SECO Surge Mitigator

[Frank GSDO]

New to TV. Just received a letter from SECO notifying me that my Surge Mitigator warranty is expiring. What is a Surge Mitigator? Do I need? Thank you in advance for any and all knowledge on this subject.

[Stu from NYC]

We are here two years and did get one. It is outside your home and is supposed to stop a surge from getting into your home.

More knowledgeable people than me have said the warranty covers almost nothing but for me $ 300 or so was fairly cheap insurance. Do have individual surge protectors on all of our electronic and expensive devices.

Look around lots of threads on this.

[Altavia]

Surge suppressors have a manufacturer limited life.

What is life expectancy of whole house surge protector? (https://www.howtolookatahouse.com/Blog/Entries/2020/4/what-is-life-expectancy-of-whole-house-surge-protector.html)

[Jayhawk]

We are here two years and did get one. It is outside your home and is supposed to stop a surge from getting into your home.

More knowledgeable people than me have said the warranty covers almost nothing but for me $ 300 or so was fairly cheap insurance. Do have individual surge protectors on all of our electronic and expensive devices.

Look around lots of threads on this.

You could light your BBQ grill with those three $100 bills and end up in the same place. They NEVER pay based on my experience and that of others who have made claims. Unless the lightning hits your box directly, they claim the surge came from the ground.

There are old threads on this topic.

But yes, they treat it like insurance....Deny, deny, deny.

[Bogie Shooter]

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/seco-surge-protector-331097/?highlight=seco

[mtdjed]

New to TV. Just received a letter from SECO notifying me that my Surge Mitigator warranty is expiring. What is a Surge Mitigator? Do I need? Thank you in advance for any and all knowledge on this subject.

A whole house surge protector is likely connected to the electric input line. Mine was not supplied by SECO but had a warranty that was almost useless. Seems like acts of God were excluded. When I had some damaged, I was asked to have the surge protector returned to the manufacturer. Their claim was that there was no damage to the surge protector, thus the surge protector did not take a hit. Their logic was that the surge came through other channels, such as Cable line, telephone line, or water line. Note, that I had loss of modem router and telephone equipment. As a matter of fact, the cable line was fried, so they were likely right.

I have had three cable lines fried in 14 years. Last strike I had, hit flag pole left burn marks on grass and grounded on cable line near house.

I understand that the coverage excludes things like computers, TVs and such which are the things that most likely be damaged.

The fact that SECO says your warranty is expiring would indicate that the previous owner had purchased the unit from SECO rather than renting for a monthly charge.

[villagetinker]

Op, as noted above, ANY wires the leave the house are not covered by the whole house (or ANY whole house) protection scheme, these actually need to be individually protected. Our next-door neighbor had a close in lightning strike (we believe it was to a sign or light pole to the rear of the houses). The result was around $7000 in damages to their place none to ours (we have the SECO unit). About 18 months later the cable TV feed was found to be bad, the tech stated it looked like lightning damage.
My point you are much more likely to have an indirect strike versus a direct strike, and the various surge protectors can provide some level of protection for these types of strikes.

[Babubhat]

It’s covered by homeowners anyway

[EdFNJ]

It’s covered by homeowners anyway

When we bought our home it already had the SECO "lifetime prepaid" unit installed. After a year it must have taken some sort of hit because one of the 2 LEDa was out (or maybe it just died). They came and replaced it without charge and I guess it possibly might have saved some damage.

Yes INSURANCE does cover lightening damage, but who wants the hassle of having damaged/destroyed stuff and large deductibles to have to deal with the insurance company for if it can be avoided.

[Stu from NYC]

It’s covered by homeowners anyway

And than by filing a claim you run the risk of either cancellation or a major increase in cost.

[Babubhat]

500 deductible. Non issue. Too many variables on how surge damage can occur so homeowners is the comprehensive solution

[retiredguy123]

So, you buy a SECO "whole house" surge protector, and your house experiences a major electrical surge through your meter, causing significant damage to your entire electrical system. But wait! The SECO warranty document, under Section D, excludes any coverage for,

"Damages to the electrical system including but not limited to wiring, electrical outlets, breaker panels, and meter sockets".

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I've been renting mine for 5 years now.
$5.95 X 5 years = $357 and counting

[dewilson58]

Should I kno???...................What is GSDO????

[Marmaduke]

We DEFINITELY HAVE the SECO surge Mitigator at our home in Ocala as well as our home in The Village's.

To each their own, right?

We've always been smart with home protection, well- as smart as mother nature allows us to be!

Florida is the lightening strike Capital of the World.

Everyone that we know in Ocala's large neighborhoods of On Top of The World, Stone Creek, Oak Run, etc. have it.

We have 'blogged' about it for everybody's first year and everybody
up here stated that it is great insurance for the large appliances and HVAC, especially.

Many of us have lightening rods on our roofs. They work.

Don't forget to add your own Surge Protector to your Microwave, Garage Door Openers, and Irrigation.

Being smart consumers, dispite the nay sayers, we also put an appliance surge protector behind both of our refrigerators and garage freezer.
29. bucks- WORTH EVERY PENNY.

An ounce of prevention...
.... is worth a POUND of Cure.
Best of Luck and
Welcome to T.V.
Enjoy!!

[Bay Kid]

So, you buy a SECO "whole house" surge protector, and your house experiences a major electrical surge through your meter, causing significant damage to your entire electrical system. But wait! The SECO warranty document, under Section D, excludes any coverage for,

"Damages to the electrical system including but not limited to wiring, electrical outlets, breaker panels, and meter sockets".

That doesn't make any sense? What does it protect?

[Altavia]

That doesn't make any sense? What does it protect?

Surge suppressors reduce the risk of damage, sorry of like seat belts.

The warrantee is marketing hype.

[MartinSE]

The important thing to keep in mind if you are getting a whole house surge protector is that virtually nothing will protect you 100%. As an earlier poster said, it will help "some". Some means if you experience a strike you will pay some - how much you pay depends on how much your stuff costs. Some means, some strikes will get through.

Lightning strikes happen. Lately we have been having a few exciting lightning storms, so it is on everyones mind. But will almost 200,000 residents here now, how many people have experienced a strike in the past month? 1 or 2? I don't know, but I expect the number is small. smaller than they number of people that slipped and feel in their bathrooms...

[jrref]

The important thing to keep in mind if you are getting a whole house surge protector is that virtually nothing will protect you 100%. As an earlier poster said, it will help "some". Some means if you experience a strike you will pay some - how much you pay depends on how much your stuff costs. Some means, some strikes will get through.

Lightning strikes happen. Lately we have been having a few exciting lightning storms, so it is on everyones mind. But will almost 200,000 residents here now, how many people have experienced a strike in the past month? 1 or 2? I don't know, but I expect the number is small. smaller than they number of people that slipped and feel in their bathrooms...

Statistically very few homes get a direct hit from lightning in the Villages but when they do most of the time it's catastrophic. Many homes do get lightning damage from near by strikes and they mostly come in via the cable lines. For the cost of the SECO protector it's worth it since it reduces the level of the surge entering your home so the smaller secondary surge protectors at your equipment such as TVs and computers can do their job. That's all these "whole house" protectors do.

[retiredguy123]

That doesn't make any sense? What does it protect?
Not very much. Apparently, it "might" cover a large appliance like a washer or dryer if it doesn't have a microchip. But, it won't cover anything with a microprocessor or microchip, like computers, tvs, security systems, etc. Also, it won't cover any structural damage. So, calling it a whole house surge protector is not very accurate.