Advise on Surge Protectors?

[precioustime]

I have a 2016 Fleetwood Storm 28MS that uses 30 amp shore power. I have never had a surge protector on my other coaches and never had any problems. What is the minimum surge protector I should have? Any particular brand? Will the lowest price surge protector do the job?

[cmarq]

I put in the 30 Amp PI with the remote display Its great shows voltage amps and hertz as well as code if a error occurs. First time I plugged in showed me a had a bad ground in my home outlet.

[rvten]

If your MH is 30 Amp power. That is what you go with.
I prefer PI. Had Surge Guard.but went back to PI.

[Dick_B]

For previous posts on this subject try searching this Forum for `surge protector'. We hard wired ours in place to avoid the portable one getting `lost'.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

"SURGE PROTECTOR" is a most confusing buzz-word. Electrical "protection" ranges from voltage monitoring and automatic cutoff if high or low limits are reached - to sophisticated VOLTAGE CORRECTION DEVICES that tame high voltage, low voltage or both, moderating voltage to a safer more reasonable span perhaps 110 - 130 volts.

Some "surge protectors" absorb sharp jolts of power that last only slight fractions of one second. Such protectors are found in strips with a plug in wire and four to seven outlets. These power-strips originated the name "Surge Protector". This is confusing since a flash of voltage that happens so fast a person cannot see it using a light bulb at least to me, is quite different than a "surge" like an ocean "surge" or "surge" of a crowd.

This gets more complicated. Trying to decide which type of protection device is most suitable for your likes and needs.

A voltage cutout protector, disconnects your rig from the pedestal if it decides the power can be damaging or incorrectly connected to the park's hookup socket. The downside of such a device is many facilities have grossly incorrect voltages, which can leave a person disconnected overnight, draining batteries if the rig's heater is being used hard.

A voltage correction device attempts to change damaging levels of voltage to that within an acceptable voltage band.

But a voltage correction device may or may not contain additional electronic components that protect against micro-second flashes of high voltage that eventually tire your rig's appliances electronic circuits.

So a buyer needs to -learn- little, about what kind of protection they need for their rig. A voltage safety cutout may or may not do a danged thing for damaging electrical "jolts" which called by their correct name are referred to as "voltage transient spikes".

I would keep this advice in mind as further comments arrive that stresses the "importance of" one type of device over another. I have yet to see an RV'ing product that "Does It All". Pay particular attention to comments that include nothing but glowing endorsements, yet ignore shortcomings of their recommended device.

[horizon36]

Go with Progressive Industries.

[Paul_Clancy]

PI ems 50 external is what I bought. I called and email Pi with questions I had and they were great to deal with. Quality product and a great warranty.

[SoundGuy]

Steer clear of the lowest price surge protectors as they won't offer the addtional features of the higher priced units, most particularly protection from excessively low campground voltage which is not uncommon at all. The two leading brands are TRC (Technology Research) and Progressive Industries ... I've owned both brands but many if not most on the forums would give the nod to the Progressive units because they carry a lifetime warranty. Their EMS units are available as both portable or hard wire ... I chose the hard wire but many prefer the portable because it's so easy to use - just plug it into the campsite power post and plug the trailer's main service cable into it. Since your trailer is wired with 30 amp main service the Progressive portable unit EMS-PT30C would be an excellent choice. Some do nevertheless choose the 50 amp version which will also work just fine with 30 amp service as it can later be used if they upgrade to another rig that's wired with 50 amp service. Personally I'd buy the 30 amp model for your current trailer as used Progressive EMS units priced correctly are easy to sell, allowing you to then buy a new 50 amp version when you upgrade to a different rig that requires it.