Which Hard Wired 50A Surge Protector

[DKRITTER]

We have a fairly new CC 5th Wheel and i am going to get a Hardwired Surge Protector shortly and have narrowed it down to 2 different ones and would like some insight from folks who are smarter than me. Progressive has a good following here and Technology Research also. I have owned the TR 50A portable style for a few years and have really liked it, so I am leaning to TR. Here are a couple of links to the 2 different models I'm looking at.


Progressive Industries RV Surge and Electrical Protection industry leader


Surge Guard 50A Hardwire RV Power Protection | Technology Research, LLC


Appreciate the insight

P.S. The 5w doesn't have an onboard generator if that makes a difference.

[MC9]

I put the progressive unit on my CC. My friend has a surge guard. His has a 2.5 min delay before it did anything, no thanks.

[doc73]

The PI also has a delay. I just think it can be turned off on the hard wired version.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

[BamaBob]

X2 The Progressive is what a lot of folks on the Forums own. We love ours!

[Ramblin Recks]

Originally Posted by BamaBob

X2 The Progressive is what a lot of folks on the Forums own. We love ours!

X3
I hardwired the PI as well. It works well, I mounted it on rubber grommets so I do not hear the "hum" that some speak of.
It is another tool I use to help protect our investment.

[dustman_stx]

The Progressive Industries is made in the US, is less expensive and has significantly more reviews(most 5 star) at most retailers. The best choice seems painfully obvious to me.

[pashooter]

The Progressive Industries unit also comes with a lifetime warranty...

[pashooter]

Originally Posted by Ramblin Recks

...I mounted it on rubber grommets so I do not hear the "hum" that some speak of.

As did I. It's very quiet.

[CharlieS3]

I had the surge guard portable 50A, which finally failed with a bad contactor. Until then, I had been happy with it. Then I found that it could not be easily repaired and was certainly not covered under warranty. I installed the PI 50A hardwired unit. It works great, is designed to be repairable, and has a lifetime warranty. The only problem I've had is that it shut me down one day, saying I had high voltage. My Fluke RMS meter showed 129 volts at the pedestal while the unit said 136. According to PI, their system measures peak RMS, which makes no sense. However, I simply hit the switch on the remote, which bypassed their shutdown and reconnected the power.

Due to the short term warranty (relative to lifetime), the (lack of) factory support, and the non-repairability of the Surge Guard, plus the fact that these things aren't cheap, I would not purchase the Surge Guard again. For the money, the PI unit is a much better deal, with better support, repairabilty, bypass capability, and warranty.

A lot of people hard wire these using plugs rather than direct hardwire. This allows you to fully bypass a bad contactor and is a good idea. Its easier to wire if you use a 6 gauge flexible cable, the same as your shore line type of cable. These use stranded wire rather than solid wire and the flexibility makes the install much easier. You could even buy a short 50 AMP cable with ends and cut it to give you the bypass capability.