Updates on surge protectors?

[2dabeach]

Originally Posted by urnmor

After reading this thread I realize that I should have a surge protector but I still am not sure what one to buy and where to install it. Should it be out doors at the point where the electricity enters the AS or inside. If inside where should it be placed. I am also confused as to what type to purchase. We have a 2012 Flying Cloud Having read the posts.

thanks

John

John....Here is a response I did to another post on the forum regarding the purchase of a unit. I didn't think I wanted to spend the money ($260) to buy one until I spoke to two campers in a state campground we were staying at in Florida that both had major damage from a problem in the campground electric service that wiped out their refrigerator, TV and some other electrical appliances. The one camper was moved next to my site while they were getting replacement parts for his RV. I tried to pick up a device in Florida and they only had a less expensive device that only provided surge protection. As soon as we got home I ordered a Progressive Industries Electrical Managment System (EMS-PT30C) that provides protection for high voltage, low voltage, surge protection, reverse polarity protection, open neutral protection, open ground protection, A/C frequency protection, and accidental 220V protection. The unit will shut down the service to your RV if there is any problem with the service coming to the RV. It also displays the voltage, amps, line frequency and the error code of any problem it has detected. It's been working for 2-4 month periods of continuous camping and have not had any problems. I have noticed that when there is an interruption in service from the utility, the device has a delay built in that delays the unit from reconnecting to the campground service as soon a service is restored. The only issue is that you may have to lock it at the campground electric service connection so it does not find a new home.
__________________

[ROBERT CROSS]

X2 on the above unit.

Has worked great for us.

Bob

[Sal44]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

X2 on the above unit.

Has worked great for us.

Bob

CW has the hard wire version of this one on sale for $180!!

[Urbanologist]

Originally Posted by Scott J-24

I have been looking at past threads on surge protectors and whether they are worth the money or not. These past threads appear to be at least 5 years old (but I could be wrong). Opinions were split but many felt they were a wast of money that could be better spent somewhere else. Is this still the case or has the technology / systems in recent AS TTs no benefit from a good quality (expensive?) surge protection device? I am leaning towards purchasing one, but being a rookie, I thought I should ask the experts first.

Well, you're coming up on yours using a surge protector. Has it protected your investment? Mine has! Twice!! The money I spent was well worth it. The first incident was at a RV park in Ft. Lauderdale that had a faulty power stand; I plugged in and immediately the system indicated a polarity fault. The stand was wired wrong. The second time I was saved a costly repair due to a power surge at my storage facility during a storm. There were several SAD neighbors that didn't see the wisdom of spending the money to protect their rigs. Go figure! I use one made by Progressive Industries for both of my toys. Think of them as protecting your rig from electrical STDs.

[Scott J-24]

Originally Posted by Urbanologist

Well, you're coming up on yours using a surge protector. Has it protected your investment? Mine has! Twice!! The money I spent was well worth it. The first incident was at a RV park in Ft. Lauderdale that had a faulty power stand; I plugged in and immediately the system indicated a polarity fault. The stand was wired wrong. The second time I was saved a costly repair due to a power surge at my storage facility during a storm. There were several SAD neighbors that didn't see the wisdom of spending the money to protect their rigs. Go figure! I use one made by Progressive Industries for both of my toys. Think of them as protecting your rig from electrical STDs.

Well, we have had our surge protector for a year now and haven't had an issue requiring it yet.... yet.... Although we haven't had any problems with power at any of our campsites, I am very glad we made the investment. All it takes is a couple of minutes during our setup to plug it in and verify if there are any power issues at the site before we do the final power connection on the AS. Without one, it's almost like playing Russian roulette with your rig. All it takes is one bad power stand to really mess up your trip. Hopefully we will never 'need' it, but having it 'just-in-case' gives enough me peace of mind to know it was money well spent.

[Roadrunner]

We recently installed the progressive PD9270 convertor in our trailer. It states "Built-in features such as electronic current limiting, reverse battery protection, high voltage protection, low voltage operation, and over temperature shut down ensure long term reliability." Does this mean it functions as a surge guard? Would using an external surge guard be duplicating what we already have? Thanks!

Bob
Indiana, Pa

[Urbanologist]

Originally Posted by Roadrunner

We recently installed the progressive PD9270 convertor in our trailer. It states "Built-in features such as electronic current limiting, reverse battery protection, high voltage protection, low voltage operation, and over temperature shut down ensure long term reliability." Does this mean it functions as a surge guard? Would using an external surge guard be duplicating what we already have? Thanks!

Bob
Indiana, Pa

Tip: Call their techs and pin 'em down on just what they are REALLY claiming.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Roadrunner

We recently installed the progressive PD9270 convertor in our trailer. It states "Built-in features such as electronic current limiting, reverse battery protection, high voltage protection, low voltage operation, and over temperature shut down ensure long term reliability." Does this mean it functions as a surge guard? Would using an external surge guard be duplicating what we already have? Thanks!

My opinion… No. It does not function as a surge protector. A converter converts 120vAC to 12vDC. Anything your converter does only protects the 12v side, and only while you're using shore power.

The converter will not protect your 12v system when you're operating off batteries or solar.

The converter will not provide any protection at all to your 120vAC system. A good-quality surge protector will.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

My opinion… No. It does not function as a surge protector. A converter converts 120vAC to 12vDC. Anything your converter does only protects the 12v side, and only while you're using shore power.

The converter will not protect your 12v system when you're operating off batteries or solar.

The converter will not provide any protection at all to your 120vAC system. A good-quality surge protector will.

I agree with this opinion. All of those features protect the 12 volt items running off of the converter or the converter itself. As far as the AC (shore power) system is concerned, it is just another AC appliance and does nothing to protect the AC wiring or appliances. In fact a large surge on the AC line (such as a nearby lightning strike) would probably damage the converter as well as other AC items, in spite of all those fancy features, unless you have a good surge protector on the incoming shore power lines.

Ken

[Ag&Au]

One other thing I thought I would mention. It is probably mentioned earlier in this thread, but rather than rereading the whole thread, I will restate it. If you are considering buying a surge protector, keep this in mind. Nothing in the AC circuits is protected until the surge protector is encountered. Therefor I would recommend getting an external one and placing at the outlet that you plug your cord into. If you place at or inside the connection to the trailer, there is still a possibility that a large voltage spike such as a nearby lightning strike to the power line could, at any point prior to the protector, arc and cause a fire, It is best that this doesn't happen in or near the trailer. In fact in extreme cases, the surge suppressor itself could catch fire.

Ken

[PharmGeek]

Just ordered progressive industries portable 50amp surge protector...painful expensive, but based on my readings it was a no brainer to buy it for protecting my electrical...

My question is - what are some ideas or is there something I can just buy that is decent to secure this resonable well from a quick grab?

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

Just ordered progressive industries portable 50amp surge protector...painful expensive, but based on my readings it was a no brainer to buy it for protecting my electrical...

My question is - what are some ideas or is there something I can just buy that is decent to secure this resonable well from a quick grab?

Not difficult. Get a short cable with an eye on each end; the kind used to secure bicycles is good. Plus a good weather-resistant lock.

Wrap the cable around the pedestal below the box, enough times that it can't be pulled up past the electrical box. Then lock the protector, with the padlock's loop enclosing the electrical cable on the surge protector and both eyes of the locking cable.

With that, no one will steal it unless they come ready with a hacksaw or bolt cutters.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Not difficult. Get a short cable with an eye on each end; the kind used to secure bicycles is good. Plus a good weather-resistant lock.

Wrap the cable around the pedestal below the box, enough times that it can't be pulled up past the electrical box. Then lock the protector, with the padlock's loop enclosing the electrical cable on the surge protector and both eyes of the locking cable.

With that, no one will steal it unless they come ready with a hacksaw or bolt cutters.

I use a variation of this.

I secure the junction of the surge protector and trailer power cord with a padlock attached to this device, The above mentioned cable end loops are secured through the hasp of the padlock.

Surge Guard Universal Lock Hasp - TRC 34590-001 - Surge Protectors - Camping World

This also protects your power cord from theft or at least presents the thief with a significant nuisance.

Neither surge protector nor power cord can be removed without a cutter or saw.

another factor worthy of mention:

The weight of surge protector and electrical connectors can, depending on the pedestal, make it difficult to keep the surge protector plugged in. It is a good idea to have a heavy duty bungee cord handy to help support the weight in these cases.


Ken

[PharmGeek]

Im a tad slow, so you are saying the padlock would loop over the protector's eltrical cord between the plug and the protector unit? Correct...

So bascially, this would prevent someone from simply grabbing it...they still could cut the electrical cord and nab the unit in that scenario, but no way to prevent that kinda idiocy....I guess if they did that they could just buy a new 50amp plug and re-wire it...but yeah, seems crazy.

I could live with that...

[PharmGeek]

ah, ag&au, that would mitigate my concern I guess...ok thanks.

[daveswenson]

Originally Posted by Ag&Au

I use a variation of this.

I secure the junction of the surge protector and trailer power cord with a padlock attached to this device, The above mentioned cable end loops are secured through the hasp of the padlock.

Surge Guard Universal Lock Hasp - TRC 34590-001 - Surge Protectors - Camping World

This also protects your power cord from theft or at least presents the thief with a significant nuisance.

Neither surge protector nor power cord can be removed without a cutter or saw.

Ken

Ken,
I'd have to padlock it to my wrist so I wouldn't forget it when I pack up.

[jasperkins]

After ordering the internal Progressive Industries and then spending a day realizing that the install would be painful, I went with the external surge guard and lockbox. My Eddie Bauer 27FB has no space behind the fuse box to install the internal one. Also I hated to have to remove the fuse box if I needed to get to the surge protector.

Funny thing, so I bought the external 30 amp surge guard and lock box and used it the last weekend camping. I realized on day 2 that if someone wanted to steal it, they would steal the whole cable and protector, as it wasn't locked to the shore power :-) Next time I will bring a lock cable.

I will say it was kind of neat to see the amps use. I didn't realize that the electric water heater pulled ~12 amps!