Forum Discussion

Butch50's avatar
Butch50
Explorer
Mar 05, 2018

Problem with Progressive Industries HW50C built in Surge

I'm having problems with my built in Progressive Industries HW50C. When I apply either 50A or 30A to my trailer the remote control shows no errors but well not let power through. The power is coming from my shop that I wired and have both 30 and 50 available. I have over the years had 4 other RVs plugged into this 2 service plugs. The remote control shows no errors.

So I plugged in my Surge Guard 34830 Portable RV Surge Protector With LCD Display- 30 Amp into the outlet and let it go through its cycle and after about 2 minutes the remote surge protector allowed power to the trailer. No errors on external also. Went into the trailer and switched to remote and everything is working.

A couple of days ago I turned it on with just the built in surge protector and it did the same thing so I used the bypass switch on the remote and I heard it thunk and then put it back to normal and it worked. I would not have switched to bypass at any campground but I know my power is good. Tonight when I turned power onto the trailer it wouldn't let it go through again tried the bypass and heard the thunk from box and had power but when I turned it back to normal it again would not allow power.

This unit is in a trailer that is about 6 months old and it was a brand new unit.

Any thoughts before I call PI which I hope to have a chance to tomorrow.

I was planning to not carry my 30A external but now I think it well have a place in the trailer. The 30A is almost brand new also bought it just before we replaced our last 30A unit.

Thanks
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Mar 13, 2018
    SoundGuy wrote:
    laknox wrote:
    Is there an alternative to the PI systems?


    Sure - the TRC Surge Guard has traditionally been bagged here on the forums, mostly because of a one year warranty, but new ones now being sold include a limited lifetime warranty as well. Models like the 34830 and 34850 also have a feature the PI units do not - a trip delay of ~ 8" which helps to avoid nuisance trips caused by incoming source voltage that hovers slightly above and below the set trip voltage. I currently am running a hard wire Progressive EMS-HW30C but if I had reason to buy another I'd most likely replace it with a TRC 34830 and install it inside the camper, just as I did years ago with my first Surge Guard, and early version of this same EMS.
    Actually PI EMS the trip delay on low voltage is 6 seconds.

    Bad ground is instant. High voltage I don't know but speculate it is instant as I agree it should be.

    Message here:


    11/4/16

    (to me), If the voltage falls below 104 Vac for more than 6 seconds, the EMS will disconnect. A loss of ground will cause an instantaneous disconnect. When an error occurs and then the cause clears, the time delay starts. In your example, if the error occurs every sixty seconds, power would not be restored, because the delay would be resetting to zero each time.


    Regards,

    Customer Support

    919 267-6964
  • SoundGuy's avatar
    SoundGuy
    Explorer
    Mar 13, 2018
    time2roll wrote:
    Actually PI EMS the trip delay on low voltage is 6 seconds.

    Bad ground is instant. High voltage I don't know but speculate it is instant as I agree it should be.

    Message here:


    11/4/16

    (to me), If the voltage falls below 104 Vac for more than 6 seconds, the EMS will disconnect. A loss of ground will cause an instantaneous disconnect. When an error occurs and then the cause clears, the time delay starts. In your example, if the error occurs every sixty seconds, power would not be restored, because the delay would be resetting to zero each time.


    Regards,

    Customer Support

    919 267-6964


    Interesting reply from Progressive, especially since without proof I question it's veracity. ;) I own a calibrated DVM and used it to calibrate my own EMS-HW30C's voltage readout which as delivered was wildly inaccurate so I am familiar with the inner workings of this device. I also know from personal experience while camping that my unit does trip the instant incoming source voltage falls below it's low voltage trip threshold of 104 vac. Of course the most accurate method to confirm this would be on the workbench, using a calibrated DVM and Variac as a source supply. This I could have easily done back during my career days but now that I'm retired I no longer have access to a Variac and I'm sure not going to buy one just to prove Progressive's claim, one way or the other. My question however is - if their EMS does in fact feature a 6" low voltage nuisance trip delay where is that information in any of their documentation or even online? Common sense says the manufacturer would want to advertise this feature IF indeed it does exist, yet I haven't seen it. :R
  • ktmrfs's avatar
    ktmrfs
    Explorer II
    Mar 20, 2018
    SoundGuy wrote:
    time2roll wrote:
    Actually PI EMS the trip delay on low voltage is 6 seconds.

    Bad ground is instant. High voltage I don't know but speculate it is instant as I agree it should be.

    Message here:


    11/4/16

    (to me), If the voltage falls below 104 Vac for more than 6 seconds, the EMS will disconnect. A loss of ground will cause an instantaneous disconnect. When an error occurs and then the cause clears, the time delay starts. In your example, if the error occurs every sixty seconds, power would not be restored, because the delay would be resetting to zero each time.


    Regards,

    Customer Support

    919 267-6964


    Interesting reply from Progressive, especially since without proof I question it's veracity. ;) I own a calibrated DVM and used it to calibrate my own EMS-HW30C's voltage readout which as delivered was wildly inaccurate so I am familiar with the inner workings of this device. I also know from personal experience while camping that my unit does trip the instant incoming source voltage falls below it's low voltage trip threshold of 104 vac. Of course the most accurate method to confirm this would be on the workbench, using a calibrated DVM and Variac as a source supply. This I could have easily done back during my career days but now that I'm retired I no longer have access to a Variac and I'm sure not going to buy one just to prove Progressive's claim, one way or the other. My question however is - if their EMS does in fact feature a 6" low voltage nuisance trip delay where is that information in any of their documentation or even online? Common sense says the manufacturer would want to advertise this feature IF indeed it does exist, yet I haven't seen it. :R


    mine behaves like yours. and a 6 second delay seems like a BAD idea. if it drops below 104 then continues to drop, say to 80 volts a few seconds later and takes 4 more seconds to disconnect? not likely. I could see it taking a few cycles but not 6 seconds.

    Now if the delay is coupled with another voltage limit such that for a few seconds it can go to 102V and then back up to 105 without tripping, yes, that I can see.

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