Storage Skirts and Surge Guards
Getting prepared to full time next July and trying to make certain that we have needed accessories for our 2011 Montana. My wife is convinced we need a storage skirt to enclose the area under the fro...
Forum Discussion
As to surge protectors, some general comments:
1) Keep in mind that surge protectors of the same price range can differ greatly in quality. I'd consult industry reviews involving controlled laboratory testing before making a purchase. (Chances are low that what any given RV dealer happens to keep in stock is the best value.)
2) Depending upon the component parts, a surge protector can deteriorate considerably over the course of a year or two---because some of those parts experience "wear" and age. Others may give their lives blocking some types of surges (although you can't always assume that the protection device will notify you of this.)
3) Don't trust a surge protector at the RV entry point to protect the entire system. For example, lightning strikes in the area induce currents quite easily in any wire between the surge protector and the device you wish to protect. (Unfortunately, lightning strikes nearby tend to defeat and overwhelm most protection devices---although lightning arrestors can certainly save people and animals from serious injury in many cases.) Also, surge protector manufacturers would point out that other devices/appliances within the RV can be the cause of major damage. So don't forget to use individual surge protectors with computers and other electronics. (A surge protector for such devices should at least include "voltage smoothing", anti-spike capabilities. Don't assumes that your expensive UPS unit is necessarily doing great filtering when not operating in battery mode.)
4) If allowing for #3, be careful about what types of surge protectors and UPS devices are used in series within the RV. Why? I'll avoid getting into the technicalities but, for example, make sure a protection device which outputs a square wave doesn't power something which must have a sine wave feed.
5) As some have mentioned, low-voltage power or rapidly fluctuating brown-outs can do even more damage than a spike---especially on big motor devices like washers, dryers, some refrigerators, and AC units.
An anecdote comes to mind: I awakened one morning right as a thunderstorm came into the area and lightning struck a tree about 100 yards from me. Even though my portable fan was entirely unplugged, its motor coils provided effectively little "antennas" for the EM induction and I was startled at the sparks which emerged. (Nevertheless, it is still worth unplugging everything you can when you know that a lightning storm is in the area. Just realize that you may not be able to stop the damage of a close hit.)
As far as volts/amps displays, I recommend going for the most cost-effective solution and simply buy a $20 "Kill-a-watt" and similar devices and use it to determine what each device/appliance draws in a typical hour or day of use. (Of course, once you know the general numbers, you might want to leave it on the AC circuit so that you can monitor your long term KWH per month, etc. Same with a dehumidifier unit.)
Yes, finding the best value on circuit protection devices requires some research of professional/industrial reviews. (Personally, I don't put my trust in the average mainstream consumer-retail product. I've seen too many over-priced and nearly worthless units which failed the most basic laboratory testing regimens.)
It is definitely worth finding out if your RV park hookup is "noisy" (full of spikes and interference) and especially low-voltage conditions. I do recommend a protection device with an audible alarm for blackouts and brownouts (but both under user control.)
But that's just me. Everybody has to draw their own lines in the sand as to risk-reward ratios.
1) Keep in mind that surge protectors of the same price range can differ greatly in quality. I'd consult industry reviews involving controlled laboratory testing before making a purchase. (Chances are low that what any given RV dealer happens to keep in stock is the best value.)
2) Depending upon the component parts, a surge protector can deteriorate considerably over the course of a year or two---because some of those parts experience "wear" and age. Others may give their lives blocking some types of surges (although you can't always assume that the protection device will notify you of this.)
3) Don't trust a surge protector at the RV entry point to protect the entire system. For example, lightning strikes in the area induce currents quite easily in any wire between the surge protector and the device you wish to protect. (Unfortunately, lightning strikes nearby tend to defeat and overwhelm most protection devices---although lightning arrestors can certainly save people and animals from serious injury in many cases.) Also, surge protector manufacturers would point out that other devices/appliances within the RV can be the cause of major damage. So don't forget to use individual surge protectors with computers and other electronics. (A surge protector for such devices should at least include "voltage smoothing", anti-spike capabilities. Don't assumes that your expensive UPS unit is necessarily doing great filtering when not operating in battery mode.)
4) If allowing for #3, be careful about what types of surge protectors and UPS devices are used in series within the RV. Why? I'll avoid getting into the technicalities but, for example, make sure a protection device which outputs a square wave doesn't power something which must have a sine wave feed.
5) As some have mentioned, low-voltage power or rapidly fluctuating brown-outs can do even more damage than a spike---especially on big motor devices like washers, dryers, some refrigerators, and AC units.
An anecdote comes to mind: I awakened one morning right as a thunderstorm came into the area and lightning struck a tree about 100 yards from me. Even though my portable fan was entirely unplugged, its motor coils provided effectively little "antennas" for the EM induction and I was startled at the sparks which emerged. (Nevertheless, it is still worth unplugging everything you can when you know that a lightning storm is in the area. Just realize that you may not be able to stop the damage of a close hit.)
As far as volts/amps displays, I recommend going for the most cost-effective solution and simply buy a $20 "Kill-a-watt" and similar devices and use it to determine what each device/appliance draws in a typical hour or day of use. (Of course, once you know the general numbers, you might want to leave it on the AC circuit so that you can monitor your long term KWH per month, etc. Same with a dehumidifier unit.)
Yes, finding the best value on circuit protection devices requires some research of professional/industrial reviews. (Personally, I don't put my trust in the average mainstream consumer-retail product. I've seen too many over-priced and nearly worthless units which failed the most basic laboratory testing regimens.)
It is definitely worth finding out if your RV park hookup is "noisy" (full of spikes and interference) and especially low-voltage conditions. I do recommend a protection device with an audible alarm for blackouts and brownouts (but both under user control.)
But that's just me. Everybody has to draw their own lines in the sand as to risk-reward ratios.
