EMS

Nope, you're right. But an EMS will alert, and protect, you when voltage goes up, or down, to unsafe, for your electronics, levels. It will also alert you to other issues when plugging into the pedestal. A $70 surge protector will not.

If the electrical ped 3’ from your camper gets hit by lightning, your best defense is a fire extinguisher and a good insurance policy!

flathead92 wrote:
So whats better a $70 serge protector or a $300 one
If the ped gets hit by lighting no protector is gonna protect it right???

Ok The "Gauntlet" as I'll call it:
Starting at the low end we have devices that are not much better than a 3-light outlet tester (The device you plug into a standard wall outlet that tells you if it's wired properly) Oh they add a few MOV's to clip spikes but truthfully.. they are not worth much when it comes to protecting your RV's expensive stuff.

That's the 77 dollar end
Moving up to the high end we have True Energy monitors.. These units come in two types. Plug in and hard wired.. hard wired have a "Remote" that may or may not be optional (If you go hard wired which I suggest by all means get the remote if it is optional) This is the 300 to around 500 dollar end.

These units report if the outlet you are plugged into is wired properly same a the el-cheapos but wait there is more
They report the voltage and the current.. on a 50 amp unit both L-1 and L-2 voltage and Current.

They also MONITOR the voltages electronically and if they are too low. or two high.. CLUNK they cut you off (It's a big "Contactor" or "Solenoid" grade relay so it goes CLUNK not CLICK)

Why is this important: Low voltage (Below oh around 110 or 105) means that heavy motors (your air conditioners at 1,000 bucks a pop last time I bought one) Spend more time in "START" mode where they draw way more current and heat up way faster.. NOT GOOD FOR THEM.

Too MUCH voltage and your TV, Microwave And other electronics may start to release their magic smoke.. and as we all know once the magic smoke is released... They no longer work.

Now two more things.. I am told there is no 240 volt outlet that is designed to take a TT-30 plug.. True.. but there is one that's close enough it fits.. also I once ran across an electrician in an electrical store.. He had two things in his hand that Caused me alarm.. A TT-30 OUTLET (Standard 30 amp RV outlet) and a DUAL GANG 30 amp circuit breaker.... (used for 240 volt connections).. After we chatted he exchanged the dual for a single (120 volt) breaker.

His customer never knew how close he came to ZOOOOTTTT and a whole bunch of magic smoke.

The top end units will refuse to let power pass if you plug into a 240 volt (or higher) 30 amp outlet (I know 50 amps is 240 volts divided into two 120 volt legs. and so does the surge guard/EMS).

They also deay the passing of power... Some either half a minute or nearly 3 some just nearly 3 (Set to Nearly 3).. Why is this important.

Today and yesterday power here in my apartment is "Blinking' that is power outages of like 1-5 seconds.. Just long enough to halt the compressor on an Air conditioner or Refrigerator.. The 3 minute delay means that the compressor has a chance to bleed down and do a normal restart.. (Much easier See start mode comments above)

Also during the first few seconds the park voltage tends to be like the Iron Dragon at Sea World Niagra I Roller Coaster, Up and down Surging like a house afire... And usualy by the time your EMS clunks you back to power.. That's settled down to a ripple (normal).

So my advice sir is go to the top end. And hard wire if you can.

Ditto everything above!! Don't go cheap unless you want to upgrade all your electronics after you connect to a bad power source.

flathead92 wrote:
So whats better a $70 serge protector or a $300 one

Who makes a $70 SURGE protector?

I have never seen one that cheap.

flathead92 wrote:
So whats better a $70 serge protector or a $300 one
If the ped gets hit by lighting no protector is gonna protect it right???

maybe. surge protectors have a max surge they can handle, cheap one's often have a lower max joules than better ones.

And some of the better ones will also check for reversed polarity, low voltage, open ground, high voltage, before they apply power to the outlet.

My recommendation for 30 amp is the Progressive Industries EMS-HW30C and for 50 amp is the Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C, but I prefer built in. They are also available in plug in varieties that you plug into the pedestal then plug your RV into them. I have been using mine since 2007.

Our $300 EMS has saved us from extremely low (97V) voltage. A surge protector would not have.

The only true protector is a saturated harmonic voltage transformer (volts control via hertz) followed by a true isolation transformer.
Incredibly expensive
Wastes power, develops heat

I had to design and make my own lightning protection circuit.
Did it work?
The structure had been isolated with an eight inch knife switch.
Lightning struck the 127 volt neighborhood feeder circuit then backfed and blew the 35 KW wye wound transformer.

The strike melted the pair of 8 gauge wires feeding the house. It melted 2 ¼" spaced copper plates and destroyed a 6 AWG shunt wire to earth ground.

Utilities protect transmission lines with devices called "reclosers". They cause a few seconds blackout after a line strike, then reclose.

I've made dozens of circuit protection devices for friends using 20mm MOV devices plus 5 amp avalanche rectifiers. Each parallel six times line to neutral to earth ground. All protected with rice grain fuses. It's not inexpensive.

For harmonic voltage control SOLA brand has been around a long time.

AllegroD wrote:
Our $300 EMS has saved us from extremely low (97V) voltage. A surge protector would not have.

Same here though since Southwire bought TRC the Surge Guard equivlent is a very very close 2nd.. That's what I had.. Biggest difference is the Surge Guard the remote is... Optional.

Also some differences in the installation.