Power Surges and Class A motorhomes

Power surges from the pedestal (shore power). Camping for more than 20 years, I never needed one. Or so I thought. 3 year old motorhome....in town having dinner, thunderstorm hit the area.
Long story short, my fridge got fried and only by a stoke of luck could my transfer switch start working again.
That boomer cost me about 1500 bucks. So....I then bought a Progressive Industries 50 amp unit (the portable model). $300+ bucks. Shuts the power to the motorhome off because of high, low or surge..I think within 2 nano-seconds.

bluegypsy wrote:
OK, this might be another one of those subjects like washer/dryers, where those who need them REALLY need them, and can't live without them.

I say again, 5.5 years on the road, no problems.

Those of you who say their EMS has "saved them" - how do you know? A temporary drop below or above the EMS threshold probably won't do any damage to anything, but everything on the rig shutting off at once? No thanks, I don't want the hassle.

But hey, if you feel you need it, go ahead.

I see absolutely no correlation between a washer and dryer and protecting your washer/dryer/TV/stereo/ete.etc. from surges/brownouts/etc.
one stormy night in Austin all heck broke loose and when the lights came back on, all units around me were dark, mine was light as it was protected. and what exactly is the "hassle" that you refer to? I am saved the hassle of buying and installing all new electrical appliances.
but go ahead and live your charmed life and lets see, 5 years, $250, $50 a year so far and many more to go.
bumpy

OK, this might be another one of those subjects like washer/dryers, where those who need them REALLY need them, and can't live without them.

I say again, 5.5 years on the road, no problems.

Those of you who say their EMS has "saved them" - how do you know? A temporary drop below or above the EMS threshold probably won't do any damage to anything, but everything on the rig shutting off at once? No thanks, I don't want the hassle.

But hey, if you feel you need it, go ahead.

Diplomat Don wrote:
I find it funny when someone says they monitor their power with an internal meter so they don't need any protection. That must not be a very fun trip if you're sitting there watching your meter every second you're camping.
s.

yep, and when they see that millisecond spike, they rush out to the post and unhook. :s.

I am glad that the first responder stated MULTI-Function surge protector. $250 and up, not the $99 special.
bumpy

Kiwi_too wrote:

Executive wrote:

bluegypsy wrote:
5.5 years full-timing, no surge guard, no problems. I do have a polarity checker which I plug into an outlet when we first hook up, and a voltage/frequency monitor which stays plugged in while we're in place to check for voltage drops/rises. We've found some issues at campgrounds with these simple products.

I'm not sure I understand the need for a fancy surge guard. The power at the pedestal is usually coming from the same source as that to someone's house. Once you've ascertained it's wired correctly (by using one or both of the cheap items I've got), the chance of a surge is as likely as you'd get at your house.

Looking at your map, you haven't been in an area of REAL tstorms YET!...we were in Montana a few years ago and lightning struck a couple doors from our coach. Fried the surge protector first, then the microwave, then the middle A/C then the transfer switch. I believe it would have fried everything electric had I not had the Surge Protector. Progressive replaced the SP free of charge. Warranty covered everything else...about $9k worth...I wouldn't travel without one...just sayin so from personal experience.....Dennis

Thunderstorm? Switch off pedestal and turn on generator.

I have been to CGs that had a 200amp main circuit feeding 8 - 30amp site circuits. Seems like they were hedging on not all sites using all 30 amps at one time. They were wrong. Went into brown out (less than 105v) and then the main circuit would pop. A couple of these were owned and managed by the power company.

While CGs use same power source as S&B they are not all wired correctly.

And some CG use staff/host to fix electrical problems within the park. Some may have little to no experience as an electrician.

Executive wrote:

bluegypsy wrote:
5.5 years full-timing, no surge guard, no problems. I do have a polarity checker which I plug into an outlet when we first hook up, and a voltage/frequency monitor which stays plugged in while we're in place to check for voltage drops/rises. We've found some issues at campgrounds with these simple products.

I'm not sure I understand the need for a fancy surge guard. The power at the pedestal is usually coming from the same source as that to someone's house. Once you've ascertained it's wired correctly (by using one or both of the cheap items I've got), the chance of a surge is as likely as you'd get at your house.

Looking at your map, you haven't been in an area of REAL tstorms YET!...we were in Montana a few years ago and lightning struck a couple doors from our coach. Fried the surge protector first, then the microwave, then the middle A/C then the transfer switch. I believe it would have fried everything electric had I not had the Surge Protector. Progressive replaced the SP free of charge. Warranty covered everything else...about $9k worth...I wouldn't travel without one...just sayin so from personal experience.....Dennis

Thunderstorm? Switch off pedestal and turn on generator.

I have been to CGs that had a 200amp main circuit feeding 8 - 30amp site circuits. Seems like they were hedging on not all sites using all 30 amps at one time. They were wrong. Went into brown out (less than 105v) and then the main circuit would pop. A couple of these were owned and managed by the power company.

While CGs use same power source as S&B they are not all wired correctly.

I keep my MH plugged in to my service at home whenever we are there. It is a double pole electrical system. I know my wiring is reliable. I have a PI EMS50 that is hardwired in and it protects the MH. Things can change even after you test your connections. A few year ago, during the winter a tree went over during a snow storm at night. Breaking the neural wire on the service to my house. I had over 10g electrical damage in the house anything that was 110v was fried. The MH was OK. The PI disconnected because it sensed the open neutral. The only thing I am saying is you can check you plugin source, but you never will know when something is going to change in your power source. Then things will go up in smoke. IMHO the PI EMS is worth the money, I have seen what it will do when the time comes but each the own.

Lightning strikes and line surges are infrequently but do happen. Because of aging power grids and campground lines high/low voltage, high/low Hz, reverse polarity, open grounds/neutral, etc. occur. In the 7 years that I’ve had my Progressive EMS I’ve had two reverse polarity (standing in water & touching RV metal can really shock you) and one troublesome low voltage due to Minnesota’s aging power grid. Yes you can check the power when you hook up but are you going to watch that volt meter all night? Low voltage for an extended period of time can really damage your AC.

I assume that you carry RV collision insurance & maybe personal property insurance which costs you every year. A surge protector is a one time expense that can save you not only deductable expense but vacation interruptions when it protects you from any one of the above hazards.

Dave

I have the PI EMS 50amp portable, and it has saved us twice in 2 years from low voltage. Both times it was just as we were going to bed,(both AC units running) we lost power. checked the EMS and voltage voltage had dropped below 100 vac. EMS shut down until proper voltage was reached. We could have fried both AC units as well as the refer.

bluegypsy wrote:
5.5 years full-timing, no surge guard, no problems. I do have a polarity checker which I plug into an outlet when we first hook up, and a voltage/frequency monitor which stays plugged in while we're in place to check for voltage drops/rises. We've found some issues at campgrounds with these simple products.

I'm not sure I understand the need for a fancy surge guard. The power at the pedestal is usually coming from the same source as that to someone's house. Once you've ascertained it's wired correctly (by using one or both of the cheap items I've got), the chance of a surge is as likely as you'd get at your house.

Thunderstorm? Switch off pedestal and turn on generator.

Do you wear a seat belt? Same theory..