Belkin (BZ103050-TVL) Surge Suppressor

BELKIN  MINI  SURGE  USB  CHARGER  SURGE  SUPPRESSOR

           I was introduced to the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor while spending the weekend at a lovely little country hotel while on a pleasure trip in New England.  I had never seen these little Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressors before, and I became familiar with its uses, as well as its strengths and weaknesses over the weekend.  Read on and see if you feel the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor might be something that you might consider taking on a trip with you when you leave the comfort of your home.

           Upon entering the small country hotel room I was renting, I spied the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor, which was plugged into the wall next to the bed in my room.  The instruction manual was on the night stand.  They both looked brand new.  Coming from a rural community myself, I was pleased to find a surge suppressor in my room.  To those of you who do not live in a rural area, I should inform you that unfortunately power surges and outages are a part of life, especially in stormy weather.  Between falling trees knocking down power lines, and then having power surges when the electricity is again turned back on, power outages and surges are all too common.  Last month alone, I lost power two times for several hours. One of these power outages was attributed to a tornado.  In my own home I always have my most prized electrical devices plugged into the best surge protectors or suppressors that I can afford. Thus, I was very pleased to find the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor plugged into the outlet by the bed in my hotel room. 

            The list price of the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor is $19.99, but I was easily able to find it for as little as $10.88 on the Internet.  I should start off saying right away that this is a surge suppressor, and not a simple power strip with extra electrical plugs or sockets.   A power strip may look like a surge suppressor, but all it does is add extra outlets for you to plug your equipment into.  A power strip is basically a glorified extension cord.  A surge suppressor is a whole different thing altogether.  Allow me to elaborate.

            Basically, a surge suppressor is an electrical device that one plugs their electrical equipment into, and the surge suppressor is then plugged into a power line or outlet, and it protects the equipment that is plugged into it from being damaged by sudden fluctuations in current or voltage spikes.  A surge suppressor regulates the voltage, and attempts to keep it at a constant level.  It is very important to protect electrical equipment from electrical surges or spikes, because over time, even small ones can have a cumulative negative effect on your electrical equipment, and gradually damage the internal circuitry.  Although I was glad to find a surge protector in my hotel room for the obvious protection it offered, I was also pleased because this was a relatively old converted barn, and there were very few outlets in the room.  Having a few extra outlets close to the night table was a real bonus.   

            The Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor is unusual in its shape and function.  The plug on the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor is able to swivel a full 360 degrees and it can be plugged into the wall at a right angle, and this allows access to the other outlets in the wall, and it offers three additional surge protected outlets for your use.  The bonus feature is that it also has two powered USB outlets that you can plug in an MP3 player, mobile phone, or other device that can be charged via a USB port.  Please keep in mind that this feature is not the same thing as a USB Hub which can transmit information to and from your computer.  These two USB outlets are for charging purposes only.

           The Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor is rated at 918 Joules and offers 3-line protection (line, neutral, and ground), and the manufacturer guarantees to repair or replace up to $75,000 of the equipment that is properly connected to this surge suppressor.  O.K., I realize that 918 Joules is not all that high, but it is certainly better than no protection, and keep in mind that the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor was designed with the traveler in mind, and was not meant to be a surge protector that you are going to be plugging in all of your best home electronics gear into. The response time on the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor is less than 1 nanosecond.  Surge protectors do not kick in instantly, and there is always a slight delay in response time to a power surge.  A response time of 1 nanosecond means that your equipment will be exposed to a power surge for less than 1 nanosecond, and I can live with that.  Another nice feature is that the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor has a green LED that indicates that the power source that it is plugged into is properly grounded.  This is an important feature, as without proper grounding, a surge protector offer only as much protection against power surges as an extension cord, which means none.

           O.K., everything sounds wonderful so far, but are there any problems with the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor?  I am afraid there are.  For one, although the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor is designed for the traveler to carry along with them, it is not all that compact, and its dimemsions are 2.25 inches in height, 7.25 inches in length, and 5 inches wide.  That is a lot of space for a device that adds only three additional electrical outlets.  Another problem in my opinion has to do with the clamping voltage that the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor is listed as having.  Clamping voltage is a measure of what voltage will cause the surge suppressor to conduct electricity to the ground line, and the lower the clamping voltage the better the protection. I always prefer a surge protector with a clamping voltage of below 400 V, and the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor has a clamping voltage of 800 V.  Once again I prefer 400 V or less, but without the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor, I would have had no protection. 

           Perhaps the biggest complaint that I had with the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor is my disappointment with its claim to be able to charge USB chargeable devices.  I plugged in an MP4 and an MP3 Player into the two USB charger ports overnight, and by the next morning neither were charged.  I assumed that this meant that the USB charging ports were damaged or broke.  As I was having breakfast the following morning, I was discussing this with my son, who was the owner of the MP3 and MP4 players, and he was expressing his disappointment.  The waitress who was serving us was the daughter of the owner of the hotel.  She had overheard our conversation as she was talking our breakfast order, and she interjected that the USB ports will charge only one device at a time and will not provide sufficient power to both charging ports to do any good.  She suggested using only one USB charging port at a time.  I did this the very next evening, and plugged the MP3 Player into the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor.  To my surprise and dismay, by the next morning the MP3 Player was only 50% charged.  At home my kids can fully charge both their MP3 and MP4 players through the family computer in just a few hours. Why would Belkin put two USB charging ports on this device if there was going to be this problem?  Perhaps that is why the unit only comes with one Mini-USB power cable.
  
           The bottom line is that the Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor does offer some useful features for the traveler which I noted earlier in the review.  The Belkin Mini Surge USB Charger Surge Suppressor has flaws, as noted above, but at a discounted price of under $11 Dollars, I think that its pros outweigh its cons.

          Well I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my review, but now if you will excuse me, I must get back to practicing my guitar.