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All surge protection hardware that I'm aware of exists to protect your equipment from electrical surges coming from the grid.

Is there one that protects the grid from the particular piece of equipment?

Case in point:

I have a laser printer that generates a surge every time it's turned on. It used to cause my computer to crash, until I put the computer behind a UPS.

Now the UPS bleeps in protest and goes into powerfail mode for a few seconds whenever I print something. The UPS is getting tired of this and is asking for a new battery. Plus my lights and other stuff not plugged into the UPS still gets hit. It's not practical for me to put every single piece of electrical equipment in the entire circuit behind a UPS. I need a better solution.

I asked an electrician if he could run a direct power line from the printer to the street but he thought I was crazy and refused to even provide an estimate. I probably did not explain it correctly.

What can I install between the printer and the electric circuit, that will protect the circuit from printer-generated surges? Is there a name for this type of equipment? What buzzwords do I need to look for in the specs?

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  • Have you tried putting the printer behind the UPS so it takes the hit instead of everything else. You may need a larger UPS to handle it, depending on the size of your existing UPS. You can buy outlet strips with built-in surge protectors.
    – cybernard
    Feb 15, 2019 at 3:25
  • I did and it was no better. Perhaps something specific I should look for in the UPS specs, besides "size"?
    – Alex R
    Feb 15, 2019 at 3:26
  • When you ran the test with the printer, was the printer the only thing plugged into the UPS?
    – cybernard
    Feb 15, 2019 at 3:58

2 Answers 2

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Evidently the line to the printer can't handle the current. There could be a number of reasons, which you or an electrician should check.

  • A bad neutral connection: If some lights in the house get brighter when the printer starts, that indicates a bad neutral.
  • Wiring too small for the current draw. Check the voltage drop when you turn on a known load, such as a flat-iron or room heater.
  • Bad connection in wiring devices. This problem is more likely with aluminum household wiring.
  • A defective printer. Check the current draw on startup.
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I would also invest in a volt meter just to double check that the voltage is not dipping, instead of a spike.

"Line conditioners" would be better for a voltage dip.

Belkin 8-Outlet 3240 Joules SurgeMaster-Surge Protector, 3550 Joules, 8 Outlets, 6' Cord, Black

I have no idea if 3550 joules is enough but it give you a good example. Amazon etc has this model.

Also research "line conditioners"

Might be overkill

https://www.amazon.com/8-Outlet-Rack-Mount-Power-Conditioner/dp/B00378XA5Y/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1550201657&sr=8-9&keywords=line+conditioner

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