Surge protector

[Joe P]

Please let me know if it is worth getting a surge protector. We are new to the rv lifestyle. Thanks in advance

 

[Bob K4TAX]

Actually, an EMS is best, but a surge protector is a worthwhile investment. I suggest a GOOGLE search for the best-recommended ones for your needs.

 

[DennisT]

Yes they are. Depending on your RV they may have one built in even.

However there are a few things before you get to the built in, if you have one like we do, and they are more expensive, as well as difficult, to replace if something happens.

When we did our walkthrough the individual pointed to our built in and said $1000 to replace, asked which we’d rather do if it took a hit.

We have this one on the pole for ours.
Power Watchdog PWD50EPO, Bluetooth Surge Protector with Auto Shutoff, 50 Amp, Portable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PMJ2K95/?tag=rvf01-20

Allows me to check power is good before plugging in the RV and a less expensive insurance policy just in case. Depending on the model of RV lots of electronics in them these days and easy for me to justify the additional protection for it all.

 

[Joe Hogan]

We also had a surge protection built in. We always added an additional surge protection at the pedestal when at a campground. Surge protectors act like a fuse, one and done. Take a hit with a portable surge protection device, quick trip to the camping supply house and continue your trip.

 

[Joe Hogan]

This is an interesting piece

Do Surge Protectors Wear Out?

Yes, all surge protectors eventually wear out and need to be replaced. Here’s everything you need to know about replacing your surge protectors.

energytoday.biz

 

[docj]

In reading through this thread I was struck by the fact that no one had bothered to explain to the OP the difference between a surge protector and an EMS device. Furthermore, in several of the posts the term surge protector was used when I'm pretty sure the writer really meant "EMS."

Let's start with the basics--a surge protector protect against voltage surges and that's all it can do. Voltage surges can be an issue but, in my experience of 12 years of full-timing, they don't protect against threats that are far more common. Such threats arise from poorly wired or mis-wired site pedestals. The symptoms of these include floating grounds or floating neutrals; reversed polarity, voltage on ground. Even "high voltage on one leg" can be caused by loose or poor connections.

EMS (energy management systems) protects against both voltage surges plus all of the above conditions. To my knowledge EMS systems are always surge protectors, but the reverse is not usually the case. EMS devices can be either plug-in or hard-wired. They usually cost significantly more than surge protectors which is why so many people buy surge protectors. Because they don't fully understand the differences they think they are getting more than they really are buying.

To give you a sense of what an EMS can do, a couple of year ago, at a site we own in a park in TX, my EMS kept showing that the voltage on one of the 50A legs was too high and the EMS was briefly cutting off the power because of that. I called the power company and they checked the connections in my pedestal and all the way back to the distribution transformer. Sure enough, when all the terminals had been tightened down, the problem went away. The power company technician commented that "only you RVers have equipment sensitive enough to notice stuff like this!"

I own a hardwired 50A EMS made by Progressive Industries. I prefer it to the Surgeguard because it displays "previous errors" which is important if you are trying to pin down an intermittent situation as I had in the example I provided. My Surgeguard kept cutting off the power because of the high voltage condition but it had no way of displaying why it was doing that. I actually removed the Surgeguard and replaced it with the Progressive because I thought the device had gone bad. But, in fact, it was the intermittent high voltage that was causing the problem.

Sorry for the long response, but electricity is a more complex topic than many realize and there is a lot of mis-information floating around out there.

 

[DennisT]

Thanks for adding that and it is a good reminder that we may need to add additional information for new users.

 

[Joe Hogan]

New item on the list for the new coach. Progressive Industries EMS-PT50X

 

[Rich W.]

The other thing a surge protector does is very quickly tell you if the pedestal is wired correctly before you plug in your coach - mine has lovely blue and green LEDs telling me instantly that it‘s safe to plug in, or red if it’s not. An inexpensive (~$30) 30 or 50 amp tester will also do this but having the tester built in to the surge protector is convenient.

Also even if your EMS provides some level of surge protection (I don’t think my Precision Circuits unit does) or you have other “built in“ surge protection, surge protectors are usually sacrificial and I’d rather have to replace a reasonably inexpensive external surge protector than have to repair or replace an internal one. And the better surge protectors (internal or external) are serviceable should they actually encounter a surge, which granted is a remote possibility, but a possibility none the less. So to me it seems a combination of both is best.

From what I’ve read, low voltage is a much more real possibility and more common problem. The Hughes Autoformer is one solution to the problem, but a fairly expensive one. Cheaper than replacing expensive electronics though. The Precision Circuits Power Control System in my coach has inverter assist, so this should not be an issue, although I should probably confirm it is actually communicating with the inverter.

 

[docj]

High and low voltage often go together even though may be difficult to understand. The 120V is derived from 240V and if the neutral is floating a bit low voltage on one side will be balanced by high voltage on the the other side. It's just that we're tuned to looking for low voltage and don't always look for the opposite.