Surge Protector Yes Or No?

I've been RVing for 15 years. I've never owned a surge protector and never had anything damaged. Maybe I'm lucky, I don't know. I have a few surge protectors in my house largely because they're built into power strips but I've never had anything damaged in my home from a surge either.
They might be cheap insurance but I'm even cheaper. I won't be buying one.

With all the modern electronics in the trailers today, such as computers, I use one, after 30 years of camping with out one.

Three times in the recent past it has protected my stuff from low voltage.

Wouldn't go without it today. Too many electronics on board and too expensive to fix.

Hope this helps. Happy camping.

Yeah Matt I hear you but don't you get just a little worried everyone might be right and we might be wrong. I have never owned one but with all the
crap I have in the RV these days I just get a little antsy. I mean shoot flat screen Television, wifi, blue-ray,satellite,Reridge, heck the list goes on and on.

KD4UPL wrote:
I've been RVing for 15 years. I've never owned a surge protector and never had anything damaged. Maybe I'm lucky, I don't know. I have a few surge protectors in my house largely because they're built into power strips but I've never had anything damaged in my home from a surge either.
They might be cheap insurance but I'm even cheaper. I won't be buying one.

Yeah Matt I hear you but don't you get just a little worried everyone might be right and we might be wrong. I have never owned one but with all the
crap I have in the RV these days I just get a little antsy. I mean shoot flat screen Television, wifi, blue-ray,satellite,Reridge, heck the list goes on and on.

I use surge protectors on stuff I don't want to replace ;)

At home, DW and I have a small den, with our 3 computers and two printers plus the cablemodem, router, etc. I put surge suppressors on everything, although if it's raining/thundering we turn them off. Once or twice we haven't. We did have a lightning strike close to the house that did hit our wiring and lost power. The surge suppressor had "insurance" on it and we were able to collect; her $1000 computer was a total loss. Of course the point is that it didn't protect against the lightning strike - so it would have been on our house insurance instead.

IMHO: Surge Protectors are just cheap insurance. Three times in the past couple of years have found defective pedestals. I have no idea how many times it has saved me from expensive damage due to power surges/spikes. My neighbor's house took a lightning strike and the surge protector saved him tens of thousands in damage. I also carry fire extinguishers even though I don't plan on having a fire. :C

WE full timed travel every week/2 weeks for 7 yrs. LOTS of different places/different power sources.
Got a EMS-50A for just in case when we hit the road. It shutdown power a few times on HI Voltage (132V) and shut off power once on LO Voltage (104V).

I personally think the LO Voltage trip is too high....I get concerned when voltage goes below 108V. I monitor AC Voltage and swap to generator if below 108V

It has also found bad pedestal wiring problems when hooking up power on three occasions. Course a simple check with meter would have found them also.

It is one item that I could justify cost/risk/benefit.

Desert Captain wrote:
IMHO: Surge Protectors are just cheap insurance. Three times in the past couple of years have found defective pedestals. I have no idea how many times it has saved me from expensive damage due to power surges/spikes. My neighbor's house took a lightning strike and the surge protector saved him tens of thousands in damage. I also carry fire extinguishers even though I don't plan on having a fire. :C

So do I but I know the fire extinguishers work. I also know when there is a fire. That's too easy, but I can't see bad electricity loads and even if I see them I hear so many stories where the surge protector did no good. If it were only as easy as spotting a fire and grabbing the extinguisher I would already have one.

diazr2 wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:
IMHO: Surge Protectors are just cheap insurance. Three times in the past couple of years have found defective pedestals. I have no idea how many times it has saved me from expensive damage due to power surges/spikes. My neighbor's house took a lightning strike and the surge protector saved him tens of thousands in damage. I also carry fire extinguishers even though I don't plan on having a fire. :C

So do I but I know the fire extinguishers work. I also know when there is a fire. That's too easy, but I can't see bad electricity loads and even if I see them I hear so many stories where the surge protector did no good. If it were only as easy as spotting a fire and grabbing the extinguisher I would already have one.

Then it sounds like you can't justify one.
They aren't mandatory.......just a tool.

diazr2 wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:
IMHO: Surge Protectors are just cheap insurance. Three times in the past couple of years have found defective pedestals. I have no idea how many times it has saved me from expensive damage due to power surges/spikes. My neighbor's house took a lightning strike and the surge protector saved him tens of thousands in damage. I also carry fire extinguishers even though I don't plan on having a fire. :C

So do I but I know the fire extinguishers work. I also know when there is a fire. That's too easy, but I can't see bad electricity loads and even if I see them I hear so many stories where the surge protector did no good. If it were only as easy as spotting a fire and grabbing the extinguisher I would already have one.

First of all you don't "know" that your fire extinguisher will work. Unless you have it recharged on an annual or semi annual basis and very few folks bother. These are the same folks that have probably never used one and doing it badly will only make a fire a lot worse. It is a good idea to practice, a large campfire that you are through with works well here. After you have practiced (sweep back and forth at the base of the flames), take the extinguisher in and have it recharged/recertified. This is required by law on boats and if it isn't in RV's it should be.

The fact that you cannot "see" bad electricity is a reason to get (not avoid), a surge protector. Not sure where you are hearing about surge protectors not working, that is news to me. The commercial model installed on my house came with a $10,000 no damage guaranty, the point being the technology is simple and effective. Not only do they protect against surges (hence the name), they will tell you if there is clean safe current at the pedestal before you plug in your rig.

Buy one or don't, it matters not to me but they will do you no harm, aren't all that expensive and might just save you big $$$. As always.... Opinions and YMMV. :C