Question : Problem: Electrical Surge? Overload?

Hi,

I recently bought a DELL Studio PC with a 24-inch monitor. I also bought a Belkin Surge Protector (6 outlets, 1940 joules, Advanced Protection). I connect the PC, the monitor, and a wireless router to the Belkin and the protector is plugged to the wall (of course).

There have been three occasions in which when I turned off the Belkin surge protector, the circuit breaker in our home is activated and we lose electricity.

I am not sure what is happening here. I don't know much about electricity, loads, etc.

I tried plugging Belkin to a different power point but it still happened.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks!

Answer : Problem: Electrical Surge? Overload?

Without actually seeing the circuit it's hard to say.

I suspect that the unit uses an isolation transformer as part of it's surge protection (hence "advanced") and when you turn it off -at that switch- it's sending a voltage spike back down the line because of the sudden simultaneous removal of all the loads.
It's a characteristic of transformers and coils known as "inductive kick".
No, a surge protector shouldn't do that but one of a marginal design might, and Belkin is definitely 'consumer grade' equipment.
There should be circuits/parts to absorb the inductive kick but low end gear tends to skimp on parts and they may have skimped a little bit too much on this one.
[It may also just be a faulty unit.]

I would exchange the Belkin and see if the problem goes away.

If not then in the future shut off each device manually (at least the PC) -then- open the switch on the Belkin. You shouldn't have any problems opening the switch on the Belkin when it's not loaded.