EMS's PI vs Hughes surge protectors

[Scoob]

After reading the huge "Do I need a surge protector" thread (which was great BTW). I have been researching one to pick up.


Is there a clear cut one is better then the other.

Looking at the Hughes Autoformers PWD50-EPO-H VS Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C.

They are within 50 bucks of each other. I kinda like the app for the watchdog and how it will fault for an open neutral.

Like the lifetime warranty of the PI vs the 3 year of the Hughes.

Anybody here like one over the other?

[itat]

For me, the only negative with the PI is the wired remote. Otherwise its a great EMS.

I like the Bluetooth on the Hughes product but don’t know if its reliable and if it will automatically reconnect to your phone when you return to your trailer. Need to make sure your phone doesn’t die, too.

If you’re interested in their autoformer, I’d see if Hughes is willing to give you a package deal on both the EMS and the autoformer.

[Hijo202]

We have the Power Watchdog EPO 50A hard mounted in our 5th. Absolutely swear by it. It has “saved” us on one trip at a campground - open neutral. Plus the Bluetooth app on my phone, I can see each leg and the voltage being applied.

After plugging into the power pole and flipping the breaker on, in about 5 seconds, I hear a faint “thunk”, indicating that the power supply/pole all is good and power being sent to the RV. On the time when there was a neutral fault, after I didn’t hear the “thunk”, I looked at the Bluetooth app and it told me what the problem was and I notified the park mgmt. They came right out with the repair man and fixed the power pole and all was good.

This was just my one experience with a bad power pole, and all other travels haven’t had a problem, but, soooo thankful my new 5th was protected.

[SailorSam20500]

I've been following Mike Sokol's RV Electricity discussions and have attended in-person seminars that he has put on. A couple of notes:
1. Apparently the NEC seems to be heading toward putting language in the NEC that prohibits use of Autoformers. Not final yet, but seems likely for the 2020 release.
2. As of last August, Mike was recommending the Southwire Surge Guard as the best product on the market. Apparently Southwire has added additional protections in their product that no one else offers and will be patented by Southwire. Mike got into Southwire's design lab to see how it worked and was impressed (initially he didn't think what was added was even possible).


Full disclosure - I have a hard wired PI unit now. If I were buying new today, I'd get a Southwire unit.