surge protectors

westom wrote:

Gene_M wrote:
Progressive Industries Portable Electrical Management Systems (EMS) provide full RV protection against all adverse power conditions. You will feel secure with multi-mode surge, voltage, polarity and lost/open neutral protection.

Without numbers for each feature, then nobody can answer honestly. Even a knot tied in a power cord is protection from some of those anomalies - as long as we forget to include numbers.

Progressive protects from some anomalies (called surges) such as insufficient voltage. Specification numbers are essential to say how much; either near zero or effective.

A 'whole house' protector does not claim to protect from common anomalies found in campgrounds - ie insufficient voltage.

'Whole house' protection does protect from direct lightning strikes if properly installed. That means it must connect low impedance (ie less than 10 feet) to what harmlessly absorbs hundreds of thousands of joules. That same low impedance requirement is why a Progressive must connect at the pole (as close as practicable to an earth ground electrode) to provide similar protection.

A 'whole house' protector (or Progressive) too close to appliances and too far from earth ground (ie inside a camper) means protection from that type of surge has been compromised.

Effective answers require numbers. Any claim without numbers can all but prove it can save the world. Each and different anomaly (all called surges) must be discussed individually and quantitatively to have a useful answer. That quote is best ignored since each claim is only subjective (qualitative).

Westom, Thanks for the response. I copy/pasted the info from the PI website just to give an idea of what I was talking about, there are numbers associated but I did not copy /paste them to save space, I guess.

From what I have been reading the bulk of members on this thread use hardwired and a few have both the hardwired and portable that plug in at the post. I don't want to spend money on a device that can easily be swiped when no one is around, and a locking box around the connection is no match for a wire cutter anyway.

So I will be going with only a hardwired device at this time, I just have to make up my mind if I want to install it before or after the transfer switch.

Cheers!

Thanks for the advice Drew, much appreciated. I believe the bypass switch works with the LCHW units, they just don't have the remote display.

One more question for the group:
should I wire it in before or after the automatic transfer switch?

Gene_M wrote:
Progressive Industries Portable Electrical Management Systems (EMS) provide full RV protection against all adverse power conditions. You will feel secure with multi-mode surge, voltage, polarity and lost/open neutral protection.

Without numbers for each feature, then nobody can answer honestly. Even a knot tied in a power cord is protection from some of those anomalies - as long as we forget to include numbers.

Progressive protects from some anomalies (called surges) such as insufficient voltage. Specification numbers are essential to say how much; either near zero or effective.

A 'whole house' protector does not claim to protect from common anomalies found in campgrounds - ie insufficient voltage.

'Whole house' protection does protect from direct lightning strikes if properly installed. That means it must connect low impedance (ie less than 10 feet) to what harmlessly absorbs hundreds of thousands of joules. That same low impedance requirement is why a Progressive must connect at the pole (as close as practicable to an earth ground electrode) to provide similar protection.

A 'whole house' protector (or Progressive) too close to appliances and too far from earth ground (ie inside a camper) means protection from that type of surge has been compromised.

Effective answers require numbers. Any claim without numbers can all but prove it can save the world. Each and different anomaly (all called surges) must be discussed individually and quantitatively to have a useful answer. That quote is best ignored since each claim is only subjective (qualitative).

Progressive Industries' EMS units are very good.

If you have a 50A coach, you should get a 50A EMS unit. If your coach has a 30A shore power connection, either one will work fine, but of course the 30A one is less expensive. (The only reason I can think of to get a 50A one in that case is if you might upgrade to a different RV and move the EMS over to the new one.)

If you don't need the remote display or its bypass switch, this would be a great choice. (If you want to mount the EMS unit where you can't readily see the display when needed, the remote is very much recommended.)

ok, after some research I have decided to forget about my original idea, to adapt a home type surge protector, and go with a hardwired unit.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the progressive EMS-LCHW30?
and from their website:
EMS-LCHW30

Progressive Industries Portable Electrical Management Systems (EMS) provide full RV protection against all adverse power conditions. You will feel secure with multi-mode surge, voltage, polarity and lost/open neutral protection. Each unit includes a digital display, scrolling continuously through the power source information: Voltage(s), current, frequency, error code, and previous error code (if applicable). Replacement parts are simply plug-and-play, making repairs quick and easy. As with our portable models, the computer is driven by state of the art microprocessors. Should the software ever change, EMS owners can receive a free upgrade at no cost.

Any thoughts, good/bad?

catkins wrote:
FYI - I think the whole house unit referred to here is one that protects the entire RV(house), inline prior to power entering the RV.

Yes, I understand that, my question is in regards to the type of surge protector used in a brick and mortar home. Can that type be used in an RV?

The more electronics RVS have, they more you need a surge protector. Modern RVs are very electronics heavy - fridge motherboard, AC units, TVs, microwaves, and some detectors can all be adversely effected by bad power.

I agree, LOW voltage is much more frequent than high voltage or a surge. Progressives protects high/low voltage and will allow power through when the power situation returns to normal voltage. A quality unit will be expensive and may you never need it. I never plug in without one. I know how many times it has saved me but wonder how many more times it activated when I was sleeping or gone. Happy Trails!

FYI - I think the whole house unit referred to here is one that protects the entire RV(house), inline prior to power entering the RV.

Hi all, did not read all the posts so I'm not sure if this has been asked: can a whole house surge protector, the type you can get at home depot, be hardwired into the RV? I currently have my devices on those small plug in surge protectors but would like to protect the refrigerator and my integrated load center as well.

Thanks for entertaining my potentially ridiculous question in advance.

TechWriter wrote:

ArchHoagland wrote:

Low voltage is the real culprit and it will take out your air conditioner fairly quick. I monitor our 120 volts and if we drop to 105 off goes the air conditioner.

So you never sleep?

I sleep fine. Make the wife stay up....

Actually we seldom run the air at night and after watching campground power for years the power goes up at night so I don't fret about it.

You do not just want a surge protector - you want a power conditioner. And I think they are essential. The power conditioner has saved us a couple of times. Just one time is enough to make it worth the cost.