Various Jackson branded electrical goods half price at Woolworths this week.
Jackson 4 Outlet Usb Charger With Mains Outlet Now $12 Was $25.00
Jackson 6 Outlet Surge Protected Powerboard With Spaced Power Outlets - Black Now $10 Was $21.00
Jackson 4 Outlet Surge Protected Powerboard W Master Switch And Long 3 Metre Lead Now $14 Was $28.00
Jackson 4 Outlet Individually Switched Powerboard With 1 Metre Lead Now $10 Was $20.00
Any experts able to comment on whether these are high quality? Would you protect your own $2000 PC or $1000 phone with one?
LOL. Nope. They'll go open circuit alright, but the spike will probably have already reached the computer before it does. That said, I wouldn't trust ANY consumer-grade powerboard. I switched to a laptop, but if I still had a desktop computer, I'd get a battery backup (UPS). The mains charges the internal battery of that and the desktop runs off the battery. If a lightning strike kills the UPS, you still have your computer and anything else running off it. And the UPS will smooth any spikes/brown outs making things like unexplained lockups a thing of the past too.
Any particular brands that you would trust?
I think any "reputable" brand would be better than nothing. APC look to be a good balance of affordability and reliability and have been posted here in the past.
@catbarf: no worries, note i don't own one myself but when i've been thinking about one in the past i've heard and read good things and they often come up cheap here with eBay coupons and the like.
@Wilburre: Yep. Read through old threads, see what people say about any different models/brands. But basically the more you pay the more shutdown time you get.
@Wilburre: Can someone comment on whether APC products distributed in Australia are actually the same quality as well-reviewed APC products abroad? Everything here is labelled "APC by Schneider Electric" as have very mediocre joule ratings.
@PullString: I was curious myself.
Pg 25: http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_lhm/IEEE_Guide.pdf
So in conclusion, not joules are not very useful?
Won't a UPS increase my power bill if it has to keep charging itself all the time? Even if just due to inefficiency in putting another link in the chain perhaps?
Different typologies have different degrees of inefficiencies. Have to pick the right type for the job. I’d trust a UPS over a surge board tho to protect computer gear.
Most smaller consumer grade UPSs are the standby/line interactive type where they run from mains and switch to battery very quickly when loss is detected. They'll have surge protection that's likely better than surge protected power board but the joule ratings are normally not all that high.
No. Get something more decent like the 10 Way Home Theatre Surge Protected Powerboard from Jaycar if you've got expensive gear to protect.
Get a quality surge protector. UPS is an option but it cost a lot more and they are bulky.
https://www.umart.com.au/CyberPower-8-Port-Surge-Protector-w…
Get insurance.
Update:
Here is the power strip I ultimately decided to purchase yesterday for $34
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Doss-1-8M-Black-Cord-Extension-8…
After a few hours of research I concluded that the additional power cost of running a UPS wasn't worth it. Out of the many surge protectors I looked at I narrowed my choice down to an APC SurgeArrest, CyberPower 8 plug strip, a Thor E1/45S – SMART PROTECT 4, and the one listed above.
The DOSS and Thor power strips have approximately the same protection rating in joules, but the DOSS strip is significantly cheaper ($34 vs $115). Thor offers a protection guarantee warranty, but would also require a lot of jumping through hoops.
The other power strips are more well known brands, but have significantly less protection rating in joules. So even if the DOSS joules rating is overstated, it would still be equal even if it's off by 30%.
Note that the DOSS strip appears to be the same as a CABAC PB80, and perhaps other brands that have discontinued that type.
Oh, shit… either APC is understating the joule rating or DOSS and CABAC are wildly overstating theirs.
and given that APC is a much better known brand I'm leaning toward the latter… hmmmmmmmmm :\
edit:
The DOSS website seems to address this:
https://www.doss.com.au/spb81b-8-way-surge-protected-power-b…
Could be bs… who knows :\
@PullString: Following up on this in case anyone is searching Google for more info one day.
I emailed DOSS and they said the factory in China makes multiple models in 3 joule level ratings. The fellow confirmed that their claims are correctly stated.
I looked closely at these when they were on sale a few months ago. They seem poor quality, particularly the switches. They felt 'cheaper' even than Arlec. Then I saw this at Bunnings: https://www.bunnings.com.au/hpm-10-amp-4-outlet-switched-pow…. Definitely worth another $5 to get quality where 240V is concerned. (Or wait until it goes on sale.)
Worse than Arlec?
Is that possible?
The USB Charger only have 1A Max. Don't buy.
I think the 4.2 amp one from bunnings would be better ($25.95)
https://www.bunnings.com.au/jackson-4-outlet-4-2-amp-usb-cha…
Had a couple of powerboards from this brand. Failed before I even started using it.
same, see my comment below. good warranty on them, just annoying and a hassle to do a warranty claim.
I wasn't blown away by it but I'm surprised by the comments talking about low quality. It's …. fine.
Same, I have had the 6 outlet spaced one for some time now and no issues. I can relate to people having issues with switches, in that case I would go HPM, you feel the difference!
I wasn't blown away by it
Isn't that a good thing? Lol
I am looking for a multiple USB Charger connecting to power outlet to charge mobile phones, headphones, etc., Any recommendations?
Make sure you keep your receipts - I bought 3 of their surge protected 6 socket home theatre boards (with the surge guarantee) on clearance for $10ea at woolies a few months back, have to claim warranty on one that died within the first week. One of the others I took out of the box to replace it has been going well for a couple of months though. I guess to TLDR - powerboards arn't simple enough to always just work. Edit its this one but they seem to go for $30-40
I got 2 of the exact one at the same price at woolies, probably at the same time and deal you did. No issues yet but both have what sounds like plastic rattling around inside it. for $10 i cant complain.
I'm using 5 units (Jackson 4 Outlet Individually Switched) at home for more than a year now without issue.
Bought the switched one connected to an iron with 2000-2400W max load, turned on switch on the extension and saw a major spark inside the extension/with sound.So not recommend for heavy loads for sure. Still works though!
Yeah, high power items need to use a plug socket on the wall. Maybe a single extension lead with 15A rating, very expensive usually. These types of boards would be fried immediately, same for kettles.
It’s the Amperage that’s the issue, not just the Watts.
Thanks, I'll grab a couple