That guy at the electronics store said don't use a surge protector on a UPS so I ignored him and now my $400 unit is fried

The salesman at Best Buy told me plugging a surge protector into a UPS is pointless and can cause issues, but I thought he was just trying to upsell me, so I did it anyway and after 3 months my whole setup got knocked out during a storm, has anyone else had this backfire on them?

2 comments

2 Comments

tarab541mo ago

Didn't you know that ignoring advice from electronics sales guys is basically a rite of passage? In my experience, it's like being told not to put metal in the microwave and then being surprised when sparks fly. I fried a perfectly good power strip that way back in college because I thought I knew better, and let's just say my roommates never let me live down the whole "I'm an electrical engineering major" thing. Your story definitely makes me feel less alone in my expensive mistakes.

matthewperry1mo ago

Wait, has anyone actually checked if the UPS was still under warranty? I fried a $200 unit from APC a few years back doing the exact same thing, and when I called them they told me plugging a surge protector into the output voids the warranty because it messes with the voltage regulation. The salesman might have been warning you about that, not just the technical issue. Plus those UPS units often have built-in surge protection anyway, so you're basically overloading the circuit with two layers of protection fighting each other. Might be worth checking your model's manual online, some of them specifically say not to do it in bold letters.