an example would be that the bar can handle 30 amps, but during the surge/spike it can clip off 350 amps. That 350 amps is just for a tenth of a second during the spike. The 30 amps is average current over long term. The spike clipping is normally given as an energy number (such as Watts or Joules), rather than a current handling number, but sometimes they will mention current and people confuse that number with the nominal current handling capacity.

And with a high current device like this, watch out for the ones that have a built in circuit breaker. The breaker can cause a voltage drop during surge demands from normal running of the amplifier. If you use one with a circuit breaker, over-rate it by 3X over requirements.
OK thanks everyone. I will start by checking with the utility company to see if they offer surge protection.
Scott,
I just picked up on this thread, and was wondering how you made out? I'm in the same place with my power amp, so Tom's power company recommendation sounds like a winner.
l was going to have an electrician install a whole-house surge protector such as the Eaton CHSPT2ULTRA or SquareD HEPD80. The negative, is that these self destruct by design when doing their job, so the power company solution sounds like a better alternative.
I don't know anything about these transorb devices, so I'm wondering if they are isolation transformers or similar to the Eaton and SquareD?
Kenny