Surge protectors... Do you use them?

[1handyhubby]

I don't do a lot of full hook up camping but when I have I never thought about using a surge protector. The subject came up around the campfire this past weekend and out of 8 couples nobody was using one. How about you guys?

[pianotuna]

I'm heating electrically at the moment. If I had the top of the line PI unit it would be cutting the power. Instead the autoformer is keeping the voltage up and I get to be nice and warm.

The higher voltage also means the electric heaters produce watts closer to their rated output.

[westom]

deltabravo wrote:
I honestly hate mine when running on generator power. It cuts off the power when my A/C tries to start.

Protector reports a generator is undersized or is less expensive resulting in terrible voltage regulation. Hate not the protector. Hate a defective (insufficient) generator.

[bighatnohorse]

Beau Bo wrote:
Is there anything you can do to prevent theft of these? They seem that they could be a attractive target...

Yes. Many of them have a metal ring or something to facilitate a lock. I saw many surge protectors while in RV parks in Mexico. Nobody used a lock. Interesting thing was, Mexican voltage was all over the place - usually 130+ volts in the morning and sub 110v in the afternoon. A surge protector is an absolute must in south of the border.

[deltabravo]

Beau Bo wrote:
Is there anything you can do to prevent theft of these? They seem that they could be a attractive target...

Lock it to the power pedestal. Or install a hard wired version inside the camper, which is what I did.

I honestly hate mine when running on generator power. It cuts off the power when my A/C tries to start. I have to enable my inverter, which will pick up the load when the surge protector drops gen power on A/C start up. When the surge protector allows power to pass again, then the inverter's transfer switch switches to gen power and everything runs on gen.

[Beau_Bo]

Is there anything you can do to prevent theft of these? They seem that they could be a attractive target...

[d3500ram]

i have and use a basic SP when plugged into home shore power but don't use it when using the Honda 3000 genny in the field.

[westom]

Eric&Lisa wrote:
HOWEVER, I do have a polarity checker that I always plug in first before connecting the camper.

Reverse polarity does not damage any hardware. Polarity is a human safety feature. Reverse polarity means reduced human safety.

[Strabo]

Worry more about brown outs, less power is more the norm.

[Eric_Lisa]

I plug straight in to the box. HOWEVER, I do have a polarity checker that I always plug in first before connecting the camper. I also have a power gauge (old style with the needle) that is always plugged in. It is readily visible and I do glance at it occasionally when camping. I have far more power/voltage variation when I am running on the generator than when I am plugged in to shore power.

-Eric

[1handyhubby]

Well y'all convinced me I've been very lucky. Just ordered a Progressive Industries PT30C EMS. Thanks

[westom]

Bedlam wrote:
They will burn up first to protect downstream circuits. Once they have absorbed that energy, they typically will no longer pass power whether good or bad.

You have confused something called a 'surge protector' with something completely different called a 'surge protector'. A device so necessary for RVs respond to a low voltage. You have described something completely different that responds to high voltages (typically thousand volts for microseconds).

Protectors that burn up on either surge are ineffective - best considered a scam. Both type of protectors should not 'burn up' on an anomaly they are designed to protect from. Surge protectors that do 'burn up' are often grossly undersized to increase profits. By failing catastrophically, those ineffective protectors get naive consumers to recommend it and buy more.

Relevant here is a type of protector offered by Progressive and other manufacturers. That protector is irrelevant for protection typically required in homes.

[edatlanta]

My PT50C shut me down this morning on my home base site which is in a residential area for high voltage. You never know when or where you will get hit by something nasty.

[bob213]

jimh425 wrote:
bob213, interesting that you got shut down. Do you know if anyone that didn't get shut down had damage or not?

It seems that most people don't know they are experiencing a low voltage situation. From what I have been told the extra amps drawn to keep your A/C running creates heat which causes a cumulative effect on the unit. It's burn out over an extended period of time unlike an over power situation that causes immediate damage.

[Tizi]

Absolutely, we use one from progressive dynamics.