Surge protector?

[plasticmaster]

I've been camping in a 30amp TT for 8 years and never heard of a surge protector for my camper. I'm getting ready to get a new TT that's 50 amps and dealer advised me to get a surge protector. What's he talking about and is it really necessary? I mainly camp at state parks that only have 30 amp available except for a couple of trips each year where 50 amp is available.

[Bumpyroad]

westom wrote:

downtheroad wrote:
If you get a "surge" protector, make sure it is one that also shuts down your incoming power if a low voltage conditions occurs.

Word 'surge' is a misnomer for a long list of anomalies. Even reverse polarity is assumed by many to be a surge.

List of anomalies that might be called a surge is long. Nothing protects from all. A protector so often needed when camping is completely different from one recommended for homes. And completely different for one that is located adjacent to appliances.

Reverse polarity is not a threat to any appliances. It is a threat to human life. Low voltage is completely irrelevant to electronics appliances and can be problematic for motorized appliances (ie air conditioner). Different anomalies create different problems.

Surges that occur in microseconds cannot be stopped. Surge that is only an overvoltage is averted by a protector that disconnects - that takes almost forever to disconnect - milliseconds. Campers, at minimum should have a protector that detects overvoltage, reverse polarity, low volt voltage, and missing safety ground. What a protector does can only be determined in specifications.

Different protectors protect from different anomalies - all called surges.

that is why I always try to recommend a multi-function surge protector, not the $90 special.
bumpy

[westom]

downtheroad wrote:
If you get a "surge" protector, make sure it is one that also shuts down your incoming power if a low voltage conditions occurs.

Word 'surge' is a misnomer for a long list of anomalies. Even reverse polarity is assumed by many to be a surge.

List of anomalies that might be called a surge is long. Nothing protects from all. A protector so often needed when camping is completely different from one recommended for homes. And completely different for one that is located adjacent to appliances.

Reverse polarity is not a threat to any appliances. It is a threat to human life. Low voltage is completely irrelevant to electronics appliances and can be problematic for motorized appliances (ie air conditioner). Different anomalies create different problems.

Surges that occur in microseconds cannot be stopped. Surge that is only an overvoltage is averted by a protector that disconnects - that takes almost forever to disconnect - milliseconds. Campers, at minimum should have a protector that detects overvoltage, reverse polarity, low volt voltage, and missing safety ground. What a protector does can only be determined in specifications.

Different protectors protect from different anomalies - all called surges.

[DutchmenSport]

For the OP:

If you don't want to get a hard wired protector, you can always use the in-line (portable) one and keep it inside the camper. I had a 30 foot cord from this junction box. I simply cut it, attached a new plug on a much shorter cord, and then plugged in the protector. I stuck the other end of the protector out the hole of the trailer. No one is the wiser it's there, I don't forget it or loose it or misplace it this way, and it's always hooked up.

The remainder of the 30 foot cord, I purchased the opposite end plug and simply use it for an extension cord, or use it to plug in outside the camper. This way, if the protector ever gets zapped, or I needed to replace it, it's a very easy switch. Just unplug and move on. When I sell the camper (someday), I'll simply unplug the protector and keep it, then plug back in the original wire. No extra wiring to deal with. You can do the same with the 50 amp version too if you don't want to hard wire the permanent version in your camper.

[krobbe]

Mine has caught a reverse polarity issue(Hot and Neutral swapped at the pedestal) and several low voltage events.
I recommend this Progressive Industries hardwired unit. With the remotely mounted display, you can see at a glance the voltage and current your rig is drawing. Money well spent when the rest of the campground gets hit/damaged with an electrical event.

[campigloo]

I got the Progressive that is mounted inside the trailer with the LED display. No one can tell from outside whether or not I have one. I never knew how many brow outs there are at campgrounds until it got one. It very well MAY have prevented some very expensive damage.

[Dennis_Smith]

Stayed in a campground in lake Havasu, plugged in the trailer and my surge protector said I had a reverse hot and ground. Went a n d told the campground. They came over to fix it and said it's been like that for over 10 years and I was the first to find it.

[downtheroad]

More often than not, it's not the surge that gets you, it's the low voltage (brown out) condition in the summer at campgrounds when EVERYONE is running their air conditioners.

If you get a "surge" protector, make sure it is one that also shuts down your incoming power if a low voltage conditions occurs.

[bowl2764]

Can't go wrong with this unit. 30a or 50a lifetime warranty and made in North Carolina..

http://www.progressiveindustries.net/#!ems-pt30c/c501

[cmarq]

Progressive is the best. it has a lifetime warranty and customer service is great. My Pace Arrow did not have one and after reading the horror stories, I put one in shortly after it showed I had a bad ground at my home plug in. My neighbor had a 5er less than a year lost every appliance due to a bad hook up at campground.

[gbopp]

pianotuna wrote:
And nothing you can afford would have protected your RV.

gbopp wrote:
I didn't need a surge protector, until lightning hit a tree a few feet from our RV. Then I needed one but, didn't have one.

Correct. I was just trying to make the point that you don't need something until you need it. Possibly it would have helped with a smaller surge.
A nearly direct lightning strike is just a reminder that Mother Nature is always in charge and makes the rules. 🙂

[Lynnmor]

If you have frequent low voltage a "surge" protector can only shut off the electric. An autoformer will keep the voltage higher. Some autoformers have some surge protection.

[pianotuna]

Plasticmaster,

50 amp has two 'legs'. The neutral wire, if it has a fault may allow a much higher voltage to go to one leg. That is why it is much more important to have a surge protector on 50 amp. Do yourself a favor and get the top of the line unit from Progressive Industries which comes with a lifetime guarantee.

[myredracer]

If you travel around much (as opposed to going to known CGs all the time), sooner or later you will run into power issues at a CG. Have had one for a couple of years and glad we did last fall when we encountered not only low voltage (106V before turning anything on) but an open neutral at the same time.

Don't leave home without one - very cheap insurance compared to the damage that can be caused without one.

[pianotuna]

And nothing you can afford would have protected your RV.

gbopp wrote:
I didn't need a surge protector, until lightning hit a tree a few feet from our RV. Then I needed one but, didn't have one.

[gbopp]

I didn't need a surge protector, until lightning hit a tree a few feet from our RV. Then I needed one but, didn't have one.