Progressive EMS repair

[Janss]

I have the Progressive EMS PT30C. Have had it for several years. The pigtail plug is damaged...one blade looks discolored/burnt and slight melting at the base of two blades.

A few years ago, I sent it in to Progressive with similar problem and they replaced the pigtail for free. But I think I read that the company was bought (?) and now on their website looks like the lifetime warranty doesn't cover this anymore.

Has anyone had this issue? Is it worth it to pay them to replace the pigtail or should I just buy a new unit? It's after hours now, but I did call to Progressive and left a message. Just thought someone on here might be able to answer.

[Janss]

Thanks for your response!

[SoundGuy]

Janss wrote:
SoundGuy...Interesting post about the Surge Guard brand. I was debating about that one, but seems that most on this forum think that Progressive's is better made. I do notice that Progressive shuts off power at low voltage below 104, but Surge Guard goes down to 102. Also Progressive unit states to always use it in the upright position. This may make it impossible to use with an extension cord like you mention. I have had occasional problems with slightly recessed receptacles at campground posts.

Camping World has Surge Guard on sale right now and told me that they sell a $40 (or so) one time replacement warranty (presumably for the life of the unit). That sounded pretty good to me.

My first unit was a (now discontinued) early version portable TRC 34730 which didn't even have a display panel as did later models. I mounted it under the sofa and basically forgot about it as it just sat there and did what it was supposed to do. I only later sold it to a friend (who still uses it), replacing it with my current Progressive EMS-HW30C because I wanted to be able to see the display monitor to tell me what the unit was doing. Whether the Progressive units are "better built" may be nothing more than crowd mentality, not anything that's based on actual knowledge of how these units are manufactured. Certainly the incentive for many to buy a Progressive unit was their "lifetime warranty", with owners who did have an issue with their EMS saying that Progressive did step up to the plate by honouring that warranty promise. However, more recent reports seem to indicate that the company is now not being so lenient with warranty claims, modifying their "limited lifetime warranty" to now include a number of restrictions that weren't part of the previous "lifetime warranty". I have no idea what Progressive's warning about properly orienting their EMS is supposed to mean but TRC certainly doesn't mention anything about this. As far as low voltage threshold is concerned I suspect what's "best" is as much a matter of conjecture than anything else ... clearly TRC engineering chose 102 vac for a reason and are satisfied it meets the necessary criteria. Some might also argue whether TRC's 8 - 10 second trip delay (which Progressive doesn't offer) is a good idea but TRC engineering must have determined there was more advantage to including it than not. If CW is offering an extended warranty on the TRC for $40 that would seem to level the playing field, even tip it in favour of a TRC considering it's additional features and lower price point.

[Janss]

SoundGuy...Interesting post about the Surge Guard brand. I was debating about that one, but seems that most on this forum think that Progressive's is better made. I do notice that Progressive shuts off power at low voltage below 104, but Surge Guard goes down to 102. Also Progressive unit states to always use it in the upright position. This may make it impossible to use with an extension cord like you mention. I have had occasional problems with slightly recessed receptacles at campground posts.

Camping World has Surge Guard on sale right now and told me that they sell a $40 (or so) one time replacement warranty (presumably for the life of the unit). That sounded pretty good to me.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

May have been tighter? but did you reduce the surface contact area of the two surfaces?

Proof comes from reduced temperature. And that was an obvious thing to check and verify.



More and more I get the impression that thoroughly covered remarks, repeated in long long threads about wise tips to reduce problems, get buried on this forum or get ignored. Either way it makes attempts to help rather discouraging...

I'm referring to the ABSOLUTE NECESSITY of taking a few minutes, removing the breaker panel in ANY AND EVERY rig and inspecting and tightening all connections. Burned out umbilical reports keep popping up from experienced forum users who seem to believe they pioneered the discovery and the fix.

[CA_Traveler]

Interesting information on the new TRC portable product for both 30A and 50A.

The OP may have caused his problem as he suggested since his house CB was tripping.

And yes you cannot change the female pedestal plug but you can certainly be aware of it's visual state and check the temperature. Hence awareness can potentially prevent damage by taking appropriate action like reducing loads, moving, cleaning the male prongs and applying conducting grease to the male prongs.

[SoundGuy]

CA Traveler wrote:
Or it might be a marginal female plug.

SoundGuy wrote:
The OP is talking about the male input plug, not the female output receptacle which on an EMS-PT30C is a chassis mount, not a cable mount.

CA Traveler wrote:
And I was referring to the pedestal female plug which could be part of the problem.

As Mr Wizard correctly noted - Yes but that's something, he can not change, only report , it it will be loose at many places.

I now have a hard wire Progressive EMS but if I were still using a portable version this is why I wouldn't hang it off the power post as intended by the manufacturer but instead run an extension cable to the post and locate the EMS either outside the camper, say under the slide where it's protected from the elements, or inside the camper, as I did with my first TRC portable EMS. That way, if any plug overheating were to occur because of worn / burnt contacts at the power post it's most likely any damage would be restricted to the extension cable's male plug which can easily be replaced.

[Learjet]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:


Two Vice-Grips. Grabbed the prong base with the needle nose, and SLIGHTLY tweaked the conductors with the standard pair. By slight, I mean some folks may not have the "touch". The "fix" is a twist and not a spread of the prongs.

May have been tighter? but did you reduce the surface contact area of the two surfaces?

[SoundGuy]

Janss wrote:
Anyway, I suppose this could have caused the EMS plug to get damaged over time.

I'll look into changing just the plug on the EMS.....or I'll decide to buy a new unit.

If you're going to replace your damaged Progressive EMS-PT30C with a new one you might want to instead consider the TRC 34830, for several reasons.

First, although Progressive comes with a "limited lifetime warranty" it appears that since having been sold to a new owner earlier this year the company is now much more restrictive in honouring any warranty claims and makes it clear that any connectors damaged by heat won't be covered. The TRC warranty is one year but if it's not so restrictive perhaps it's not worth paying more for a equivalent model Progressive just to get that questionable "lifetime" warranty.

Second, the TRC 34830 offers a new (patent pending) "thermal protection" feature which is designed to detect and prevent plug & receptacle overheating situations such as that experienced by the OP. Having read a number of reports of surge protector / EMS plug overheating this certainly would IMO be an advantage, especially considering that Progressive is now making it clear they won't cover any damage caused by overheating.

Third, the TRC 34830 has a built in 8 - 10" trip delay before it shuts off power, presumably to prevent nuisance trips such as when incoming voltage may be hovering right around the low voltage threshold of 102 vac or when brief power bumps may occur. Since I own a Progressive unit I know that it trips immediately and have on several occasions experienced this annoying situation. Although some pundits may claim any disconnect should occur immediately for maximum protection obviously TRC feels otherwise and considers this 8 - 10" trip delay to be a reasonable solution to this problem.

Your choice, but even as a current Progressive owner I now wouldn't automatically just be buying another before carefully considering the alternate product from TRC. 🙂

[Janss]

This didn't just happen with one incident. I think it's been getting damaged over time. But don't recall any loose outlets. At home before we left for our summer travels, we did have sustained high amp use from running the basement A/C alot. Our 30amp breaker at the house tripped a few times. Well, later when we were on the road, our 30amp plug melted and the cord was hot all the way to and including the electric box in the storage bay. Problem was there were a couple loose screws that hold the 30amp cord in the electric box in the storage bay. Didn't have the EMS plugged in that time. But the loose screw problem must have been happening over time and I just didn't notice the heat that was causing until it was too late.

Anyway, I suppose this could have caused the EMS plug to get damaged over time.

I'll look into changing just the plug on the EMS.....or I'll decide to buy a new unit.

Thanks for all your comments. Much appreciated.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Ajo Aridzona September 1988

Looser-n-a-goose receptacle and it was 108F. Temper flared.

Two Vice-Grips. Grabbed the prong base with the needle nose, and SLIGHTLY tweaked the conductors with the standard pair. By slight, I mean some folks may not have the "touch". The "fix" is a twist and not a spread of the prongs.

I shut off the rig master breaker. Then pushed and pulled the genetically modified plug into the receptacle several times to do the best I could cleaning purple and black contacts. This was a huge park and the only trees were tall shrubs and the office was a 200 meter walk. The breakers were under lock and key.

If what I did had "ruined" fully annealed rotten brass contacts inside the receptacle - I just saved the next guy the hassle of a plug. The modified plug went in and out of my home receptacle a bit stiff a few hundred times, but when I changed it to the RV Park post, I got complimented from a camper about how nice the hookup was.

Verbal comments to management are like screaming at the wind. Write down a polite comment to park management.

I do exactly the same thing to 15-amp receptacles - only now, I'll wet the prongs with DeOxit D100 for a tight but nasty receptacle. I use home made CHEAP PRICE extensions and save the actual cord plug.

[time2roll]

Progressive does have a nice replacement TT-30P on the website.
If you want the moulded plug you pretty much need to sent it in.
Either way is worth it. Call and see what they suggest.
Unless the plug was truly defective I would not count on any warranty.

[MrWizard]

Yes but that's something, he can not change, only report , it it will be loose at many places

[CA_Traveler]

SoundGuy wrote:

CA Traveler wrote:
Or it might be a marginal female plug.

The OP is talking about the male input plug, not the female output receptacle which on an EMS-PT30C is a chassis mount, not a cable mount.

And I was referring to the pedestal female plug which could be part of the problem.

[Janss]

Yes, I'm referring to the male plug that plugs into the campground electric post.

So can I just cut off the plug (not the whole pigtail) and replace it just like on a 30 amp shore power cord? (Not that I would do it myself....)

Amazingly, someone at Progressive after hours tech support already called me back! Doubtful that this would be covered by their current lifetime warranty. Also they no longer do repairs not covered by the lifetime warranty.