Safety Alert Progressive EMS-PT50X

[Comanchecreek]

ALERT!!!!! Bought a new Progressive Industries EMS-PT50X. Used it once and it rained while in use. Noticed the screen for the read out was fogged up. Brought it home and opened the case, had more than a cup of water inside, submerging all of the circuit boards in water. Very dangerous situation. Operated properly, and haven't used it, but will have to dry it out before I use it again. Supposed to be weather resistant and for outdoor use. (Says it on the back). Very surprised. We'll see what response I get from Progressive, but wanted to warn all of you out there that this happens, brand new out of the box.

[dbledan]

Originally Posted by Comanchecreek

ALERT!!!!! Bought a new Progressive Industries EMS-PT50X. Used it once and it rained while in use. Noticed the screen for the read out was fogged up. Brought it home and opened the case, had more than a cup of water inside, submerging all of the circuit boards in water. Very dangerous situation. Operated properly, and haven't used it, but will have to dry it out before I use it again. Supposed to be weather resistant and for outdoor use. (Says it on the back). Very surprised. We'll see what response I get from Progressive, but wanted to warn all of you out there that this happens, brand new out of the box.

Fyi mine is an older model and is weather resistant in the vertical position only not horizontal. Not sure about the new ones.

I bought a plastic tool box to put it in when using an extension cord because some power posts are too low. I cut holes in the toolbox for the cords in and out. Before I had the tool box I would hang it under my slide.

[W5CI]

Same thing happened to me, PI replaced it Free of charge with a Copy of my sales receipt that I had to get from Tweety's. the new one has the rain cover on it

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by W5CI

Same thing happened to me, PI replaced it Free of charge with a Copy of my sales receipt that I had to get from Tweety's. the new one has the rain cover on it

I installed my SSP-30XL inside my power bay out of the weather. The outlet goes to the shore power cord. Also I will not forget it at the pedestal.

[W5CI]

Originally Posted by rk06382

I installed my SSP-30XL inside my power bay out of the weather. The outlet goes to the shore power cord. Also I will not forget it at the pedestal.
Attachment 183056

That is great but if you were going to that much trouble why didn't you install the hard Wired Unit, it would have been much easier and a little cheaper? just asking

[nomad297]

This is the main reason I go with SurgeGuard instead of PI.

Also, I see many more problems with the PI units talked about on RV forums than I do the SurgeGuard units. This may be due to more people owning PI than SurgeGuard, so I may be misguided with my thoughts on this.

People will tout the lifetime warranty of the PI EMS units and use this as the reason why you should use PI instead of SurgeGuard. I would rather have a unit that (seemingly to me) doesn’t need to be returned (if ever) as often as the PI units seem to.

And, if I ever did have a problem with a SurgeGuard EMS, it is also covered by a lifetime warranty.

https://rvpower.southwire.com/wp-con...ion-DSG-v2.pdf

Bruce

[Comanchecreek]

Originally Posted by dbledan

Fyi mine is an older model and is weather resistant in the vertical position only not horizontal. Not sure about the new ones.

I bought a plastic tool box to put it in when using an extension cord because some power posts are too low. I cut holes in the toolbox for the cords in and out. Before I had the tool box I would hang it under my slide.

It was in the vertical position plugged directly into the pedestal, but outside the lid, (too big to be under the cover). and then the trailer cord plugged into the unit. After all the discussions on this forum I wanted it mounted ahead of the power cord as most people would mount it. I then used a cable lock through the ring to lock it to the pedestal. The unit diagnosed the pedestal OK, and functioned properly. I didn't notice an issue till I went to unhook and noticed the readout window was fogged up. Brought it home and went to check why the readout window was fogged and heard the sloshing inside. Opened it up and poured the water out and left it to dry out. We had a couple of pretty good showers up there, but nothing compared to what many of you get in the east and south in Texas. Very concerned about how many people are running around with this high voltage device filled with water. My recommendation to all that read this is check your unit. Could be an ugly mess if it's full of water, and how well is it going to work with all of the innards soaking wet.

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by W5CI

That is great but if you were going to that much trouble why didn't you install the hard Wired Unit, it would have been much easier and a little cheaper? just asking

I have a SSP-30XL RV Smart Surge Protector (Amazon: $97.67). My Samlex EVO-2212 Inverter/Charger has an Electrical Management System for low & high voltage like a UPS. The EVO-2212 only needed a 30 amp circuit breaker protection from shore power.

The portable SSP-30XL RV Smart Surge Protector features I wanted:

• Open Ground, Open Neutral & Reverse Polarity Detection

• Miswired Pedestal Indication

• Surge Failure Indicator

• UL Certified and Canadian Approved

• Lifetime Warranty

Also it is a portable power tester that I can test my campground pedestal with.

[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by nomad297

This is the main reason I go with SurgeGuard instead of PI.

Also, I see many more problems with the PI units talked about on RV forums than I do the SurgeGuard units. This may be due to more people owning PI than SurgeGuard, so I may be misguided with my thoughts on this.

People will tout the lifetime warranty of the PI EMS units and use this as the reason why you should use PI instead of SurgeGuard. I would rather have a unit that (seemingly to me) doesn’t need to be returned (if ever) as often as the PI units seem to.

And, if I ever did have a problem with a SurgeGuard EMS, it is also covered by a lifetime warranty.

https://rvpower.southwire.com/wp-con...ion-DSG-v2.pdf

Bruce

I've had the opposite. First EMS I ever bought was a SurgeGuard (since it was what was on the shelf at Camping World, and I happened to be in the store). Got about 2 seasons out of it before it quit working. Didn't have the original receipt by that time, so I couldn't warranty it.

The portable PI I bought to replace it worked flawlessly, and with the new trailer, I went with a hardwired PI instead. So far, has worked flawlessly.

[hbillsmith]

I put a plastic garbage bag over the post and the PI50 hangs off the post but in the bag.

[jimmie2gunns]

Inst year I had mine it was hanging on the pedestal during a rain storm. Unhooked it a day later and put it in the basement of my 5er. Drove 5 hours and took it out to hook up at another campground. The digital readout was fogged up and the unit was giving crazy read outs, high voltage, low voltage, high voltage again. Campground electrician checked the pedestal with a meter. All his readings were good. Sent the unit back to Progressive and they sent me a new unit. That was 3 years ago. Since then, I always cover the EMS with a bucket or a bag. I’ve had no further issues.

[bshort]

Originally Posted by hbillsmith

I put a plastic garbage bag over the post and the PI50 hangs off the post but in the bag.

If it's going to rain a lot, grocery bag over the unit and a garbage bag over the entire pedestal.

[mrmichael]

After having rain water get inside mine twice( PI very good about fixing or replacing) I keep an inverted plastic flower pot over mine and no troubles over the last 3 years [emoji106]

[Igave]

I haven’t covered mine to this point, but I’m going to from now on after reading the comments. Thanks for sharing.

[Comanchecreek]

Originally Posted by jimmie2gunns

Inst year I had mine it was hanging on the pedestal during a rain storm. Unhooked it a day later and put it in the basement of my 5er. Drove 5 hours and took it out to hook up at another campground. The digital readout was fogged up and the unit was giving crazy read outs, high voltage, low voltage, high voltage again. Campground electrician checked the pedestal with a meter. All his readings were good. Sent the unit back to Progressive and they sent me a new unit. That was 3 years ago. Since then, I always cover the EMS with a bucket or a bag. I’ve had no further issues.

This is exactly what happened with mine, and why I posted here. I thought it was working well, and had no idea they would fill up with water. I plan to make an extra effort to seal my replacement unit and will keep it covered. Had I known this was an issue I may have looked for a different unit, but I have this one and replacement is my only option. I love the way it works on the pedestal, and seems to be very well built except for this issue. These units ARE NOT WATER RESISTANT. They put seals on them but they leak easily. Water resistance to me means they should be able to be out in the rain without damage. I know they can't be submerged, but come on. They are huge and cannot be put under the pedestal cover so why aren't they sealed better. Prompt customer service from the company so that is also a positive.

[tc cruiser]

Originally Posted by hbillsmith

I put a plastic garbage bag over the post and the PI50 hangs off the post but in the bag.

Easiest fix ever. Will cover from now on for sure.

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by Comanchecreek

This is exactly what happened with mine, and why I posted here. I thought it was working well, and had no idea they would fill up with water. I plan to make an extra effort to seal my replacement unit and will keep it covered. Had I known this was an issue I may have looked for a different unit, but I have this one and replacement is my only option. I love the way it works on the pedestal, and seems to be very well built except for this issue. These units ARE NOT WATER RESISTANT. They put seals on them but they leak easily. Water resistance to me means they should be able to be out in the rain without damage. I know they can't be submerged, but come on. They are huge and cannot be put under the pedestal cover so why aren't they sealed better. Prompt customer service from the company so that is also a positive.

After all of these years of this being in production, surely PI knows this to be a common and potentially dangerous problem. It’s great that they will back up their warranty by replacing units that get ruined this way, but why don’t they just rectify this to save people from problems and to save themselves from replacing units at their expense?

Like I said before, this is really the only thing that keeps me from buying from them. If my SurgeGuard ever bites the dust, I would like to buy a PI EMS because of all of the positive feedback I have read in the RV forums about them — except for this issue. Hopefully they will resolve it.

For those who suggest I buy a hardwired version, that’s not an option for me because I don’t have anywhere in my camper to install one and I have read of several instances where they (and other brands) have caught fire due to nearby lightning strikes — I would rather have the pedestal burn to the ground than my RV.

Bruce

[rclogg]

We lost our first EMS unit to water, PI replaced it with a new style after a simple conversation. I wouldn't hook up my trailer to any power supply (not even home) with out one. The other unit spoken about in this thread has no low voltage lock out. For those of you who camp in crowded summer CG with everybody running their Air Conditioning. Our EMS shut down power twice during the July 4th week for low voltage. The TT next to us burned up his Air because he kept running it on low voltage. EMS paid for itself. One mans opinion!

[pburch]

Just my opinion, i believe hardwired units inside the coach pose a safety hazzard due to lightning getting into the interior, rather than hopefully being stopped at the post

[Flybob]

Originally Posted by pburch

Just my opinion, i believe hardwired units inside the coach pose a safety hazzard due to lightning getting into the interior, rather than hopefully being stopped at the post

If you have a near by lightning strike, it will not make a difference. Remember the lightning just traveled several miles to get to the ground a few more inches in the EMS will not make much difference.