Info on power conditioners

[monkeyfinger]

Actually most rackmount power units use the same type of self-sacrificing protectors, usually MOV, as your standard power strip. The problem with these is that the protection circuit burns out after a couple of spikes. The power strip continues to work without protection. So the next spike gets absorbed by your gear. The Furman units use MOV, iirc. In my opinion, save your money. You can buy a set of rackmount gooseneck lights. Combine that with a cheap power strip velcroed to your case, and you have the same thing the typical rack unit offers.

SurgeX makes a series mode power conditioner, which is considered much more robust. They are considerably more costly.

See Surge protector - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

OP- They're almost the same thing... The Furman is probably a touch better, but I doubt you would ever notice. They are not however, the same as a power strip. Again, it's something you might never notice in normal gigging life, but there are a couple definite differences.

If a power strip has a surge protector in it, which they usually don't, then it's almost always a self sacrificing thing. Means if you get two surges, it only protects against the first. Way rare occurrance, but possible. Also, if you end up with dirty power, in certain circumstances, a power conditioner can filter out the dirt.




I'll go with almost never, and if it does there most likely will be other parts of the system that don't have it, so you'll here dirt anyway. The convenience is really the biggest reason I can go with here.

 

[JimWasHere]

Unfortunately, the other band on the bill didn't follow suit and the guitarist blew out his amp.

What was the matter with this particular outlet? High voltage?

This is one of the things that makes for the power conditioners don't do anything idea. The chances that you are going to have 1 outlet that is dirty or high voltage, nearly impossible. At the very least everything is going to meet up back at the transformer on the pole, or at the generator, so either 1/3 will be dirty, or the entire place will be low or high on the volts.

The Furman units use MOV, iirc.

I thought Furman wasn't doing that anymore... But then again, I think a lot of things

 

[will33]

We use Furman or Middle Atlantic conditioners in our industrial A/V work. Both are excellent for protecting gear from spikes/surges and so-called 'dirty" power sources.

An invaluable $3 tool is an outlet tester. I keep one in my gig bag and check any power the band is planning on using. This saved us at an outdoor gig once that had an old power outlet. After we tested it, we decided to use power from the park's equipment shed instead. Unfortunately, the other band on the bill didn't follow suit and the guitarist blew out his amp.

This is good advise. A little outlet tester and cheap DMM will tell you everything you need to know.

 

[SNOTROCKET56]

I havent found any furmans cheap used......
I mean basically if i get this marathon, will i be losing anything by getting the specific furman i showed? Or should i just get the furman?

 

[JimWasHere]

One in a million chance that it's ever going to be anything other than a rackmount power strip... Get the marathon, nothing to lose, really

 

[SNOTROCKET56]

Im probably just gonna get a furman and do something else with the giftcard.
I have a lot of good feedback on the furmans from my buddies. Never seen a marathon.....

 

[Floyd Eye]

I havent found any furmans cheap used......
I mean basically if i get this marathon, will i be losing anything by getting the specific furman i showed? Or should i just get the furman?

Hard to tell without seeing the back of it. And I have never heard of Marathon. Most likely it's the same thing.

 

[SNOTROCKET56]

Hard to tell without seeing the back of it. And I have never heard of Marathon. Most likely it's the same thing.

Im assuming the back is gonna be the same - its the same thickness as a furman so i cant imagine the back being much different

 

[Floyd Eye]

Im assuming the back is gonna be the same - its the same thickness as a furman so i cant imagine the back being much different

Well, if all you need to plug into it will fit, save yourself a couple bucks then.

 

[JimWasHere]

I have a real old Furman in one of my racks where the outlets are all turned on their sides, and you can't plug the wall warts into it. It's lame. The new Furman stuff is all vertical, and some of the outlets are even spaced different for that.

 

[bongomania]

I thought Furman wasn't doing that anymore... But then again, I think a lot of things

AFAIK, it is very uncommon to find a "conditioner" from any brand, at any consumer-level price point, that isn't based on MOV's.

 

[BurningSkies]

rack mount power strip - Google Search

 

[JimWasHere]

AFAIK, it is very uncommon to find a "conditioner" from any brand, at any consumer-level price point, that isn't based on MOV's.

I thought Furman had something that made them special like that... Again, possible that I be wrong too.

 

[bongomania]

While I'm not a Furman employee to say yay or nay with 100% certainty about the MOV's, the fact is that all conditioner brands, including Furman, snow their consumers with mighty snow drifts of pseudo-scientific marketing gobbledygook and outrageous claims about their "special technology".

 

[JimWasHere]

True dat.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

While I'm not a Furman employee to say yay or nay with 100% certainty about the MOV's, the fact is that all conditioner brands, including Furman, snow their consumers with mighty snow drifts of pseudo-scientific marketing gobbledygook and outrageous claims about their "special technology".

Yeah, I'd go with just a decent rack-mount power strip. My gear (like just about any decent stuff) is good enough to not need its power "conditioned."

 

[Ryan L.]

I use one in my rack, just for the convenience, and for the slide out lights on the front. I also have one in my FOH rack, again, for the convenience of having a rack mounted power strip. I've only ever owned the Furman ones, so I can't comment on the Marathon unit.

 

[grendle]

lol

To be fair though, these units do provide convenient outlets for rack mounted gear and it is nice to only have to plug one thing in, instead of 8.

^ this.

 

[bassguppy]

Wow...this may be the first thread ever created about power conditioners.

 

[bobcruz]

Wow...this may be the first thread ever created about power conditioners.

Or the first on the topic not to get shut down for insulting posts or name-calling. See, TB'ers can have differences of opinion and still behave themselves.