Surge or Electrical Management System

bes · 09-24-2015, 12:38 PM

Hey guys; Very new to the idea of plugging our coach in. We have dry camped with our TT and our FR3......that being said what is the difference/what do I need not to fry our systems by plugging into unknown current in the campground? I have no problem spending the money for the EMS if it is something we really need. It seems Progressive Industries is the favorite on the board? When I plug in at home (120v) will either of these units be useful--or even needed. THANKS Barry

Bocamo · 09-24-2015, 12:49 PM

The Progressive units will protect against surge at home and bad power when attached to shore power. I have found the Progressive EMS to be a very worthwhile investment and set up the hard wired unit with the remote display just for the simple peace of mind.

wingedone · 09-24-2015, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bocamo

The Progressive units will protect against surge at home and bad power when attached to shore power. I have found the Progressive EMS to be a very worthwhile investment and set up the hard wired unit with the remote display just for the simple peace of mind.

+1

I had no protection for 20 years of camping, but that was with trailers that had very little to protect. With so many expensive electronics now, I decided it was time for the best protection.

tenttotrailer · 09-25-2015, 06:35 PM

I have the Progressive 30 amp model and got it going into our sixth year of camping. I have high end surge protection for my home stereo so I don't know why I took so long to get one for the trailer as I believe in the reasons for a home model. With that siad when i plugged my TT into my outside outlet i found out from the unit that I had an open ground, no wonder I was having so many problems with Christmas lights etc. Plugged the unit in anouther outlet in the garage and no problems. No telling what would have happened if I plugged into the first outlet....

Kevin

Lincoln11 · 09-26-2015, 11:52 AM

We bought a fifth wheel and our Progressive EMS on the same day. Everything we researched convinced us that we didn't want to use one without the other. Surge protectors don't protect you from several dangerous issues that you could encounter at the pedastal. We have lived in ours full time for almost a year and it has saved us a couple of times already actually. We bought the portable unit instead of the hardwired one because we weren't confident about instaling the hardwired one, but it comes in both options. I wouldn't plug an RV into a power source without one! We bought ours from TechnoRV and it came with good instructions and details on all the codes you can get from bad power. There are quite a few of them. They make videos too on how to install the hardwired version if you want that one. It was shipped very quickly and they had good prices. Oh yeah, Progressives have a lifetime warranty too! Progressive Electrical Protection Systems

RubyDually · 09-26-2015, 02:21 PM

I have the PI EMS-HW50C hardwired in our Sabre fifth wheel.

The YouTube videos makes it an easy self install albeit my son is an Electrician..

Rather than cut the EMS box into the existing cable... I bought some 6/3 wire for the output side to the electrical panel. That way I can simply take it out when I decide to get rid of the trailer.

Ford Idaho · 09-26-2015, 02:25 PM

I am a lousy consumer, so I have this.
It works very well, is simple to use.

Lincoln11 · 09-26-2015, 04:34 PM

That Surge Guard unit is FAR better than nothing, but it doesn't protect against reverse polarity, ground fault shutdown, and some other things the Progressive EMS does, and they are very similar in price. Still, a lot of people we know have the Surge Guard units.

RubyDually · 09-26-2015, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lincoln11

Surge protectors don't protect you from several dangerous issues that you could encounter at the pedastal.

So true... For example....

30 amp rv receptacles are similar to 30 amp dryer receptacles where there are occurrences the 30 amp receptacle in the pedestal has been inadvertently wired to 240.

A EMS will not allow power to the coach in this situation...

whj77372 · 09-28-2015, 03:35 PM

I may have just missed from above but with the EMS you will also be protected against low voltage which can cause real damage over time and you will not even know it while it is happening. Good Luck

**Herk7769** · 09-28-2015, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bes

Hey guys; Very new to the idea of plugging our coach in. We have dry camped with our TT and our FR3......that being said what is the difference/what do I need not to fry our systems by plugging into unknown current in the campground? I have no problem spending the money for the EMS if it is something we really need. It seems Progressive Industries is the favorite on the board? When I plug in at home (120v) will either of these units be useful--or even needed. THANKS Barry

Don't ignore a slightly more expensive option. An Autotransformer will provide all the benefits of a Progressive type unit with the added benefit of boosting low (that would cause a shutdown) voltage at the campground and making it safe for you to use.

It has saved more than one camping trip for us by allowing us to safely run our air conditioner when others were shutting down due to overheated compressors.

I personally like these: Voltage Booster

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