How long does your Surge Protector LAST???

westom wrote:

CA Traveler wrote:
I agree that transients from the pedestal would be "best" caught at the pedestal but there are other factors.

Joules is about how much energy a protector will 'block' or 'absorb'. Near zero protectors (also in homes) are rated in joules. Surges that do damage can be hundreds of thousands of joules. How many joules is your protector rated to absorb? Hundreds? Thousand?

How do near zero joules 'absorb' a surge that is hundreds of thousands of joules? How does that 2 cm part 'block' what three miles of sky cannot? It doesn't.

Common campground anomalies include open neutral (in campground wiring), reverse polarity, missing safety ground, sags, etc. These are averted by disconnecting in milliseconds or seconds. A microsecond event (a completely different anomaly) must make a low impedance (ie as short as possible) connection to earth. Earth is where effective protectors harmlessly connect hundreds of thousands of joules.

Is a neutral in a 50 amp power cable failing? One would know that long before that neutral failed. For example, incandescent bulbs would change intensity when other appliances (ie air conditioner) power cycle. Long before a neutral opened, the defect would have been apparent and getting worse.

Protectors that disconnect from more common anomalies (in campground wiring) can be located inside. Protectors that avert damage from that microsecond anomaly are located at a pole. That low impedance (ie single digit feet) connection to what harmlessly 'absorbs' hundreds of thousands of joules is essential.

Campers generally do not worry about microsecond transients. Homeowners do. Surges that concern homeowners are completely different from most common surges found in campgrounds.

A word 'surge' defines numerous unrelated anomalies. Each unique 'surge' may require completely different solutions. Defined are common campground anomalies.

You're arguing semantics.. Allot of us are well aware of what these do regardless of what you want to call it.

One comment you are completely wrong on it that transient damage is different for campers vs. a residence. The electronics in most RV's are identical to those found in a house and in fact are far more vulnerable being in campgrounds often located at the far end of the local distribution station with old and often under-rated facilities.