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Protagonist · 10-10-2013, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by interstateflyer

AS long as you buy a good one. The $300 _+ model from Camping World will take 3 or 4 minutes to test your connection prior to allowing you to power the trailer. If it senses any abnormalities in the park's system it will shut down. So it goes beyond surge protection. It also gives you a continuous readout of the voltage.

I fried/smoked a $75 model from Camping World at an RV park with....as it turns out.....questionable equipment. It still protected the coach but destroyed itself in the process.

Many surge protectors are designed to sacrifice themselves in the process of saving your electronics. The key in that case is to buy TWO surge protectors, so you have a spare, and make sure they cost much less than the electronics they're protecting.

gaylejoe · 10-10-2013, 08:12 PM

I have had more problems with low voltage rather than high.

DryFly · 10-10-2013, 08:36 PM

Well this is interesting.
110v is .91666666667% of 120v, so the difference exceeds 5%. So is 110 now substandard? Is my math wrong? Are there still systems that produce 110v, and if so, since it was once standard, is the +/- 5% applicable to that, or are we at 120v +/- 5%? Will my appliances survive on 110? I'm getting my tester out to see what I've go at the house.

idroba · 10-10-2013, 08:41 PM

110 volts has not been the standard delivered to homes or buildings since the 1930's. Even in the early '50's when I started playing with electricity, 115 was the standard voltage power companies tried to supply to homes and businesses in most parts of the country. It has since slid up to 120 volts.

HiHoAgRV · 10-10-2013, 08:46 PM

I've seen the unbalanced issue at one campground that only had 30A sites. When I connected ANY load, the voltage would drop below 108. The campground actually told me to stay put and they would park the next person on the other side of the leg and that would Fix my problem. HA! I promptly MOVED.

I also had a bad neutral issue at my house feed. On 50A service, when the rear air cycled off, the voltage on the front circuit would drop. When the rear come on, the front voltage would rise. I almost NEVER got the utility company to understand and fix the problem.

Jammer · 10-11-2013, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DryFly

Well this is interesting.
110v is .91666666667% of 120v, so the difference exceeds 5%. So is 110 now substandard? Is my math wrong? Are there still systems that produce 110v, and if so, since it was once standard, is the +/- 5% applicable to that, or are we at 120v +/- 5%? Will my appliances survive on 110? I'm getting my tester out to see what I've go at the house.

110 was the early U.S. standard voltage at point of use. There was a presumed 5 volt drop from the utility source to the point of use due to building wiring, including the service drop.

Up until about 1930, most houses were wired with 30a 115v service -- essentially the same way as RVs with 30a shore power. The loads were typically lighting only since electric appliances were too expensive for most households to afford. The service drop was 10 gauge high-tensile copper and so the voltage drop was considerable even for modest lighting loads.

From 1930 to about 1960 60a houses were typically wired for 60a 120v/240v with the 5-circuit (240v range and 4 120v plug fuses) panel made ubiquitous by the REA. There was still considerable voltage drop mainly because utility practice was still to place the transformers at street corners leading to long secondaries. In rural locations typically the transformer would be at the side of the road, or if a farm then in the center of the cluster of farm buildings. In either case there was a fair amount of voltage drop.

It was not until the 1970s that 100 amp service became a de facto minimum with larger homes or those with electric heat having even larger service. At the same time utility practices changed with emphasis on locating transformers as close as possible to the load, and pad-mounted transformers with underground wiring becoming the norm. In practice the loads are rarely as large as these systems are designed for and so the voltage drop is much less than in the old days. So the voltage you measure in your house is close to what is present at the transformer secondary.

But the nominal utility voltage has only changed from 115 to 120.

PharmGeek · 10-11-2013, 07:14 PM

I bought a progressive industries 50amp protector - if I recall it takes like 60 seconds to get the power going

Lifetime warranty

Not sure what you meant about home appliance service contracts?

ROBERT CROSS · 10-11-2013, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

I bought a progressive industries 50amp protector - if I recall it takes like 60 seconds to get the power going

Lifetime warranty

Not sure what you meant about home appliance service contracts?

The meaning, according to some......you wasted your money on the PD50 and maybe you'd like to buy some useless service contracts.

I'm not the only....

Bob

PharmGeek · 10-11-2013, 08:14 PM

Well where we're those voices when I was asking about it on here? Oh well...

ROBERT CROSS · 10-11-2013, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

Well where we're those voices when I was asking about it on here? Oh well...

Not to worry...I've been using the PD30 for awhile now.

Up until recently we've had very erratic service here at home.
The AS stays plugged in quite a bit, and it's good to know there's a layer of protection.
Some say it's all in my head, but thats OK, that's where it does the most good.

Bob

daveswenson · 10-12-2013, 12:02 PM

I agree with Bob, I like the peace of mind knowing that my PD30 is monitoring the shore power.

**jcanavera** · 10-12-2013, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdalrymple

I purchased one of these to monitor the voltage when using generator power.

It just plugs into an unused outlet.

However, I just leave it plugged in, and have developed the habit of checking it when on shore power just to make sure we are inputting an acceptable level.

They are cheap, but I did confirm it's accuracy with a good VOM meter.

Regards,

JD

I had one of those for years. According to the manufacturer it had an accuracy of +-10%. I just purchased a digital unit that has a variance level of 1.5%. It is back lit and it doubles as a night light. I keep it plugged into an outlet over the kitchen counter.

Amazon.com: DROK Flat Plug 80-300V AC 110V/220V Digital LCD Voltmeter Gauge Household Factory Switch: Home Improvement

Jack