surge protector

[tperonek]

I have never used a surge protector. My trailer has 50 amp service. Some RV parks are 30 amp, some 50 amp. Do I need both or just get a 50 amp? Do I really need one?

[therink]

I skipped the surge protector a d bought a 50 amp Hughes Autoformer, which regulates campground voltage drops and spikes by 10 percent. It doesn't boost aamperage, just volts which helps keep AC and other appliances from overworking during low voltage periods in campgrounds. This thing works well and does have a limited internal surge protector.
This thing works and is worth every penny I paid.
If you rig is 50 amp, you will want a 50 amp Autoformer or surge protector. You would place your 50 to 30 amp cord adapter between the protector and the campground power source.

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by tperonek

I have never used a surge protector. My trailer has 50 amp service. Some RV parks are 30 amp, some 50 amp. Do I need both or just get a 50 amp? Do I really need one?

I was at a camp grounds that the hot lead was shorted to the ground, if I plug in I would had damage to my 5er and could also caused harm to me or my wife. Since I had a surge suppressor it gave me a error code and moved to another site while they repaired that post. I wouldn't plug in without one now.

[jeff57]

Definitely a must as you never know what kind of spikes or low voltages you may encounter at the campground. A few years ago the A/C on my previous camper fried and I believe it was because of low voltage at a busy campground over the 4th of July. I can't prove it, but the camper main breaker and the breaker at the post tripped a couple of times for unknown reasons. A couple of weeks later the A/C started acting up and would only work as a "fan" in the A/C mode. The A/C replacement cost me about $1K, and a surge suppressor is quite a bit cheaper than that. Good insurance that will protect all of the electrical items, none of which are cheap, in the camper. They also monitor polarity, opens, etc. as CWSWine stated.

[B-O-B'03]

The progressive industries EMS is more than just a surge protector, it monitors several conditions continuously (over/under voltage, over/under frequency, lost/open neutral, open ground, polarity protection, etc) and will cut power to the trailer if any adverse condition occurs.
It also has an adjustable time delay for A/C compressor restart protection.

I have been quite happy with the one I installed, we had an over voltage situation here at the house a month or so ago and it shut down power to the trailer. The only reason I knew about the condition was because of the alert from my UPS, letting me know the line had gone to 137V

I did have to create a ground to neutral plug to use it with my Champion generator, that cost less than $2.

-Brian

[sourdough]

I wouldn't want to camp anywhere without one. In only two years it has saved us a few times.

On a recent trip to a remote campground it alerted me, and cut power, not once but twice. Although the campground owner assured us that everything was A OK, he did advise he wasn't responsible for any damage. On the first ped the protector would not provide power and said no ground....got the meter and there was not ground. Being slow, I moved to another site and it failed as well. I ended up taking my multi meter to 14 sites checking power. There were 5 that had all legs normal. I wouldn't leave home without it Get a 50 to 30 amp adapter for those times you don't have access to 50 amp.

[chris199]

I STRONGLY recommend a Progressive Industries 50a protector.
This happened to me on 1st stay after we just brought home a new 5er.....

Had a strange experience. Arrived at site plugged in using 50a extension and 50a to 30a converter...both brand new. All ok overnight and in the morning. Once it got warmer, neighbors turned on their fans and some AC. My hardwired power system started shutting off and turning on power signalling an open ground. Happened over and over. Eventually turned breaker off. Turned back on around 530 and same thing. Waited until 7 730 then all was fine again...
I had virtually no power draw. Power center showed I was pulling 2 amps. I didnt have lights or AC on at all.

Thought maybe my extension cord or converter pigtail was the cause but wouldn't it happen all the time?

Am assuming it was an issue at the CG pedestal but wouldnt that happen all the time too if there was CG power issue? Can an open ground occur in CG wiring only when the load increases?

UPDATE:
I want to get to the bottom of this issue. Is it my new 5er? The shore power cord? The extension cord? The 50a to 30a pigtail? The pedestal? The CG Wiring?

While doing research on this I ran across a gentleman, Mike Sokol, who seems to be well known as an expert in RV power. He runs a website www.noshockzone.org I went to his site, saw his email address on a post and took a shot at emailing him with this issue. Well, he responded within 12 hrs!! His response is noted below. I emailed the CG immediately. I still picked up a multimeter at Lowe's last night and am going to check my shore cord, extension cord, and pigtail cord (all of which are brand new).

Mike Sokol's response:
I believe you’re experiencing an interesting phenomenon I’ve named a reflected hot skin condition. This occurs at a campground where there’s the loss of a EGC Ground Connection between one of the pedestals and the service entrance box ground bonding point. If any other RV in that loops has any ground leakage from a line-to-chassis fault, then their own RV as well as ALL other RVs in that loop will have their own ground voltages elevated as well. The dangerous thing is that this hot-skin voltage can go all the way to 120 volts with potentially deadly currents that can electrocute anyone who touches the RV and the ground at the same time. So the campground needs to immediately have all their pedestals checked for ground continuity using something called a Ground Impedance Tester, such as an Amprobe INSP-3 or Ideal SureTest Analyzer. Please have the campground contact me for details before someone gets injured or killed.

Turns out the CG had their electrician check it out and sure enough...that was the issue. Without the PI surge protector my appliances and electronics would have been damaged and potentially I could have been hurt.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[14george]

Just got one about two weeks ago. Never used it yet first trip of year end of May

[CWSWine]

Seems like a surge protection should be part of the standard options on every RV --- I know it adds to the cost of building and decreases the bottom line.