WarmGlass.com

Phil-surge suppression I was referring to was what might be internal to the device, if they even do that, like a varistor. I understand that these kind of suppressors are not what I'd trust my PC to, but didn't know if solid state relay mfrs. were integrating them well enough to offer some level of protection. I agree that external(power strip style) suppression is minimally effective. I've got my main PC on a UPS. With your investigations, do you feel the fear of spikes is unfounded, and do you think solid state is as reliable as mechanical? Some of my clickers have 10 years of daily service and are still working well so I have not had an incentive to switch (no pun intended). Only benefit I see is quieter operation, which doesn't matter to me as I fire at night.
So guess my question to you and Bert is why have you gone to solid state?

Tony,

I'm thinking of switching more because I just don't like the noise and the controller I have will only work with mechanical or SSR's. Bert likes to use SCR's which are different but just as good. The SCR's allow him to modulate the level of "on" through the control voltage. This is pretty slick but requires a controller that will send the proper signal to the SCR. Bottom line is just make sure the relay you use is rated for how you use it.

On the PC, UPS's are cool. It would be nice to have one up here. Navopache Electric likes to drop the power every now and then just to keep me on my toes.

Phil