A heads up on power
On our caravaan, we had damage to some rigs due to bad power. It was a 160 V. I tell people to buy either a surge guard or progressive industries protector. I am going to have to be more specific in f...
Forum Discussion
Here is the plan of attack we use when traveling in our RV with regard to possible electrical problems and damage to equipment.
First – I created a quick plug in device using a product from Prime Products. You don’t have to get this carried away. The Prime device will tell you if the outlet is the correct polarity and what the voltage is at that outlet. If the polarity is not correct or if the ground is bad I do not use that outlet. I made it for 50amp outlets but can quickly put in a dogbone to use on a 30amp outlet or just use one device to check a 15 or 20amp circuit. I have also been known to rewire an outlet to get correct polarity or pound in my own grounding rod. Here is the website where I bought my testers for about $25 each – and a picture of my device for quickly checking outlets. Never plug into any outlet without checking it first – first rule of electricity – especially in Mexico. Do not ever trust an RV park to have useable electricity. I have been in quite a few parks where many outlets are improperly wired.
http://primeproducts.com/digital-ac-volt-meter-polarity-tester-p-275.html?osCsid=b74cc51fdd2c9a5242aedc4ba64bfd2a
Then I use a surge protector from TRC – I have had no problems with it. I know many use Progressive Industries products and like those. One way or another everyone should have one no matter where you travel in an RV. Caravan companies need to tell their clients well in advance that special care needs to be taken in Mexico. At the border is way too late.
http://trci.net/products/surge-guard-rv
And finally we use a voltage regulator we bought in Mexico at a ferreteria for a little over $200US. This will keep voltages between about 108 to about 132 in the 120 VAC working range – and keep even higher and lower voltages within a safe range. This is the only product I know of that protects against both high and low voltage and on their website they show specific voltage ranges and what this device will regulate specific voltages to. There are other devices which can regulate either low or high voltage but few that do both. Another device has been mentioned on this forum recently but I can find no information about it that specifies the regulated voltage levels – and it cost quite a bit more than this one.
http://www.isbmex.com/reguladores-domesticos
I have never seen voltage of 160 anywhere but I suppose it is possible. You would definitely need a surge protector to shut that level down. Or test the outlet first so you never plug in to start with. Many rules about electricity in Mexico we learn over the years that we do not need in the US most of the time. We still use all of this equipment no matter where we travel. Cheaper than replacing some of our more expensive electronic devices.
First – I created a quick plug in device using a product from Prime Products. You don’t have to get this carried away. The Prime device will tell you if the outlet is the correct polarity and what the voltage is at that outlet. If the polarity is not correct or if the ground is bad I do not use that outlet. I made it for 50amp outlets but can quickly put in a dogbone to use on a 30amp outlet or just use one device to check a 15 or 20amp circuit. I have also been known to rewire an outlet to get correct polarity or pound in my own grounding rod. Here is the website where I bought my testers for about $25 each – and a picture of my device for quickly checking outlets. Never plug into any outlet without checking it first – first rule of electricity – especially in Mexico. Do not ever trust an RV park to have useable electricity. I have been in quite a few parks where many outlets are improperly wired.
http://primeproducts.com/digital-ac-volt-meter-polarity-tester-p-275.html?osCsid=b74cc51fdd2c9a5242aedc4ba64bfd2a
Then I use a surge protector from TRC – I have had no problems with it. I know many use Progressive Industries products and like those. One way or another everyone should have one no matter where you travel in an RV. Caravan companies need to tell their clients well in advance that special care needs to be taken in Mexico. At the border is way too late.
http://trci.net/products/surge-guard-rv
And finally we use a voltage regulator we bought in Mexico at a ferreteria for a little over $200US. This will keep voltages between about 108 to about 132 in the 120 VAC working range – and keep even higher and lower voltages within a safe range. This is the only product I know of that protects against both high and low voltage and on their website they show specific voltage ranges and what this device will regulate specific voltages to. There are other devices which can regulate either low or high voltage but few that do both. Another device has been mentioned on this forum recently but I can find no information about it that specifies the regulated voltage levels – and it cost quite a bit more than this one.
http://www.isbmex.com/reguladores-domesticos
I have never seen voltage of 160 anywhere but I suppose it is possible. You would definitely need a surge protector to shut that level down. Or test the outlet first so you never plug in to start with. Many rules about electricity in Mexico we learn over the years that we do not need in the US most of the time. We still use all of this equipment no matter where we travel. Cheaper than replacing some of our more expensive electronic devices.
