Progressive Industries Electrical Management System

Empty Nest, Soon wrote:
On the hardwired version, how important is the remote?

I’m considering not bothering with buying the version with the remote, mainly because of the bother of running the wiring for it from the electrical service bay to the inside of the coach.

If the remote is really useful, I would run the wire. But I figure the device will protect me from electrical problems and I can always check in the bay if I need to look at the readout. Which I would expect to be infrequently.

Am I missing something?

Wayne

I don't think you are missing anything. I own the portable version, which resides in my electrical bay and if anything happens, it is no biggie to go take a look at the display. Same thing with the wired version. Convenience is nice, but really don't need a display inside the RV. In fact, most of the time I want to know what's on the display I am already outside at the electrical bay. I always take a good look at it right after I have made my initial shore power connection.

As long as you can see the face of the unit to read the codes, the remote is not needed. Where my unit is installed, I would need a mirror on a 24" stick to be able to see the readout, and then the image would be reversed. So, the remote is important to me.

The remote is important for several reasons.. If you need to "Control" the unit that is done from the remote, If it denies you power the explanation appears on the remote.. Now.. Here is a thought.

You need not "Remote" the Remote.. it can be in the bay with the HW-#0C and still work just fine, that way you do not need to do a lot of routing.

Empty Nest, Soon wrote:
On the hardwired version, how important is the remote?

The Progressive Industries EMS-LCHW30C and EMS-HW30C (and their 50 amp counterparts) are functionally the same but I decided to go with the HW30C because I intended to mount the unit under the sofa where it would be difficult to see the built in display on the LCHW30C version. Initially I was concerned that the remote display might be irritating but mounted on the wall in clear view we haven't found that to be the case at all. Progressive does offer an optional remote display unit with a built in bypass switch but it cannot be added to the LCHW models so the only way to bypass this version is to open it up and change an internal jumper wire.

One poster has already mentioned the portable version EMS-PT30C which is not functionally the same as it's hard wire counterparts ... most notably, the A/C compressor time delay function is fixed at 136 seconds and cannot be changed, but even more important (to me anyway) the portable version is not field serviceable and must be returned to Progressive for repair. The hard wire units are field serviceable by the owner and is the reason I chose to go with the EMS-HW30C, wiring it in using standard 30 amp connectors so I could remove it in seconds at any time, for any reason - the best of both worlds. :B

I had the same thought,running the wire to the inside would be a chore and I didn't think I would like a box flashing inside all the time,especially at night.

But I wanted to mount the EMS inside of my electrical bay.So this is what I did,I attached the remote to the inside of electrical bay door using industrial strength Velcro. That way I can see it when hooking up and if anything goes wrong I can open the door and read the codes.
Worked out very well.

The remote is useful if you don't want to wait two minutes outside until the unit activates, plus if there is a problem you can check the unit inside especially if the weather is terrible outside.

I like having my remote to see what is happening at any time with the voltage and amperage as we use appliances and check different places that we plug into. Wiring it inside was very simple on my rig, up inside floor to ceiling cupboard to eye height on the wall.

It is Ok but is fairly bright and perpetually flashing with the different info.
If you have reasonable access, skip the remote is fine.

The remote is a great display for voltage and amps and being inside allows me to better manage the rig loads in the all to common 30A low voltage CGs. Mine is in a cabinet and I can open the door or not.

Mount it anywhere since a longer DATA cable was $3 on ebay.

You won't notice the blinking light if you mount the monitor in the RV and if you loose power it's convenient to be able to see why from inside your RV. It's also nice to be able to see how many amps individual appliances draw and what voltage is available.

I mounted the monitor above the galley drawers which is directly facing the MH door. This way I can walk around the MH, look in the door, see the monitor and know if there is a pedestal problem.

Dave