Where to install the "surge guard 30A" in sport 22FB

[waninae39]

hello i placed a questions here

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f37/...ns-134594.html

if anyone has installed the power filter and panel in a sport 22Fb , please PM me

[twbucksr]

I keep my 30 Amp Progressive Industries EMS-PT30C Portable EMS RV Surge Protector outside the trailer locked to the service post so if and when a catastrophic surge were to occur, it would not travel into the trailer where any number of things (all bad in this situation) could happen.

[Kiwijam]

Originally Posted by waninae39

hello i placed a questions here

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f37/...ns-134594.html

if anyone has installed the power filter and panel in a sport 22Fb , please PM me

Just installed one in our new 2018 AS Sport 22FB.

I'm an extreme DIY and was very comfortable with this job. If you can wire a ceiling fan or install an electrical outlet you can do this no prob. If not, you may want to hire an electrician. This installation doesn't require cutting the original power line, only moving it and adding an additional piece of wire. Here's the Cliff Notes version followed by the full text version. be sure to see photos below...

IMPORTANT FIRST STEP: DISCONNECT YOUR 30A SHORE POWER CABLE. SWITCH OFF YOUR BATTERY CONNECTION (located on base of bed.)

Remove the closet floor, then under the fridge remove the breaker panel outer cover (two screws) and the breaker panel itself (four screws).
Looking under the closet floor, locate the orange supply line and disconnect from the breaker panel. Attach the supply line to the line (input) side of the Progressive Industries unit per their instructions. Get a 3 ft piece of 10g wire and connect to the load (output) side of the PI unit. Don't forget to properly position the metal donut on the black output wire. Attach the other end of the piece of 10g wire to the breaker panel in the same way the original supply line was attached. Mount the unit (using short 1/2"wood screws so as not to damage what's on the other side of the mounting area) to the narrow bit of wall that's just under the closet floor on the right. Choose where to mount the display unit (if you have it). I placed mine under the fridge and just to the left of the breaker panel.

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Full version:

1. DISCONNECT ALL A/C AND 12V POWER BEFORE PROCEEDING.

2. In addition to your new PI (Progressive Industries) unit you will need the following: 3ft piece of 10g 3-strand wire (if you can only get 4-strand, pull out the red wire and discard); Four 1/2-inch long wood screws for mounting the unit; cordless drill and a small drill bit for pilot holes; small phillips head for the unit's case cover; screwdriver for the mounting screws; wire strippers; wire cutters; small needle-nose pliers; a second pair of hands to help with holding the unit in place while securing with screws (but then I have lady hands... you guys probably won't need help.)

2. Remove the closet floor. Lots of little wires but you are looking to the right of where the outside shower lines go thru. Locate the thick orange wire (wire bundle actually, the orange plastic sheath has a white, black and bare-copper wire inside.) It leads from the 30a plug on the outside to the breaker panel under the fridge.

3. Remove the outer plastic front of the breaker panel (not the little pop out door, the whole thing held in place with 2 screws). Remove the four corner screws from the breaker panel and slide out. Disconnect the orange supply line from the breaker panel. Install the 3ft piece of 10g wire in its place on the breaker panel.

4. Per PI's instructions, connect the original orange supply line to the supply side of your new PI unit. Then attach the 3ft wire you just placed on the breaker panel to the load side of the PI unit (don't forget the black wire thru the donut with the arrow side facing to the left aka toward the center of the unit). See helpful hints below.

5. Mark and drill pilot holes then mount the unit under the closet floor on the right side. Be sure the mounting screws are too short to contact the side of the fridge.

6. Mount the display unit and connect to the PI base unit. Mine is to the left of the breaker panel. I drilled a hole under the display location just big enough to get the end of the display wire connector through. I wanted a location where the constant readout wouldn't be a distraction while watching TV or sleeping, not that it's bright but it just keeps changing the readout every few seconds. I'd considered inside the closet high on the right wall but figured someone would eventually knock it off when moving things in and out of the closet. (I also tie-wrapped the miles of display unit wire in a neat bundle to keep it tidy for the next time I'm under the closet).

7. Replace the closet floor. Restore power and check your error code readout. You should only see E 0. Consult the PI instructions if you have any other error code.

8. Step back and admire your work.

Helpful Tips:
10g wire is surprisingly not flexible. Pre-position the wire just before securing it to connections or you'll feel like a rattlesnake wrangler.
Keep the stripped wire ends short to minimize exposed wire, only enough to slide into connectors.
I marked the case mounting screw holes with a Sharpie first, then drilled pilot holes. Hand screwdriver was easier to set the 1/2" screws vs. trying to maneuver a cordless driver into position. The mounting location is easy to access but hard to get properly positioned for using power tools.
Place the breaker panel cover anyplace where your legs won't kick it. Same for all the screws.
Use a small board to straddle the closet floor opening; this will provide a surface to support the unit while you are working on it.
Utilize all the slack in the 10g wire by cutting the electrical tape that bundles the wires together. I didn't pull it taut and it gave me an additional foot of wire to work with.
Keep small tool parts, i.e. screwdriver tips, drill bits out of the closet area until needed. Never found a small phillips head tip I dropped in there.

[RogK]

I'm getting a Sport 22FB this spring, have been avidly reading these forums, and have been receiving lots of good information. Thanks. I'm currently researching the Electrical Management systems. I know the general pros and cons of the external vs hard wired systems, and, thanks to this forum, could competently install the hard wired system to which I'm leaning. However, in one area on the internet, someone talked about how hot and how noisey the internal/hard wired systems can be. I've only seen this in one place and wonder if these issues are concerns. Is noise an issue for the Progressive Industries EMS-HW30C? Is heat an issue? Would putting this unit in a small closed space create a fire hazard? Thanks.

[rmkrum]

The Progressive Industries EMS-HW30C is a passive device. No fan, no moving parts past the relay that turns on power. The surge suppression is done by three solid-state MOV-type surge suppressors. The small amount of control circuitry in there does not generate much heat.

While it is possible for the device to take a severe surge and short out some of the components, the enclosure should contain the shrapnel. Anytime you take a really severe surge, like a close-in lightning strike, you do have a fire risk throughout the Airstream electrical systems no matter what kind of equipment you have. Personally, I'd consider that risk to be astonishingly small. I just don't hook up to shore power if there is a high risk of a thunderstorm.

That said, my EMS is mounted in a metal box area under my aft dinette seat. I also have the rest of the AC and DC power wiring and panel in there, from the factory. Figure that's the best place to put it.

Post#3 gives a good view of the interior of the EMS and some great tips on how to install it. Thanks, Kiwijam for a great write-up!

[twbucksr]

I work in the RV Park we full time in and I have experienced the following 3 separate incidents this winter. None of theses situations had any type of surge protection.

1. Weekend guest was connected to our 30 amp service with his chord from our power pedestal to the trailer. Power chord melted at the pedestal. Owner had to buy a new 30 am chord. I had to replace the worn outlet on the pedestal.

2. Lightning strike blew 2 pole transformers down the street. Surge hit my neighbors 50 amp service. Blew the chord right off the 5th wheel at the plug connection. Melted the plug at the trailer. Neighbor had to purchase a new 50 amp power chord and a surge protector.

3. Full time resident over connected electric heaters inside his motor home on a colder than usual night and the internal electrical protection did not trip. Small fire occurred in the power pedestal that melted the 50 amp outlet, it also melted 12” of the power chord on the plug end and melted the incoming neutral wire where bare copper was visible. Resident and to purchase a new plug for his permanently connected power chord. The RV Park had to hire an electrician to repair the damaged neutral.

My point of these 3 stories is to make all aware that a pedestal mounted Progressive Surge protector will protect your power chord in issues 1 and 2 described above where the internal mounted, direct wired surge protector may not.

[mefly2]

Originally Posted by twbucksr

I work in the RV Park we full time in and I have experienced the following 3 separate incidents this winter. None of theses situations had any type of surge protection.

1. Weekend guest was connected to our 30 amp service with his chord from our power pedestal to the trailer. Power chord melted at the pedestal. Owner had to buy a new 30 am chord. I had to replace the worn outlet on the pedestal.

2. Lightning strike blew 2 pole transformers down the street. Surge hit my neighbors 50 amp service. Blew the chord right off the 5th wheel at the plug connection. Melted the plug at the trailer. Neighbor had to purchase a new 50 amp power chord and a surge protector.

3. Full time resident over connected electric heaters inside his motor home on a colder than usual night and the internal electrical protection did not trip. Small fire occurred in the power pedestal that melted the 50 amp outlet, it also melted 12” of the power chord on the plug end and melted the incoming neutral wire where bare copper was visible. Resident and to purchase a new plug for his permanently connected power chord. The RV Park had to hire an electrician to repair the damaged neutral.

My point of these 3 stories is to make all aware that a pedestal mounted Progressive Surge protector will protect your power chord in issues 1 and 2 described above where the internal mounted, direct wired surge protector may not.

Agreed; our surge protector is externally plugged in at the pedestal to minimize problems you have described.

[rmkrum]

In most of these cases, melting cords would be hard to protect from. The portable EMS would have had its cord melted from the pedestal problem unless it caused a sustained low voltage condition. In that case the EMS would have cut power no matter where it is located.
Comparing the cost of the EMS versus the cost of a power cable or a power connector, I’d rather not melt a portable EMS component. There is not enough there to put a new connector on...

Keep in mind I’m NOT talking a basic surge protector. I’m talking an EMS that has polarity and voltage checking in it, and can disconnect power if there is a problem. Because it disconnects, it will stop any issues other than a short in the shore power cable itself.
I’ll keep my EMS inside the Airstream. Easier to keep it dry, one less thing to forget when I’m breaking camp. It also eliminates the need to fuss with the pedestal circuit breakers. Just connect the cord on both ends, trailer end first, and the EMS checks the power with a longish delay, and if it’s good cuts the power on to the Airstream panel.

[Sport 16 STL]

Is the shore power cord going into breaker panel always the orange wire?

[rmkrum]

For a 30 amp System it’s 10 gauge wire, usually connected to a 30 amp breaker in the panel. All the other breakers are 15-20 amp for outlets and Air Conditioner.

Usually is orange outer insulation on modern trailers. Mine is a 2007 and it is orange. Can’t speak to older units.

[Sport 16 STL]

I am a newbie here and have gained a bunch of nice info on these discussions. Thanks to the postings above especially kiwijam and rmkrum, I became confident enough to install a progressive ems-hw30c in our 2018 sport 16.
Using a system on the power pole every time you camped, just didn't appeal to me.
On my sport 16 the edge of the bed is over the breaker box. Also on the edge of the bed support, is a 8-10 inch piece of plywood held by all of three screws. Once this is removed, all the wiring behind the breakers are exposed with a reasonable amount of working room. Luckily the orange shore power had enough extra wire I needed no additional wiring. I also could leave the breaker box in place.
Once I cut the shore power wire, there was no going back. Progressive provides good instructions and great pictures. Take your time, step by step and it is a fairly easy task.
I'll attach a picture of the final install location.
In the picture what is the white electrical plug? A diagnostic plug?
Are the red and white wires the 12 volt power coming from the batteries?
Thanks again for all the comments and help.