I'm looking a get a RV Technology Research 34560-004 50 Amp Surge Guard for my unit but the cost has got me thinking. You can get a house surge guard unit for half the cost, has anyone installed a guard like 80 kA Home Electronics Protective Device from Home Depot or something similar?
When comparing Electric protection devices, you need to be very careful that you are comparing apples and oranges. Some devices protect against surges while others protect against surges, high/low voltage or incorrectly wired pedestals. High / Low voltages are much more prevalent in Campgrounds than surges. The majority of people who have had a protection event found it was due to high or low voltage. The HD device is surge only.
I agree with Flybob. We’ve had a Progressive Industries EMS (30A hard wired) for several years and we’ve never had a surge event but we’ve seen low voltage regularly- once under 104V - and high voltage maybe once. We’ve seen low voltage so much that I bought a Hughes Autoformer to boost voltage.
For the RV world you need something to protect against voltage issues and pedestals that are mis-wired or at the end of their useful life.
That protection won’t be cheap but it’s cheaper than replacing a single appliance.
I live close to the US border so I ordered my PI EMS and Hughes Autoformer from US retailers and went across the border to pick them up. Much cheaper than paying for shipping to Canada.
I too have a Progressive Industries EMS (30A) and have seen many voltage fluctuations, but the one feature that is very important is the "power-up delay" in case of a power interruption. If the AC is on when power is interrupted and immediately comes back on, damage to the compressor can occur. THAT feature alone will cover the cost of it!
X4 on the PI. We have the 50 amp built in. In the fall we were notified the house power was to be shut off for several hours for mains work. 2 or 3 weeks later I was doing some work on the trailer and noticed an error code on the display. No ground. Previous error code. Current code fine. It took me a bit to figure out that the power company had broke the ground first when they killed the neighborhood. Or hooked it up last. What ever the reason the PI kept the electronics in the trailer safe.
Ladysmith, B.C.
Linear Mode
