Surge protectors etc

May he use any voltage regulator from the pedestal, to his surge protector and finally to the coach without adverse effects? He wishes to get some brand of a 30 amp voltage regulator, here in Mazatlan, failing that, to order one.

I am not an expert or an authority - I just know these things are available and I use one - adverse effects I can't say. The ISB units are available pretty much all over Mexico - if you take the info I posted in both Spanish and English and show it to them they should be able to order it - ISB has distributors all over so it might only take a day or less to get on. I think all an RV needs is the 4000 but I am not an authority on that either.

RV circuit boards could be designed for a greater AC voltage tolerance. Ditto For DC circuit boards. Ditto for AC and DC motors.

And what about home appliances some of which need DC or a battery for clocks in a RV?

I doubt that US/Canadian owners want to spend the extra dollars that would be involved. Those going to Mexico might be willing to spend extra from the factory but I suspect they represent a small portion of the RV market.

I added a power protector that guards against low/high voltage. I could add a autoformer for low voltage boost. If I was going to spend time in Mexico I would definitely be in the market for the devices being discussed on this thread. Thanks for the information.

The point being, every circuit board on every appliance is easily used at 100 to 200 volts IF the manufacturer decided to make it so. Toasting refrigerator circuit boards is mainly due to what is ordered by the factory. Most manufacturers state that the equipment is for Canada and the USA, another 7 volts and your warranty is void. It is a designed fault.
I think people should be aware of how simple and, with no or little cost, the manufacturer could fix this problem with circuit boards and start writing the builders of their $100,000, $200,000, $400,000 rigs and start demanding they step up and fix a built in problem from the factory.

Rv parks in Mexico with faulty wiring is another ball game. I have read stories for a decade but only met one person who had a real problem. And I have met thousands of RVers in the past 10 years. I have no doubt it happens in certain places but I do have my doubts it happens in 98% of Rv parks.

I feel the problem is that the building and outsourcing of equipment is, by design, to be used only in the US and Canada. It is not as much as a voltage problem as a design problem that should be addressed at the factory.

Thanks. Problem solved with the brake lights.

Very well written Briansue. I have a question from a friend in the park with a 2009 Endeavour (Monaco). He can not use his portable surge protector as the voltage goes over 132 often, and shuts shore power off. Equipped with the motor home is a Smart EMS system by intelectic (sp). This automatically shuts down appliances as needed to stay on or below 30 amps. His set incoming shore power.

May he use any voltage regulator from the pedestal, to his surge protector and finally to the coach without adverse effects? He wishes to get some brand of a 30 amp voltage regulator, here in Mazatlan, failing that, to order one.

I'll have him read your comments; thanks very much. Tom

P.S. who ever that was in San Carlos last week with the brake lights on for most of the evening; they were still on at 6 in the morning after you thought you may have fixed the problem.

The circuit boards runs on anywhere, depending on the design, from 3 volts to 9 volts and most in the mid range. It has always seemed to me that the problem is the RV industry ( and vendor to them) is the problem. They won't build a power supply like your laptop has, the size of a half a pack of cigarettes, that handles any voltage.

I will try to give a very basic explanation - non technical.

As you state - a laptop runs on very low voltage - it is also DC voltage and not AC voltage - though you do plug it into an AC source - so low voltage requires only a very small power supply - and these laptops do not require much in the way of amps - the laptop I am using at the moment says between 3 to 5 amps on the bottom - of DC voltage - not AC.

A power supply that is sensitive to voltage fluctuations can be expensive - and big - and heavy - which adds cost and weight to the device.

You can get a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) with AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation) to protect electronic equipment such as computers - to protect things like TV - DVD player - stereo - and other more sensitive equipment - some refrigerators need their circuit boards protected. But most UPS will not provide a lot of power for more than a few devices. In Puerto Rico where we had very bad power I think I had about 4 UPS with one just for the fridge.

Each of these UPS units contains circuitry and a battery to provide back up power. The circuitry can convert DC to AC to power devices requiring AC from the DC battery. They are not cheap or light or small.

The more power you need the more equipment you need and the bigger it gets and the more expensive it gets.

In the US (for the most part) all we need is a surge protector. In Mexico we need voltage regulators because of inconsistent voltage.

I am aware that CFE puts out 127 VAC and this is fine. The problem is many of the RV parks are old with inadequate wiring and even in the newer parks the wiring was done by someone who does not know about polarity or ground. The result is we may find we need more protection in Mexico than in the US and since the RV industry builds for the US market they do not take into account those who travel to Mexico. So we need to install additional equipment if we plan to visit Mexico. Not everyone does. Not everyone thinks they need it. And many get away without it.

It all depends on where in Mexico you travel and which RV parks you stay in. Most of the reasons have been stated in the thread above. Inadequate wiring in RV parks means if more than a few RVs are using very much power the voltage in the park will drop - and if someone turns off an appliance that draws a lot of power the voltage in the park may spike. Many reasons - not blaming CFE - and there are certainly parks with OK wiring - but many parks have very bad wiring. Even new parks can have bad wiring because they do not use real electricians to do the wiring.

tepetapan wrote:
Just a note to those who would like to do some research. Mexico's standard voltage is 127 volts. Not 120 like Canada or the US.
Everyone who has low voltage problems in Mexico has a real problem since it is regulated 7 volts higher than the US from the source.
I sit at about 133 volts with no or a dozen RV's running AC's.Well within range of a + or - of 5% and pretty standard in the industry.

Your laptop power supply is able to run from 100 to 200 volts, plus or minus. Look at the label. The circuit boards runs on anywhere, depending on the design, from 3 volts to 9 volts and most in the mid range. It has always seemed to me that the problem is the RV industry ( and vendor to them) is the problem. They won't build a power supply like your laptop has, the size of a half a pack of cigarettes, that handles any voltage. They would rather sell new circuit boards at 100 dollars a pop and make money.

With these comments I'm hoping that you are not suggesting to the readers here to take a lax attitude and go without electrical protection while in Mexico. In the 4 years we spent down there I had 3 incidents related to RV park installations. The first year I plugged the RV in and shortly thereafter got a tingle when I grabbed the RV and put a foot on the ground (the pedestal had reversed polarity), after that I checked each plug with an electrical tester.
The second issue was at a park where the the voltage was above 133 with no draw but went down into the 120's with any draw from the RV. The third issue was that the park voltage went to 62 volts overnight caused by the loss of a main fuse on one leg on the pole at the RV park. The final one was a loss of voltage caused by one leg being down (CFE's problem), while looking at the RV park's main panel with the owner the charitable description of the look of the panel could be described as "spaghetti".

I've always thought that the higher voltage standard in Mexico is there partially to overcome undersized wiring, you can move more power with a higher voltage.

These comments aren't saying that the problems above can't happen in the US or Canada as well (we've hit some of these), it's wise to make sure you are protected as finding RV spares in Mexico isn't easy!

Just a note to those who would like to do some research. Mexico's standard voltage is 127 volts. Not 120 like Canada or the US.
Everyone who has low voltage problems in Mexico has a real problem since it is regulated 7 volts higher than the US from the source.
I sit at about 133 volts with no or a dozen RV's running AC's.Well within range of a + or - of 5% and pretty standard in the industry.

Your laptop power supply is able to run from 100 to 200 volts, plus or minus. Look at the label. The circuit boards runs on anywhere, depending on the design, from 3 volts to 9 volts and most in the mid range. It has always seemed to me that the problem is the RV industry ( and vendor to them) is the problem. They won't build a power supply like your laptop has, the size of a half a pack of cigarettes, that handles any voltage. They would rather sell new circuit boards at 100 dollars a pop and make money.

This is a huge unit, far and away too large for less than the largest diesel pusher.

Yes - it is pretty big - and heavy - about 28 lbs I think. I store it in a bay and then set it up next to the pedestal or whatever we plug into. I mounted it on plywood with handles to make it easier the pick up and move. I rigged a cable and lock so it can't be borrowed. With the plywood I set it up off the ground in case of rain. I got a sheet of rubber and cover it up so it can't get too wet and no one can really see what it is - it is sort of disguised as an ugly thing. I forget the exact measurements but I was able to find a place to store it and get it in and out without breaking my back. I think you are correct that it does use power and therefore reduces the amps you might get from an outlet but most of the time is seems to be OK and works great. We do use and are able to use fans most of the time but when we do feel a need for A/C we are able to use it. This is a unit that is not for everyone. But if you want good level around 120 volts AC it is the only thing I know of that corrects both low and high voltage. Not a necessity but nice to have.

OOOPS - Sorry - Wanderer said Sola and I thought he meant the ISB Sola Basic - seems it is a different animal - and the ISB Sola Basic will not provide the 40% the SOLA provides - so probably maybe the ISB is not as big or heavy?

My progressive would cut the power twice a day down here in San Felipe due to overvoltage which CFE deemed within normal range. Too much of a pain so I sold it. I'll be replacing it one of these days with a standard RV surge protecter which is better than nothing.