50 amp surge protector

2oldman wrote:

kellem wrote:
Most of the cheap surge protectors protect nothing.

What's cheap?

I guess cheap is subjective but the ole adage.....you get what you pay for.

Yep, bad lightening storm. Afterward I noticed the indicator lights were different, 2 were out, it was the surge protection indicator. I called Progressive Industries customer service and asked them and they confirmed that is what happens, the lights will go out and not provide surge protection the rest of it still worked though. I bought the SSP50xl also to replace the fried one. They do work.

Cheap insurance that most likely will protect from costly, long repairs.

kellem wrote:
Most of the cheap surge protectors protect nothing.

What's cheap?

Mine finds some issue most every year. And I am a part time camper.

Use the EMS and don't worry.
Most of the cheap surge protectors protect nothing.

An EMS (electrical management system) is SO much more than a surge protector. They perform multiple functions. In our previous rig, the Progressive industries saved us from appliance damage on two or three occasions: 1) a lightening strike less than 100 yards away which caused a spike, an outage, and a surge when the power came back up; 2) very poor 50 amp power at a place in east Tennessee. The voltage dropped below the threshold on one leg (would have damaged the AC on that leg) and the EMS took us off line (the park owner ended up scheduling a complete rebuild of their electrical system); and 3) a faulty 50 amp breaker in another park that would intermittently drop the voltage and/or drop out altogether (again, the EMS took us off-line until the situation was remedied). In our new rig we had an incident last week. We are staying on a military installation and contractors were clearing vegetation from the fence line behind us to prep for new fencing. A worker backed a Bobcat over the transformer for the FamCamp. The power crew told me that the transformer had been pushed off its concrete slab and two 13kV lines were shorted. I don't know what happened downstream (our side), but the EMS in our new rig took us off-line until we had clean power again (on an 85 degree day with 75% humidity!).

Rob

campigloo wrote:
I had a Progressive on mine. A surge hit it and fortunately we were in the trailer and were able to save it when we smelled the burning wires. The Progressive didn’t stop squat.

I am a retired electrical engineer and professional troubleshooter. I am curious on why you thought there was a surge. What did you find that caused the burning wires? If there had been a significant transient voltage spike you would not have time yourself To shut it off because the voltage spikes only last for microseconds or milliseconds. Please let me know some more details and especially what caused the burning wires. Thanks.

I had a Progressive on mine. A surge hit it and fortunately we were in the trailer and were able to save it when we smelled the burning wires. The Progressive didn’t stop squat.

My EMS has protected my rig from 160V so yes it saved my equipment. I've also had reverse polarity twice (30A pedestal). Plus numerous cases of low voltage. The surge protection has never detected a surge.

I recommend the much better EMS which won't connect power when there is a fault and disconnects when there is a fault. I have the PI HW50C with a remote inside.

There is a lot of additional protection with a EMS that surge protectors don't provide. It's like insurance...