Progressive EMS repair

Janss wrote:
SoundGuy...Interesting post about the Surge Guard brand. I was debating about that one, but seems that most on this forum think that Progressive's is better made. I do notice that Progressive shuts off power at low voltage below 104, but Surge Guard goes down to 102. Also Progressive unit states to always use it in the upright position. This may make it impossible to use with an extension cord like you mention. I have had occasional problems with slightly recessed receptacles at campground posts.

Camping World has Surge Guard on sale right now and told me that they sell a $40 (or so) one time replacement warranty (presumably for the life of the unit). That sounded pretty good to me.

My first unit was a (now discontinued) early version portable TRC 34730 which didn't even have a display panel as did later models. I mounted it under the sofa and basically forgot about it as it just sat there and did what it was supposed to do. I only later sold it to a friend (who still uses it), replacing it with my current Progressive EMS-HW30C because I wanted to be able to see the display monitor to tell me what the unit was doing. Whether the Progressive units are "better built" may be nothing more than crowd mentality, not anything that's based on actual knowledge of how these units are manufactured. Certainly the incentive for many to buy a Progressive unit was their "lifetime warranty", with owners who did have an issue with their EMS saying that Progressive did step up to the plate by honouring that warranty promise. However, more recent reports seem to indicate that the company is now not being so lenient with warranty claims, modifying their "limited lifetime warranty" to now include a number of restrictions that weren't part of the previous "lifetime warranty". I have no idea what Progressive's warning about properly orienting their EMS is supposed to mean but TRC certainly doesn't mention anything about this. As far as low voltage threshold is concerned I suspect what's "best" is as much a matter of conjecture than anything else ... clearly TRC engineering chose 102 vac for a reason and are satisfied it meets the necessary criteria. Some might also argue whether TRC's 8 - 10 second trip delay (which Progressive doesn't offer) is a good idea but TRC engineering must have determined there was more advantage to including it than not. If CW is offering an extended warranty on the TRC for $40 that would seem to level the playing field, even tip it in favour of a TRC considering it's additional features and lower price point.