I was told A/C could not be used, and friends who have stayed by the lake warned it was a single receptacle. Still, I paid for electric, I hoped I could at least make coffee.87 volts when it first cycled, 94 by the time I took the pic, then rolled up my power cordI guess we will run the fridge on propane, limit our battery use. I plugged Mr Coffee directly into the pole. Better a $2000 coffee pot..inverters are expensive.I guess I can re-hook to the truck for a daily "recharge".[img][/img]

A surge protector alone won't do you any good in a scenario like this ... what you want is a full feature EMS that can detect a variety of power source errors, including high and low voltage, in this case the latter. So ... what's the point of your post? :hFWIW, your situation is exactly why I installed a 1000 watt PSW inverter - not for planned dry camping (which we do little very little) but for those emergency times when we lose campground power for one reason or another but would still like to have limited use of 120 vac to power a toaster, or coffee machine, couple of fans, etc. I've wired the inverter output to dedicated receptacles in the camper and because my trailer is protected with a Progressive Industries WMS-HW30C I can leave the trailer's main service cable plugged into the campsite power post and allow it to continuously monitor the power source and decide when / if it's safe to turn back on again. No surge protector alone will do that. ;)

Or, just monitor voltage yourself.In any case, you are correct to NOT use their power unless it is 108 VAC or higher.The exception may be your converter (read its voltage range in its owners manual) and any resistive appliances like water heater.

SoundGuy wrote:A surge protector alone won't do you any good in a scenario like this ... what you want is a full feature EMS that can detect a variety of power source errors, including high and low voltage, in this case the latter. So ... what's the point of your post? :hI have a question along these lines. My unit is 30 amp and I have a 30 amp EMS. If I hook up to somewhere with only 50 amp service (with 50 to 30 adapter), would my EMS be adequate/safe?

Dano1955 wrote:SoundGuy wrote:A surge protector alone won't do you any good in a scenario like this ... what you want is a full feature EMS that can detect a variety of power source errors, including high and low voltage, in this case the latter. So ... what's the point of your post? :hI have a question along these lines. My unit is 30 amp and I have a 30 amp EMS. If I hook up to somewhere with only 50 amp service (with 50 to 30 adapter), would my EMS be adequate/safe?Yes. Your 30 amp EMS will work just fine.

Dano1955 wrote:My unit is 30 amp and I have a 30 amp EMS. If I hook up to somewhere with only 50 amp service (with 50 to 30 adapter), would my EMS be adequate/safe?Mandalay Parr wrote:Yes. Your 30 amp EMS will work just fine.The reason being that your 50 amp male > 30 amp female dogbone adapter is wired to pick up ground, neutral, and just one hot leg from that 50 amp power source ... so when your trailer or EMS is plugged into the 30 amp end of the dogbone it's exactly the same as plugging into a 30 amp campsite source.

87. Volt. Are you on the fence about buying surge protection

81 Replies

RoyB
Explorer II
Jul 03, 2016
I do not have one of those surge protectors but I think they only protect you from SKIES and SURGES. When they read the AC VOTAGES levels and when they are OUTSIDE the designed safe zone limits they DO NOT fix the situation but probably alarms of the out of safe zone levels. I would hope they would switch your trailer OFF LINE. You end up with NO POWER feeding the trailer...

The only device I know of that would fix the problem is an AUTOTRANSFORMER sometimes called AUTOFORMERs. These units measures the low or high 120VAC levels and keeps them inside the safe zone for you to safely use... These units however have a out of limit range of around 10% I think I have read so the bottom line is you still may be without any power feeding your trailer...

In these situations your best fix is to have alternate means of proving power to your trailer or appliances to use... Never plug-in to something that is not within the safe zone levels... Replacing those high dollar appliances is not my cup of tea for sure...

The SURGE PROTECTOR is not a fix-all for all situations...

Just my thoughts here...
Roy Ken
SoundGuy
Explorer
Jul 03, 2016
IAMICHABOD wrote:

Thanks for linking correctly to the image the OP hadn't correctly posted. This isn't about surge protection as the OP's thread title suggests but about EMS protection from low voltage damage ... so now my question "So ... what's the point of your post?" has finally been answered, 'though not by the OP. Talk about confusing. :R
IAMICHABOD
Explorer III
Jul 03, 2016
cbshoestring wrote:
I was told A/C could not be used, and friends who have stayed by the lake warned it was a single receptacle. Still, I paid for electric, I hoped I could at least make coffee.

87 volts when it first cycled, 94 by the time I took the pic, then rolled up my power cord

I guess we will run the fridge on propane, limit our battery use. I plugged Mr Coffee directly into the pole. Better a $20
00 coffee pot..inverters are expensive.

I guess I can re-hook to the truck for a daily "recharge".
SoundGuy
Explorer
Jul 03, 2016
Sam Spade wrote:
Even a power stabilizer/conditioner will have trouble dealing with an input that low.

No one has said anything at all about a so-called "stabilizer/conditioner", whatever you may mean by that. :h A properly designed EMS however will prevent a voltage source falling outside a specified nominal range (104 vac to 132 vac for Progressive Industries products) from ever reaching the camper in the first place or if OK at first will later disconnect from that source if voltage falls out of range.
Lynnmor
Explorer II
Jul 03, 2016
At a time like that, you need a cheap, rude contractor style generator. Tell them you will turn it off when the voltage returns to normal.:B
Sam_Spade
Explorer
Jul 03, 2016
cbshoestring wrote:

I guess I can re-hook to the truck for a daily "recharge".

And you could consider a generator like most RV'ers do.

P.S. Even a power stabilizer/conditioner will have trouble dealing with an input that low.

I think you should demand a refund of your electric fee.......unless it was the park management that told you it was not usable.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Jul 03, 2016
Dano1955 wrote:
My unit is 30 amp and I have a 30 amp EMS. If I hook up to somewhere with only 50 amp service (with 50 to 30 adapter), would my EMS be adequate/safe?

Mandalay Parr wrote:
Yes. Your 30 amp EMS will work just fine.

The reason being that your 50 amp male > 30 amp female dogbone adapter is wired to pick up ground, neutral, and just one hot leg from that 50 amp power source ... so when your trailer or EMS is plugged into the 30 amp end of the dogbone it's exactly the same as plugging into a 30 amp campsite source.
Mandalay_Parr
Explorer
Jul 03, 2016
Dano1955 wrote:
SoundGuy wrote:
A surge protector alone won't do you any good in a scenario like this ... what you want is a full feature EMS that can detect a variety of power source errors, including high and low voltage, in this case the latter. So ... what's the point of your post? :h

I have a question along these lines. My unit is 30 amp and I have a 30 amp EMS. If I hook up to somewhere with only 50 amp service (with 50 to 30 adapter), would my EMS be adequate/safe?

Yes. Your 30 amp EMS will work just fine.
Dano1955
Explorer
Jul 03, 2016
SoundGuy wrote:
A surge protector alone won't do you any good in a scenario like this ... what you want is a full feature EMS that can detect a variety of power source errors, including high and low voltage, in this case the latter. So ... what's the point of your post? :h

I have a question along these lines. My unit is 30 amp and I have a 30 amp EMS. If I hook up to somewhere with only 50 amp service (with 50 to 30 adapter), would my EMS be adequate/safe?
wolfe10
Explorer
Jul 03, 2016
Or, just monitor voltage yourself.

In any case, you are correct to NOT use their power unless it is 108 VAC or higher.

The exception may be your converter (read its voltage range in its owners manual) and any resistive appliances like water heater.

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87. Volt. Are you on the fence about buying surge protection

81 Replies

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