Do laptop power supplies have abuilt in surge-protector

Hi, does anyone know whether laptop battery chargers/power supplies have a built in surge protector? I saw it somewhere, but didnt look like a valid source.

They do in a way, it's called a battery. Typically, the laptop is powered by the battery which is charged by the AC. The battery acts as a type of filter which gives some surge protection as well.

There is no built-in surge protection.

My suggestion is to buy a personal home UPS. They can be had in the states for $35-$70 easily and provide not only surge protection, but low voltage protection as well (which is often even more dangerous). And they give you multiple outlets (so it's a quality power strip) and it gives you extra battery run time in the event of a power outage. Not to mention, you can plug a clock radio into a UPS in the event of a storm or power outage and it can run for quite some time.

hp7Windows said:

Hi, does anyone know whether laptop battery chargers/power supplies have a built in surge protector?

All appliances have the equivalent of surge protection. Long before the IBM PC existed, international standards required a 120 volt electronics to withstand surges of up to 600 volts. Intel standards for computer now require over 1000 volts without damage. All other appliances also have equivalent protection. Otherwise we would all be trooping to the hardware store daily to replace clock radios, dimmer switches, dishwashers, and smoke detectors.

So that a rare and typically destructive surge does not enter the building, we earth only one 'whole house' protector. Therefore protection inside all appliances is not overwhelmed even when a direct lightning strike occurs. A protector so effective that nobody would even knows a surge existed. No damage even to the protector.

Once inside the building, a surge hunts for ground destructively via appliances. Overwhelms internal protection. We install one 'whole house' protector for a surge that typically occurs maybe once every seven years. Protection inside appliances makes other lesser transients irrelevant - even in eletronics long before the IBM PC first existed.

Not all surge protectors provide effective protection. Anything performed on an appliance's power cord is already inside the appliance. Those adjacent protectors are missing one thing - a numeric spec that defines protection from each type of surge. Most only hear the phrase 'surge protector'. Then automatically assume it is surge protection. If it does not list that protection, specifically (with numbers), then the protection is probably near zero. Enough to claims surge proetction. But still near zero surge protection.

A UPS typically is as close to near zero as possible. Most claim that UPS provides protection only on subjective hearsay. No spec numbers is the first indication why that tiny part inside a UPS does not stop what three miles of sky could not.

Long before the IBM PC existed, international standards required a 120 volt electronics to withstand surges of up to 600 volts. Intel standards for computer now require over 1000 volts without damage.

Hook your pc up to a 1000v mains @ 60 Hz even for a moment and you'd have your own personal 4th of July. Where does this stuff come from?

torrentg said:

Hook your pc up to a 1000v mains @ 60 Hz even for a moment and you'd have your own personal 4th of July. Where does this stuff come from?

Recently a 33,000 volt wire fell on local distribution. Electric meters even exploded 30 feet from the pans. Many with plug-in protectors had damaged protectors and damaged electronics. My friend knows someone who actually knows this stuff for many decades. He had no appliance damage. Even the only protector - one 'whole house' protector - remained functional.

What makes any protector effective - so that protection inside appliances is not overwhelmed? Earth ground. Only effective protectors make that short (ie 'less than 10 foot') connection to earth.

Protection was always about where energy is dissipated. Will that plug-in protector absorb what three miles of sky could not stop? Of course not. Either significant energy is dissipated harmlessly in earth. Or that energy hunts for earth destructively via household appliances. Either a surge is earthed without entering the building. Or that current overwhelms protection inside various appliances - with or without that power strip protector or UPS. Protection - even 100 years ago - is always about dissipated energy harmlessly in earth. The effective solution also costs less money.

Weston> I am trying to follow what you are saying, but it is difficult. Can you write clear, gramatically correct sentences please? It sounds like it might be interesting. I would like to understand it.