surge guard protectors
Thinking of buying a surge guard protector. Just wondering which brand to buy. What kind do you use and what, if any problems have you had with it?
Forum Discussion
Hi,
No thanks. Here is why. My comfort level for brown out is 108 volts. The current crop of surge devices shut off the power at 104, so that "feature" is useless to me.
A careful RV'er will check the voltage and polarity before plugging the RV into an unknown power source.
A careful RV'er does monitor voltage after plugging in.
Below 108 volts, I power just the converter, and then power the rest of the RV from my inverter. I have a surge device on the converter which cost a whole $2.00. It meets my needs.
If voltage is "hovering" just above 108 volts, I'll use my inverter to power any "heavy" loads, such as the hotplates I use for cooking.
It is quite unlikely to have an over voltage situation on a 30 amp service, where as, if a wire comes loose on a 50 amp service it is possible to have nearly double the voltage on one leg.
Anything that an RV'er can afford is going to get creamed by a serious power surge such as a transformer failure, and it will fail to protect the "sensitive electronics" from that surge. For a 30 amp service surge protection is quite close, in my opinion, to the Emperor's new clothes. For 50 amp, there is a valid reason to have such a device.
If I wished to buy something that I might find useful, it would be an autoformer to boost low voltage.
No thanks. Here is why. My comfort level for brown out is 108 volts. The current crop of surge devices shut off the power at 104, so that "feature" is useless to me.
A careful RV'er will check the voltage and polarity before plugging the RV into an unknown power source.
A careful RV'er does monitor voltage after plugging in.
Below 108 volts, I power just the converter, and then power the rest of the RV from my inverter. I have a surge device on the converter which cost a whole $2.00. It meets my needs.
If voltage is "hovering" just above 108 volts, I'll use my inverter to power any "heavy" loads, such as the hotplates I use for cooking.
It is quite unlikely to have an over voltage situation on a 30 amp service, where as, if a wire comes loose on a 50 amp service it is possible to have nearly double the voltage on one leg.
Anything that an RV'er can afford is going to get creamed by a serious power surge such as a transformer failure, and it will fail to protect the "sensitive electronics" from that surge. For a 30 amp service surge protection is quite close, in my opinion, to the Emperor's new clothes. For 50 amp, there is a valid reason to have such a device.
If I wished to buy something that I might find useful, it would be an autoformer to boost low voltage.
gotsmart wrote:
pianotuna, you may want to consider adding a surge protector to your wish list of things to buy in the future - and store it in the MH even if you don't intend to use it. Why? I've actually been at a couple of parks where they included a supplemental page to their welcome packet that bluntly says that the park's power may fluctuate and suffer brown-outs and outages. The supplemental recommends the use of surge protection and disclaims liability for any damage to the electrical system of the guest's RV.
I think it is a "good-to-have" for when you arrive at a park with power issues, or when you're setting up and your next door neighbor "Hey, if you got a surge protector you ought to use it 'cuz the power has been awful this week".
It falls under the "be prepared for anything" category.
