Surge protectors

[catworker]

With all due respect D-mo. I guess it's like life insurance. Some folks purchase it some don't. I've never experienced or witnessed anyone have a problem where a surge guard is needed. I have had camping friends that have and I've heard the horror stories. One in particular, a campground hostess told me of a lighting strike at New Salem State Park, Illinois where a camper and tow vehicle caught fire via the converter. I've been told if the voltage dips low or goes high it can effect the air conditioner unit. I'm not an electrician I don't know what goes on inside the circuitry. I purchase expensive safety devises for fear of the unknown and to protect my investment. My wife and I travel, I would hate to be five states from home and something like a light strike or campground power surge cripple my camper.

[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by catworker

With all due respect D-mo. I guess it's like life insurance. Some folks purchase it some don't. I've never experienced or witnessed anyone have a problem where a surge guard is needed. I have had camping friends that have and I've heard the horror stories. One in particular, a campground hostess told me of a lighting strike at New Salem State Park, Illinois where a camper and tow vehicle caught fire via the converter. I've been told if the voltage dips low or goes high it can effect the air conditioner unit. I'm not an electrician I don't know what goes on inside the circuitry. I purchase expensive safety devises for fear of the unknown and to protect my investment. My wife and I travel, I would hate to be five states from home and something like a light strike or campground power surge cripple my camper.

X2
Low voltage puts alot of strain on ac units, and undue strain on others appliances.
High voltage- well that can just burn crap up.

To everybody....Its your camper, do what you see fit mine is getting the progressive EMS!

MillerTime- Future Sabre Handler!!

[Big Paul]

I use a surge suppressor because I don't want to let the smoke out of my electrical and electronis equipment been an Electrician for 40+ years and have saw lots of electrical and electronics equipment that the smoke has been let out of. Some caused small fires but all the equipment was damaged and most had to be replaced. Not just insurance I don't like to work on something that could have been prevented.

[dfskinner]

Originally Posted by rfloyd

I use this one from PPL for about 75 dollars, I had my inverter fried with spikes. With this I have experienced several spikes but no damage. RV Surge Protector - PPL Motor Homes

I wouldn't plug in without one..... in our first trailer we learned our lesson

[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by Big Paul

I use a surge suppressor because I don't want to let the smoke out of my electrical and electronis equipment been an Electrician for 40+ years and have saw lots of electrical and electronics equipment that the smoke has been let out of. Some caused small fires but all the equipment was damaged and most had to be replaced. Not just insurance I don't like to work on something that could have been prevented.

I love that - "let the smoke out"!!
I gotta remember that one!

MillerTime- Future Sabre Handler!!

[D-mo]

hmm .. thanks for the answers ... may start looking around for one in the future .. as we do travel with this quite a bit .. and a fried converter 20 hrs from home would definitely ruin a vacation ..

d-mo

[Pooneil]

Originally Posted by D-mo

ok .. so .. if your not using your converter at its full potential .. like using a ton of 12 volt devices at one time ... why would we be concerned about a momentary drops/dips or surges for that matter.

d-mo

Low AC voltage can over-amperage damage the Coolcat. It is a problem that cannot always be detected when setting up because low voltage typically occurs in mid afternoon, when AC demand is the highest. Both at the campground and for the regional distribution system in general. If the AC cycles on while one is away from the camper on hot days, and I do let mine come on, low voltage damage is a potential problem.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by rawlus

Why are they so expensive? There is nothing in my camper that is worth $300, I'm struggling with now to justify such an investment.

Why is a big screen tv above to be surge protected by a device that's 1/4 the cost but for camping I need something so expensive? Why can I get a heavy duty surge protector for my computer, with battery backup, for 1/2 the cost but for a very cheap Chinese-made rv stereo I need the most expensive surge protector out there?

Does anyone know the answer?

There is nothing in your camper worth $300.00 ?

Roof top a/c $800.00 x2 in some cases
12v power converter $200.00 and up
Televisions x ? 200.00 - $400.00
Entertainment center $200.00
Microwave $100.00 - $200.00
Furnace
Water heater
Refrigerator
Dvd player

One thing about an electrical surge is it not very picking on blowing up one particular ITEM it may take EVERYTHING out the is electrical.


Up pay for what you get in most cases.



TURBS

Sabre owners united!

[rawlus]

Turbo, this is the aframe popup sub-forum, most of us don't have the luxe electronics the larger units have. May still look into a voltage regulator but I don't have television, DVD and all those things. The only appliances that actually require AC voltage are microwave and the coolcat heat pump. Agree the coolcat would be expensive to repair but a microwave can be had under $100 if I absolutely required it.

Everything else is DC or propane.

[Witch Doctor]

Imo and just mine. The best reason is to protect from low voltage or high voltage, both will damage your A/C or convertor. Compressors have a plus 10% or Minus 10% in voltage requirement. Most CG where built when they used alum. wire. Terrible stuff for voltage. During peak times in the afternoon your voltage could drop past the 10% safety built in. If your ac is on it will start to burn your windings in the compressor, if over the 10% it could just burn them up. This can even happen just because the lug is not tight to the breaker itself holding the wire. Voltage will drop when more people go on line and start using there ac's. Brown outs or low voltage happen all over the electrical grid in the summer. That's why they shut off at 108 volts and 132 volts. Spikes are different, that can happen from a transformer blowing they just protect from a spike or surge in high voltage, that could burn anything up even in a nano sec. It's like buying insurance, you hope you never need it but when you do your protected.

[Pooneil]

One of the reasons I don't have one is that is is just another piece of equipment to carry around, set up and tear down. I bought an A Frame so that I could set or strike camp faster than the tenters I normally camp with. We are an on-the-go group. For the same reason, I often use my onboard water with the pump rather than connect a hose and plan my meals to use the least amount of time and utensils. A whole system surge protector just doesn't fit my camping style.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by Pooneil

One of the reasons I don't have one is that is is just another piece of equipment to carry around, set up and tear down. I bought an A Frame so that I could set or strike camp faster than the tenters I normally camp with. We are an on-the-go group. For the same reason, I often use my onboard water with the pump rather than connect a hose and plan my meals to use the least amount of time and utensils. A whole system surge protector just doesn't fit my camping style.

You'd only need it as another "piece" of equipment to carry around if you bought a portable.
With a hardwired unit once it's installed it'll get forgotten about.


TURBS

Sabre owners united!

[Witch Doctor]

If you have the room, I would agree with Turbo, other then that it takes no longer to plug in the portable to the pedestal then your power cord. Hard wired in is trouble free from lets say less then honest people. Still I have never heard of one being stolen yet, but I guess it could happen just like anything else. The main point is the protection to your unit, and the safety issue of a fire.

[catworker]

Surge protection is only the tip of the iceberg. Listening to camper owners every camping trip I've noticed a great deal of them overload the circuits and wiring in their unit every trip. Example: how many of you, while hooked up to a 30 amp breaker have the air conditioner or electric heater, electric water heater, and the microwave running at the same time? Each of those items use 12 amps each, all three together 36 amps. Remember your hooked up to a 30 amps. Just saying!

[bitNine]

Many forget that the converter in their RV is a piece of electronic equipment which is susceptible to damage from fluctuating voltages.

[Terier]

Lots of RVers without one don't run into problems...but I'm usually not that lucky. At the end of the day it's your choice.

[rawlus]

It's very interesting that this device which seems critically necessary or your risk complete and catastrophic failure is 1) produced by only a very few manufacturers and 2) does not come with most units sold as standard equipment.

I'm not questioning their ability to control power safety, I'm wondering why, if they are so necessary, are they so little used and never provided as part of OEM equipment.

We see purchase threads in here where everyone is encouraging new buyers to negotiate for added extended warranties, power tongue lifts, free canopies, better batteries, and any number of other add-ons but I've never seen one of these threads suggest to negotiate a free power manager/surge protector as part of the sales agreement.

The people who spend the $200-500 to purchase one are naturally very passionate about their benefits as an insurance device, you have to be with that sort of financial investment. People that don't have one, like me, still wonder why this isn't already included if it's as essential as brakes, wheels and tires. Or available at a far far far more reasonable expense than an average of $300.