Surge Protector

[jcanavera]

I love all the positive comments. Was at the Moraine View rally this past weekend and noticed a fair amount of folks using the older Progressive equipment. Looked a lot like the EMS-PT 30C which is now out of production.

Kept thinking about it all weekend, especially because we took a ground strike very close to my home a couple of weeks ago. You know the kind where the flash and boom are almost instantaneous. TV set in my bedroom started turning itself off and on constantly. Got up looking for smoke, it scared me that much. Talked to the neighbor next door and he lost his garage door opener and a couple of other appliances. FYI, the entire subdivision has underground wiring so that's obviously not going to save you.

Did my research Monday and this morning made my decision and I ordered an EMS-PT30X, made by Progressive. Will have it before my next outing at the end of the month.

I was watching the voltage at my campsite bouncing around this weekend as the trailers rolled in Friday and we dropped as low as 108 volts. Quite honestly there is a lot of peace of mind knowing that if I'm away from the trailer and we get a voltage drop, I won't be replacing an air conditioner that was laboring while I was gone.

There is some pretty nice EMS equipment out there and I was spending a lot of time on whether to go with Progressive, Surge Guard, or a Hughes Power Watch Dog. Each had their own benefits. One of the most confusing issues was the ratings on each of these brands were the surge protection Joules number, and then the amps listed under surge protection. For example the EMS PT 30x was rated at 1,790J / 44,000A. The competitive Surge Guard unit was rated as 2,450 J/6,500 A per MOV, and the Hughes Power WatchDog was rated at 2,400 /with no maximum spike current rating published.

The WatchDog was interesting because the surge protection board is user serviceable if it ever dies and is only $30. Problem was the entire unit was only warranted for 2 years. Surge Guard warranty was unlimited but the wording noted that the surge protector doing its job and then failing voids the warranty with the owner being responsible for replacing the unit. I ended up going with Progressive based on the warranty did not exclude the unit if a surge rendered it inoperative, and positive word of mouth the industry.

Jack

[Docbutch]

Thanx for your input

[Docbutch]

Thank you everyone for your valuable insight. We took your advice and had a Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C installed by an electrician. We for two will sleep much better now that our investment is protected.

[AirstreamCSH]

A side benefit of going with the hard wired EMS from Progressive is that the remote monitor version has a Bypass switch. This eliminates the need to install a Ground-Neutral bonding jumper when using inverter generators.

[rmkrum]

Although bypassing it does open you to some risk of over/under voltage situations.

Myself, I rather always put the bonding plug in the generator...cheap enough accommodation for occasional generator usage. And keeps me out of a potentially bad habit.

[Gene]

I wish thieves were smart enough to not take a surge protector from an RV park, but many thieves aren’t very smart. And a neighbor may want one. The only thing I have had stolen at a CG was at a park in Fairbanks. The wheel lock that costs about $50 was taken because I was too cheap to buy a padlock for it. But at least they didn’t take the trailer, so perhaps in some convoluted reasoning, it did the job, though I was only using it to prevent the trailer from moving rather than wheel chocks.

Lightening will strike the ground where there is a better ground or something that extends upward. From there travels just about anywhere it wants including underground wiring. If someone has a lightening rod, it will follow the cable from the rod to ground and may follow a cast iron sewer line, water pipe or something that acts as a conductor like wet soil sometimes, and may find a buried power line or even an old telephone line, though that wire is so fine it probably would burn it to ash.

[Belbein]

Which one do I buy? You've convinced me I need PROGRESSIVE EMS, but which one?

[rmkrum]

My personal choice is the 30 amp built-in one with the remote readout module.

Note that mine is installed in the steel box under my after dinette seat. I figure an explosion or fire from a close hit will be contained long enough to get the fire extinguisher on it. If there is bad weather in the area I usually don’t hook up power if at all possible.