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IT_Burnout's avatar
IT_Burnout
Explorer
Oct 01, 2017

Progresive Surge Protector Question

I have a EMS-PT50X surge protector, and it seems like it has a problem. When I plug it into any source (15A, 30A or 50A) from a campground or from my home it takes a long time to gate power through the unit. I have tested the outlets first with a meter to make sure they are hot and they seem to test good. I have had a couple instances where I never did get it to output any power. It always gives a readout of L1 and L2 with 121 +/- volts at 60hrz with 0 amps. I never see any type of error code on the unit at all. When it does work correctly I plug it in and wait a minute or 2 then I hear what sounds like a couple relays click in on the unit and things power up and it works good. I have tried this with the RV plugged in and without a load just a digital meter for a load and it’s the same. I have also tried it on 2 different 5th wheels and it acts the same. I didn’t notice this going on when I first got the surge protector this spring. But I will admit I am not always as observant as I should be. I did send an email today to Progressive to see what they had to say about it. Anyone else ever experience this?
  • SoundGuy's avatar
    SoundGuy
    Explorer
    Oct 02, 2017
    Ava wrote:
    As said above there is an option to remove the jumper inside to make the protector wait a little over 2 minutes ...


    Hard wire units only - the OP's portable EMS-PT50X case is sealed and is not considered "field serviceable" so it's delay cannot be changed - it's fixed at 136". The hard wire EMS-HW50C is field serviceable and does have a time delay jumper that can be removed by the owner to increase delay from 15" to 136".



    User selected time delay is one of several reasons I chose a hard wire EMS-HW30C instead of a portable EMS-PT30C.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Oct 02, 2017
    I do not know the specific model you have but I do knwo the HW-50c And I suspect the programming is much the same.

    on the HW-50c you have two choices.. choice default power is held OFF for 15 seconds.. Good but not what I'd do

    Choice optional (Also the only choice for the PT-50c) it is just shy of 3 minutes.. That is the choice I would make.

    WHY?

    When you loose power it is important that you not re-start the air conditioners (IF that is they are running) for 3 mintues.. Most everything else in the RV (Except a compressor driven fridge) can re-start quickly but COMPRESSORS need 3 minutes of OFF time before they re-start.

    I've seen many "Blinks" (Power failures lasting just a second or 3) and my Surge Guard holds off for 172 Seconds (Just shy of 3 minutes) so the A/C re-starts normally without damage.

    Another factor is during those minutes everybody in the campground.. their A/C is trying to kick in and with the same stalled/rotor situtation the current craw is excessive.. Voltage is on one wild rollar coaster ride.. By by the time I hear the CLUNK and my system starts... it's stabilized.
  • SoundGuy's avatar
    SoundGuy
    Explorer
    Oct 02, 2017
    wa8yxm wrote:
    I do not know the specific model you have but I do knwo the HW-50c And I suspect the programming is much the same.


    The OP said in his original post that he has a portable EMS-PT50X. These Progressive EMS units have no "programming" as such but the hard wire version does have a physical jumper that can be removed to change the unit's time delay from a default setting of 15" to a much longer 136", the purpose of which is to prevent an A/C compressor from restarting after a short duration power failure. Delay for the portable unit is fixed at 136" and cannot be changed as the box is sealed and is not considered field serviceable as is the hard wire version. Most would probably be best served with the longer 136" delay anyway, I however most often run my own EMS-HW30C with a 15" delay as we don't often run A/C, only switching the EMS to the longer 136" delay those infrequent times we do use A/C.
  • SoundGuy's avatar
    SoundGuy
    Explorer
    Oct 02, 2017
    wa8yxm wrote:
    When you loose power it is important that you not re-start the air conditioners (IF that is they are running) for 3 mintues.. Most everything else in the RV (Except a compressor driven fridge) can re-start quickly but COMPRESSORS need 3 minutes of OFF time before they re-start.

    I've seen many "Blinks" (Power failures lasting just a second or 3) and my Surge Guard holds off for 172 Seconds (Just shy of 3 minutes) so the A/C re-starts normally without damage.


    If your EMS is truly a "Surge Guard" then it's a TRC product, not a Progressive Industries product as is the OP's, and your time delay is in fact an even shorter 128", not "just shy of 3 minutes". As I understand it the TRC Surge Guard also has a preset trip time of 8" - 10" before that 128" time delay is executed, the purpose of which I believe is to avoid nuisance power disconnects when there's a brief power disruption lasting less than 8" or when incoming source voltage is hovering right around the low voltage trip threshold of 102 vac. The Progressive EMS trips the instant it's low voltage threshold of 104 vac is detected.

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