Surge Protectors

I've realised that all three of my UK surge protectors do not work in Spain. Each one that got plugged in blew the main fuse box. I even tried them on different sockets just to make sure.

What is a surge protector here called and where can I buy one? I think I should invest in one for the computer and the X-Box as I know there are plenty of small power cuts and from my experience they tend to make electronics go awry when the electricity is switched back on. I'm talking experience of 20 years ago though so I might be talking crap. Feel free to tell me that there are no power cuts or that surge protectors are not needed

It sounds to me as though the surge protectors have a filter circuit in them that trips out ELCBs (earth leakage circuit breakers). Actually, power cuts aren't that common here now, but if you have a tower PC that does not like losing power, it might be better to get a UPS for it. (Uninterruptible power supply) This will keep the PC running for 10-15 minutes after the mains power is cut, and give you time to save your work and shut down properly. I don't think the X box will suffer too much from power cuts as they need less current than a PC and are more resilient. Away from industrial areas there are unlikely to be major fluctuations in supply voltage or 'spikes'.

Natasha,

I would agree with the UPS option, you can get one for about 50 quid, it is in effect a battery that runs your equipment for around 15 mins and is permanently recharging it's self from the mains until there is a power cut at which point you can shut it down as it beeps like crazy.

In a former property we had 4 power cuts in the space of a week one Christmas, 3 years ago I think, ranging from a few minutes to 3 hours, so they do happen, telly went off and had to watch the fire for a while.

I am sure that surge protectors are used though as I have seen them for sale in Lidl.

As above, only really a problem for PC's nothing else would suffer too badly, oh you will of course have to reset all digital clocks.

Surge protectors are useless in most old caves and houses.. Unless you have a modern re-wired house or cave with earth system to up to date safety standard and works as it should then you are wasting your money... Surge protectors need earth in the system or they will be void..

Thanks everyone. I tend to leave my PC on all the time, sounds like I should change my habits as the UPS option probably wouldn't do me any good in the middle of the night when I'm asleep. Pedro James, I have no idea how up to date the electrics are, there is a relatively new looking fuse box near the front door which was quite handy when the surge protectors flipped the switches but I don't really know if it would pass a safety check.

If the surge protectors tripped because of a genuine surge in power then thats good..Hopefully it did not trip because of any other problem... Don,t worry for now,just try to monitor what was being used when your trip flipped.. Then you will get an indication if its a surge problem .. good luck.. Pedro

No, they tripped the minute I plugged them into the wall, nothing was plugged into them. All three of my surge protectors did the same. Nothing plugged into them, the Spanish electrics just didn't like them. I've binned them now as they obviously won't work as surge protectors.

I have UK 4-Way adapters with built-in surge protectors that work fine but our cave has been rewired. You can get a UPS which has a shutdown option. This has a USB connection to the PC and when the power drops below a certain level it issues a shutdown instruction to the PC. We have a UPS on our desktop, only issue is if the power goes off in the middle of the night it beeps loudly.