APC Wall Outlet Plug Extender, Surge Protector with USB Ports, P6WU2, (6) AC Multi Plug Outlet, 1080 Joule Surge Protection White

For the non-techies, buying a surge suppressor is a very confusing process. The marketing departments want you to focus on the huge print telling you that their device is so good that they include a $100,000 !!! insurance protection for any device damaged by a surge. But don't be surprised when you find out that there are so many strings attached, you'd be lucky to end up with a refund on their surge suppressor. Instead, focus on a few basic technical specs and you will save yourself a lot of up front money and, therefore, be able to buy more surge suppressors to protect more of your equipment. By the way, I do not work for nor have I ever worked for or been associated with APC, I've just worked with computers for my entire career :-)First, MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT BUYING A SIMPLE POWER STRIP WITH A CIRCUIT BREAKER !! Many manufacturers carefully word-craft their descriptions to make it appear that you are getting surge protection. In fact, you are getting nothing more than a very expensive extension cord with a cheap circuit breaker that won't protect anything other than starting a fire and that's not guaranteed either.Three technical specifications to watch when buying a surge suppressor: joules, response time and UL certification. Joules isn't a rating on protection from a single surge, it is a rating on how many surges the suppressor can handle. It's sort of a life expectancy rating. The experts recommend looking for at least 600 Joules. This APC suppressor gives you almost double that amount at 1,080 Joules.Response time is also important. This determines how long your equipment will be exposed to the surge before the suppressor kicks in and clamps the voltage down. For this APC suppressor, the response time is a very respectable 1 nanosecond. That's tech speak for 1 billionth of a second. Surges take a few thousands of a second to reach their peak, so this response time should be more than adequate.The UL certification standard for surge suppressors is UL 1449. UL provides safety related certifications, not performance related certifications. A UL certification basically means that the surge suppressor itself and the equipment connected to it are extremely unlikely to blow up and start a fire when it's hit with a surge.Ignore "clamping voltage". For technical reasons, you really want to watch the "Let-Through Voltage". UL certification does include the specification for Let-Through Voltage with levels of 300, 400 and 500. This APC unit has a UL certification with a maximum Transient Voltage Surge Suppressor (TVSS) Let-Through Voltage of 300 volts, which is the best rating that UL provides for surge suppressors. Other manufacturers often make a big deal out of clamping voltage but avoid mentioning that their UL Let-Through Voltage is 400 or 500 volts.Finally, a huge feature in a surge suppressor is a "Fail Safe" function. When a surge suppressor reaches it's maximum Joules rating it quits providing surge suppression. The question is, how do you know that has happened? Most surge suppressors have an green idiot light (LED) that shows that the unit is still providing surge suppression. If you happen to notice that this LED has gone dark then you're in luck. Most people don't. A Fail Safe feature shuts the surge suppressor down so it no longer passes current through to your equipment. So, if your fail safe unit quits providing surge suppression, your equipment shuts down and you know the instant the surge suppressor has reached its life span. Very few manufacturers include a fail safe protection, so you continue merrily on your way until your $1,000 television or laptop suddenly melts down during a thunderstorm. APC provides fail safe protection on all of their surge suppressors including this unit.Remember, these are surge suppressors NOT lighting arresting devices. A lightning strike on the power line feeding your home can literally blow wall sockets out of the wall. No surge suppressor is going protect you from all lightning strikes. For that kind of protection, you will need an electrician and some sophisticated protection installed at the point where your electric lines enter your home. That's an entirely different level of protection and, as you can imagine, far more expensive than a surge suppressor.I own a half-dozen of these APC units and I live in Florida (lighting capital of America :-) For the price, I don't think you can beat this particular unit for everyday protection. These units have great quality and a very reasonable price which adds up to excellent value.

Single Product Review: APC Wall Outlet Multi Plug ExtenderDiscussion: I chose the APC plug extender, because the inside wall outlets are behind a table, so plugging in the extension cords, and allowing them to stay tight to the wall resulted in a cleaner look.Project Summary: I have a temporary solar/PV battery backup project in the garage, and I wanted to use the generated solar power inside the house. Previously has an extension cord running through the door to the garage, but that's not safe for a lot of reasons, so I wired up a couple of electrical boxes, and wired in a cut-out switch. The inside connections are a standard wall outlet, and the outside connection to the inverter is via a twist lock plug, for extra security.Project Recommendations:1) I looked at a lot of generator inlet receptacles, but most were 20-30 amp, and I don't need that large (standard 15A), so I used a NEMA locking L5-15P instead.2) As this was going to be a twist lock plug, I wanted to attach the electrical box to a stud if at all possible (vs. using the electrical box which clamps onto dry-wall). The Madison Electric Products boxes were perfect. I used a single gang on the inside box, and for the outside, I used a 2-gang so that I could also fit a cut-off switch. I mounted the 2-gang box rotated 90 degrees to the normal orientation for two reasons: a) I could screw it directly into the horitzontal stud, and b) I could mount the plug on the bottom, and the switch on the top.3) When it comes to electrical parts, I generally go with Leviton, which I have had great success with. The only item I got that was a different brand was the right angle plug (which Leviton also offers, I just didn't see it when placing the order, otherwise I would have ordered that one instead).Conclusion: All the products listed in the review, and used for this project I am rating 5-stars.Related Products:ELECTRICAL WIRING (INSIDE)Madison Electric Products MSB1G One Gang Device Box ~ $2https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H8NUVQKLeviton 8300-R 20-Amp, 125-Volt, Extra Heavy Duty Hospital Grade ~ $9https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002090BBCLeviton 80703-ORG 1-Gang Duplex Device ~ $2https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000U39XFUAPC Wall Outlet Multi Plug Extender, P6W, (6) AC Multi Plug Outlet ~ $11https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046BGUWGELECTRICAL WIRING (OUTSIDE)Madison Electric Products MSB2G Two Gang ~ $4https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H8NUVROLeviton 4710 15 Amp, 125 Volt, L5-15R, 2P, 3W, Single Locking Receptacle ~ $13https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LNKO1GLeviton 1221-2W 20-Amp, 120/277-Volt, Toggle Single-Pole AC Quiet Switch ~ $6https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MPPTACLeviton 84007 2-Gang 1-Toggle 1-Single 1.406-Inch Diameter ~ $8https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000U3G2AEELECTRICAL WIRING (CABLES/CORDS/PLUGS)Right angled Nema L5-15P 15 Amp 125V 2 Pole 3 Wire ~ $16https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087FFK2LKLeviton 515CV Commercial Grade Straight Blade (FEMALE) ~ $6https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H5WHMWLeviton 5256-VY 15 Amp, 125 Volt, Industrial Grade (MALE) ~ $9https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009W3A8

Useful protector, nice size, and distance from each port.