Reddit mentions of Tripp Lite LC2400 Line Conditioner 2400W AVR Surge 120V 20A 60Hz 6 Outlet 6-Feet Cord

First, thank yo ufor the indepth and helpful reply. I appreciate you taking your time to write that out.

My generator has already killed a fridge, the last time I had to use it (but it was a slow death, after 2 weeks of running off generator), so I dont know if its out of voltage spec or if the power is just really really dirty otherwise.

I've been looking at line conditioners, ones that can handle up to 2400w, so run two fridges and some smaller things (a fan or two, maybe a TV) but some of the reviews I've seen on the ones that looked good state they have dont deal with cleaning up the sinewave. ( Example Here ), I figured that would be good otherwise as long as I staggered the fridges being plugged in so they didnt draw their peak startup at the same time, with maybe room for a fan.

If you could point me in a direction of a good device for this, I would be immensely grateful.

I have tried to educate myself on this subject to fill holes in my knowledge, but at this moment it is rather esoteric and incomprehensible to me.

Do you rent or own? If you own call up an electrician. If you rent you need to bug your landlord. Running that many high amperage appliances off of a single circuit seems like a good way to start a fire. Yes a fire. Sounds like your breaker isn't working because you're pulling way more than 20 amps. I would bet that you have a bad breaker or a bad panel http://www.ismypanelsafe.com/. Take a picture of your electrical panel and identify the breaker going to your room. Also if the breaker is hot that's a bad sign. I would stop using the outlets on that breaker ASAP till someone can look it.

Side note that a line conditioner can help reduce voltage dips when a motor starts, laser printer turns on, etc; anything that has a short but high current draw. In your case the breaker should trip if the lights are getting that dimm & keyboards stop working correctly; this sounds like too many amps going through the wire and causing the voltage to drop, causing more amps to be drawn in order to meet the wattage requirement. It's a bad situation that can lead to a fire fairly quickly as it cascades; the hotter a wire gets the less power it can handle causing it to heat up more.

The fluctuating voltage can also damage your equipment. Using something like this can limit damage when high or low voltage is seen http://www.amazon.com/3600-Watts-Conditioner-Surge-Protector/dp/B00F0OIVRA. But in your case you need a pro to look at this first before you do anything else.

Call someone!

unfortunately, surge protectors do not protect against voltage fluctuations.

surge protectors will suppress a surge (spike) in voltage, but they do not have any means of providing power to even out drops in voltage. that requires a power conditioner. a good power conditioner will also act as a surge protector, but in most applications people will put a surge protector before their power conditioner, since a power conditioner is usually ~$200 and a good surge protector is $50

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/1758/surge-protector

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/1750/power-conditioner

either way, i don't think it's needed. but if you will be more comfortable, it won't hurt anything to add one :)

https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-LC2400-Conditioner-Outlet/dp/B0000514OG?

i definitely don't think you'd need both a surge protector and a power conditioner for your generator power.