anyone know if its safe to plug a ps3 into like a 15 yr old surge protector because i'm afraid that if i try to the surge protector might explode or something, i tried to use a newer surge protector but the plug of that one was kinda big and wouldn't fit into the outlet since i think my cable box (or something else thats square on my wall) is blocking most of it and only my old surge protector has a plug thats small enough to force through.

(eh, i hope someone on this board will understand my messed up wording and be able to answer my question)

I wouldn't trust it. Use the new one and just move the cable box if you can. It's hard for me to understand the problem without seeing for myself why it can't fit into the wall.

I don't get why the plug is bigger with one or the other...but I doubt anything bad would happen.

Apparently you won't get covered if your PS3 breaks while being plugged into ANY surge protector though...but of course you just won't mention that on the phone ;)

damn, i was afraid it would be hard to understand, gotta find a digital camera now and take some pictures

BenKenobi88 said: I don't get why the plug is bigger with one or the other...but I doubt anything bad would happen. Apparently you won't get covered if your PS3 breaks while being plugged into ANY surge protector though...but of course you just won't mention that on the phone ;)

Generally you don't get coverage because most surge protectors that are any good actually offer coverage up to high amounts.(mine insures up to 50,000$ in gear) Now the worst that would happen is the energy passing through the surge would exceed what the surge can handle, and it might zap all your items if you have them all drawing power because the surge simply can't handle that much energy. Chances are good though that the power just wouldn't come through the damn thing and some stuff wouldn't work because it can't receive the power.

Yeah, but if a PS3 breaks because of, say, too much dust...that's not covered under a surge protector is it? You'd have to go to Sony for that, I assumed.

Uhg, I hate it when things have large, awkward plugs that hang over other sockets. :/

As for the surge protector, the fact that you made this thread makes me think you probably shouldn't. If you think it might be faulty just get a new one. It's a small price to pay to possibly prevent a fire that could damage a lot more than your PS3.

That's assuming you have reason to believe there might be something wrong with it though. If it's been well kept, isn't physically damaged, and hasn't shown any signs of malfunction; it's probably fine. Also, if it's a surge protector and not just a power-bar thing, it's much more likely that it'll simply stop working if it dies rather than causing anything to blow up, since that's pretty much what surge protectors are designed to prevent.

Either way though, if you're not comfortable using it, don't. Surge protectors just aren't so expensive that it makes sense to put your electronics and possibly home at risk.

Surge protectors can't really "blow." It being old shouldn't be a problem. Most surge protectors are used merely as power strips anyway. If you think you have too much stuff connected, you'll know when you trip a fuse. Unplug the PS3 and go reset the fuse.

You're pretty safe as long as you aren't already experiencing any electrical problems.

You needn't fear the unknown and you needn't fix what isn't broken.

that's both true and false, you'll trip a fuse or blow a fuse pending on the box in your house not the surge protector(note I'm assuming it's a power strip).

A surge protector or power strip is only safe up to a certain wattage after that it will not be able to protect or run well. Worst thing you might pop a circuit in your box in your house (my room is on a 220 line on it's own plenty for anything I could possibly fit^^b) or you could trip a circuit in the surge protector if it's more than just a power strip(which they usually aren't)

I doubt it'll damage your items(very VERY rare) but I will not say for certain. If when you plug it in something else dims or you get a spark or hear a click that sounds like a spark then you should change your power strip.. you can buy a decent one for 19.99.