24RDS adding a Progressive 50amp monitor

[Z71]

I would like to add an inline Progressive 50amp power monitor/surge protector unit. I know this will need to be mounted close to the power control center under the oven.


Don't know how much space is available under there, perhaps I can delete the lowest drawer directly to the right of the power/breaker center but that won't go over well with the wife.

I looked at the units that plug into the power pedestal then you plug into them but after looking into them carefully I found out they do not interrupt power like the internal progressive units do. I already lost my Dometic refrigerator control board at the Rincon Country West RV park in Tuscon AZ. We encountered a power surge that fried the refers control board plus popped the main circuit breaker in both my RV an a friends parked next door.

Apparently they had a vendor in the park working on the transformer that probably caused the problem they promptly denied. Needless to say they told me to pound sand, $180.00 bucks later we were back online.
So with that said, I had the progressive inline unit in my old RV and it always served me well cutting the power when things were bad. I will see if there is a way to install the unit in the Cougar. Anyone who has any insight on this please chime in.

[sourdough]

What are you comparing? EMS (not surge protectors) from Southwire (Surge Guard), Progressive and the Hughes Watchdog all interrupt power when a problem is detected and shut the power down when plugged into a pedestal.

[wrvond]

I’m on my phone right now so will post pictures later, but wanted to let you know I installed mine under the booth seat where the power enters the camper.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Z71

I would like to add an inline Progressive 50amp power monitor/surge protector unit. I know this will need to be mounted close to the power control center under the oven.


Don't know how much space is available under there, perhaps I can delete the lowest drawer directly to the right of the power/breaker center but that won't go over well with the wife.

I looked at the units that plug into the power pedestal then you plug into them but after looking into them carefully I found out they do not interrupt power like the internal progressive units do. I already lost my Dometic refrigerator control board at the Rincon Country West RV park in Tuscon AZ. We encountered a power surge that fried the refers control board plus popped the main circuit breaker in both my RV an a friends parked next door.

Apparently they had a vendor in the park working on the transformer that probably caused the problem they promptly denied. Needless to say they told me to pound sand, $180.00 bucks later we were back online.
So with that said, I had the progressive inline unit in my old RV and it always served me well cutting the power when things were bad. I will see if there is a way to install the unit in the Cougar. Anyone who has any insight on this please chime in.

Used a 50 amp PI EMS portable hanging from every pedestal we plugged into across this country with 3 different 5th wheels. Yes it would interrupt the power if necessary, same as the hardwired & saved us at least once that I know of for sure. I chose the portable as I knew we'd trade rvs so only had to buy it once, it never sprouted legs to walk away, I left it connected to the shore cord so it never got left behind. It would've been handy to have the remote display, but wasn't worth tossing out the one I had for the newer model.

[wrvond]

Originally Posted by Z71

I would like to add an inline Progressive 50amp power monitor/surge protector unit. I know this will need to be mounted close to the power control center under the oven.


Don't know how much space is available under there, perhaps I can delete the lowest drawer directly to the right of the power/breaker center but that won't go over well with the wife.

I looked at the units that plug into the power pedestal then you plug into them but after looking into them carefully I found out they do not interrupt power like the internal progressive units do. I already lost my Dometic refrigerator control board at the Rincon Country West RV park in Tuscon AZ. We encountered a power surge that fried the refers control board plus popped the main circuit breaker in both my RV an a friends parked next door.

Apparently they had a vendor in the park working on the transformer that probably caused the problem they promptly denied. Needless to say they told me to pound sand, $180.00 bucks later we were back online.
So with that said, I had the progressive inline unit in my old RV and it always served me well cutting the power when things were bad. I will see if there is a way to install the unit in the Cougar. Anyone who has any insight on this please chime in.

So, to install the unit under the dinette bench is the easiest thing in the world - as long as you are into anaconda wrestling!. There's no need for any material other than what comes with the EMS.
Make sure you have the shore cable unplugged and use a hacksaw to cut the wire under the bench seat. Cut the insulation back and install in the ECM per instructions. Tip: the instructions will tell you to orient the magnets with the arrows pointing a certain direction but there are no arrows. Don't worry about it, the new units don't care which direction the magnets point.
I then mounted the remote unit to the end of the bench so I can easily see it from pretty much everywhere in the camper.

Edit: BTW, if you are determined to mount it behind the power distribution center, there is plenty of room between the converter and the water heater. You may want to buy a 3 or 4 foot length of wire - I forget the designation- in order to reach. Also, IIRC, it won't help to remove the oven. I'm pretty sure when I looked up there it was an enclosed space. In other words, I couldn't see the bottom of the oven. Removing the power distribution panel won't buy you a lot of space to work in either. The best way in is to remove the divider wall under the sink and wriggle in on your left side. It's not comfortable.

[Z71]

Thats a much better solution to those units that just plug into the pedestal, I could not find one that fully cuts the power in case of low voltage and spikes, most just contain MOV's to try to contain the spike and are usually shot once they encounter one. The Progressive Industries 50amp inline unit like you installed offers it all and has a great warranty to boot.

Plus I wont have to figure out a way to keep someone from walking away with the plug in unit or how to plug it in when the park has the socket installed in upside down.

Nice job of thinking outside the box WRVOND and thanks for sharing that. I never thought of unscrewing the panel and looking in to see what was there.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Z71

Thats a much better solution to those units that just plug into the pedestal, I could not find one that fully cuts the power in case of low voltage and spikes, most just contain MOV's to try to contain the spike and are usually shot once they encounter one. The Progressive Industries 50amp inline unit like you installed offers it all and has a great warranty to boot.

Plus I wont have to figure out a way to keep someone from walking away with the plug in unit or how to plug it in when the park has the socket installed in upside down.

Nice job of thinking outside the box WRVOND and thanks for sharing that. I never thought of unscrewing the panel and looking in to see what was there.

If you hit a snag trying to put your EMS inside I will just say that I've always used a portable and never had a soul, anywhere, look like they wanted to take it. I've also been in campsites with the plug upside down but that can be remedied easily (remove the cover and plug the cable in upside down or turn the receptacle to the correct orientation). Good luck on getting a new EMS; South Wire (Surge Guard), Progressive Industries and Hughes make some good units that shut down incoming power problems.

[CedarCreekWoody]

The EMS can be mounted anywhere along the incoming power cable, such as under a bench. It doesn't have to be near power center.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Z71

Thats a much better solution to those units that just plug into the pedestal, I could not find one that fully cuts the power in case of low voltage and spikes, most just contain MOV's to try to contain the spike and are usually shot once they encounter one. The Progressive Industries 50amp inline unit like you installed offers it all and has a great warranty to boot.

Plus I wont have to figure out a way to keep someone from walking away with the plug in unit or how to plug it in when the park has the socket installed in upside down.

Nice job of thinking outside the box WRVOND and thanks for sharing that. I never thought of unscrewing the panel and looking in to see what was there.

As I stated a few post back the portable Progressive Industries 50 amp "EMS" I used for several years functioned exactly the same as the hardwired model.
What you're describing sounds like just a surge protector not an EMS, not comparing apples to apples, a surge protector only is a waste of money.

[markcee]

Originally Posted by Z71

I would like to add an inline Progressive 50amp power monitor/surge protector unit. I know this will need to be mounted close to the power control center under the oven.


Don't know how much space is available under there, perhaps I can delete the lowest drawer directly to the right of the power/breaker center but that won't go over well with the wife.

I looked at the units that plug into the power pedestal then you plug into them but after looking into them carefully I found out they do not interrupt power like the internal progressive units do. I already lost my Dometic refrigerator control board at the Rincon Country West RV park in Tuscon AZ. We encountered a power surge that fried the refers control board plus popped the main circuit breaker in both my RV an a friends parked next door.

Originally Posted by travelin texans

As I stated a few post back the portable Progressive Industries 50 amp "EMS" I used for several years functioned exactly the same as the hardwired model.
What you're describing sounds like just a surge protector not an EMS, not comparing apples to apples, a surge protector only is a waste of money.

This thread kind of evolved into the merits of having an internal EMS for their inability to 'walk away' from a campsite.

I'm more interested in the comment in the original post about a pedestal mount EMS not having the same protection level as an internal hardwired version. I'm with Travelin Texans on this one....it's my understanding that a Progressive EMS PT50X for example will offer the exact same protection as the hardwired version.

No?

[wrvond]

Originally Posted by markcee

This thread kind of evolved into the merits of having an internal EMS for their inability to 'walk away' from a campsite.

I'm more interested in the comment in the original post about a pedestal mount EMS not having the same protection level as an internal hardwired version. I'm with Travelin Texans on this one....it's my understanding that a Progressive EMS PT50X for example will offer the exact same protection as the hardwired version.

No?

The EMS-PT50X and the EMS-HW50C are functionally identical. Their only differences are related to the operating environment. In other words, the EMS-PT50X is weather proof and has a lock (among other things) that the EMS-HW50C does not. The EMS-HW50C has a remote display while the display on the PT50X is built in to the unit. One big difference is the hard wired unit is field serviceable, while the portable unit is not.
I personally prefer the hard wired unit for two reasons:
1. I got distracted and left a portable unit hanging on the power pedestal at a campground in North Carolina several years ago.
2. The hard wired unit's remote display is inside the camper. That's usually the first thing I look at when I am wondering how much power I'm drawing.

I suspect the confusion is being caused by the OP looking at the portable surge protectors such as the SSP-50X and comparing that to the EMS-HW50C.
Comparing the features of all the Progressive Industries products is rather difficult without printing their product information page.

[RollaMo]

Originally Posted by wrvond

I suspect the confusion is being caused by the OP looking at the portable surge protectors such as the SSP-50X and comparing that to the EMS-HW50C.
Comparing the features of all the Progressive Industries products is rather difficult without printing their product information page.

I agree.

Had I known how easy it was to get that Hard Wired unit in your 5th wheel, I probably would have went that route too.
But I went ahead and purchased the petal mount EMS-PT50X one before picking up the trailer so I would be ready.

[dutchmensport]

I have the portable Progressive EMS PT50X and it's been plugged in at home (50 amp RV power) and when camping, since the first moment we purchased the camper. The EMS has shut down the trailer on several occasions. On each and every time it shut down the camper it was due to the shore power breaker failing and campground maintenance had to replace with a new breaker at the post.

[Richeyb]

I installed a permanent Progressive EMS by taking the panel off the crawl through. Spliced it into the main power line that runs to the main circuit breaker panel. There was a good flat space just behind my water pump. I was able to work the reader through to put on the wall adjacent to the Circuit breakers but facing the door for easy viewing from the front entry to my 2018 Montana HC 380.

[bgrhrdt]

On a related note, I have been using a TRC Surge Guard, Model 34750 (50A) portable power protection unit for about 11 years now. I'm wondering how long these last? It still seems to operate properly and I guess if it "went bad" it probably wouldn't...right?

[Kzneft]

I have a inline 50 amp Southwire surge guard for my trailer, but ended up taking it out. Reason is we almost always dry camp, so we have to run the generator many times throughout the day, especially if we want to use the microwave. With the inline surge guard it takes up to 5 minutes to finally say the power is stable enough to allow the contactors to engage. Too much hassle. If you were always going to trailer parks with constant power then they are good, but for me I was tired of waiting 5 minutes to have it kick on every time. Also I found if I decided to use my inverter, the surge guard sucked so much power out my microwave would stop after 10 seconds. Just keep that in mind. I am now converting my inline one to a portable one, so I don't have to buy another just in case I decide to stay at a trailer park with power.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Kzneft

I have a inline 50 amp Southwire surge guard for my trailer, but ended up taking it out. Reason is we almost always dry camp, so we have to run the generator many times throughout the day, especially if we want to use the microwave. With the inline surge guard it takes up to 5 minutes to finally say the power is stable enough to allow the contactors to engage. Too much hassle. If you were always going to trailer parks with constant power then they are good, but for me I was tired of waiting 5 minutes to have it kick on every time. Also I found if I decided to use my inverter, the surge guard sucked so much power out my microwave would stop after 10 seconds. Just keep that in mind. I am now converting my inline one to a portable one, so I don't have to buy another just in case I decide to stay at a trailer park with power.

If I'm reading this correctly, what you're saying is that the surge guard is preventing "unstable power from entering your trailer" so you bypassed/removed it because it takes too long for your generator power to the trailer to stabilize ????

Isn't that the intent of the EMS ??? To prevent unstable power from entering your trailer and damaging the microwave or other sensitive electronics....

[Kzneft]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

If I'm reading this correctly, what you're saying is that the surge guard is preventing "unstable power from entering your trailer" so you bypassed/removed it because it takes too long for your generator power to the trailer to stabilize ????

Isn't that the intent of the EMS ??? To prevent unstable power from entering your trailer and damaging the microwave or other sensitive electronics....

You don't need it when running a built-in generator. You only need it when connected to shore power and the electrician doesn't know how to wire in the post, so that keeps your stuff safe.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Kzneft

You don't need it when running a built-in generator. You only need it when connected to shore power and the electrician doesn't know how to wire in the post, so that keeps your stuff safe.

Just to clarify, generators can be prone to issues with under voltage and over voltage (your stabilizing stattement) and can fail by loosing a line, the netral or ground. The EMS from the sounds of it is doing exactly what it should do. That time for the generator to stabilize is worth the wait vs risking damaging your equipment IMO.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Kzneft

You don't need it when running a built-in generator. You only need it when connected to shore power and the electrician doesn't know how to wire in the post, so that keeps your stuff safe.

Sounds like it was doing exactly as it was designed to do just didn't allow for a lack of patience for it to complete the job. I would guess there's numerous things you could do arriving at any location that would take at least 5 minutes before anything absolutely had to be powered up.
Couple other comments, an EMS protects your rv from about every voltage issue it may encounter, whether from a miswired pedestal which is only one of the many issues that could happen plugged in anywhere or a generator fluctuations.
Also I seriously doubt that your hardwired EMS is rated for outdoor use & wouldn't recommend using it outdoors.