Surge Protectors etc.

[Piledrive]

This probably has been asked before, but I've been reading about fires, electrical burn-ups etc. without the use of some kind of line protection to the RV. I haven't purchased one as yet for our MH but will do so shortly.
The question is, if one is at a park that supplies a defective electrical hook-up, or there is a large spike, does your Insurance cover the loss of TV's, Converters etc., or is this a case of all damage is on the MH owner?
So far, no one has addressed this to my knowledge.
Great forum, keep up the good work and thank's in advance for any and all input from members.
Don

[The General]

Don,

To my knowledge, you need a special insurance policy that covers all electronics from damage. Your regular RV ins. could cover theft but not electrical damage so check out Good Sam and your RV insurance company and see if you like the price and fine print. Do you really want to replace the A/C's, microwave, refer, and TV's? What a time consuming hassle it may be.
I use a SurgeGard 50 amp surge protector which I built into the electrical cord compartment but did not purchase a volt booster. I think it beats the long term price of additional insurance.

Steve

Originally Posted by Piledrive

This probably has been asked before, but I've been reading about fires, electrical burn-ups etc. without the use of some kind of line protection to the RV. I haven't purchased one as yet for our MH but will do so shortly.
The question is, if one is at a park that supplies a defective electrical hook-up, or there is a large spike, does your Insurance cover the loss of TV's, Converters etc., or is this a case of all damage is on the MH owner?
So far, no one has addressed this to my knowledge.
Great forum, keep up the good work and thank's in advance for any and all input from members.
Don

[Cruzer]

I think tht it would be a real arm wrestling match trying to get many RV parks to admit it was their problem. Hence, no payout. The best bet is to get a good protector that also handles low and high voltage protection and take care of it before it gets that far. I use the Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C, which is an excellent unit.

[The General]

Hi Cruzer,

Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C should be used with a surge guard, as a team, to protect your voltage booster from burning out.


Steve

Originally Posted by Cruzer

I think tht it would be a real arm wrestling match trying to get many RV parks to admit it was their problem. Hence, no payout. The best bet is to get a good protector that also handles low and high voltage protection and take care of it before it gets that far. I use the Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C, which is an excellent unit.

[Eck]

Got my EMS HW50 headed this way. Should be here tomorrow.

[The General]

Originally Posted by Eck

Got my EMS HW50 headed this way. Should be here tomorrow.

Eck,


Steve

[Cruzer]

The EMS-HW50C does not boost voltage. It thoroughly protects your electrical system from any damage. The basic surge protector won't be needed. The EMS wil shut down power to the coach should anything be out of whack.

However, if you want to continue to operate your coach when the pedestal voltage is low you can add an AutoFormer to your system. In that case the AutoFormer needs to be installed prior to the surge protection or else it won't get any incoming power to boost. AutoFormers also only work in marginal conditions. If the voltage is real low they wont' help. I do have an AutoFormer but rarely need it unless I am in an RV park with ancient 30 amp service that is way overtaxed.

For more details check out Surge and Spike - Protecting Your RV's Electrical System - RV Magazine

[HD4Mark]

We bought a Progressive industries SSP-50 just last week from here Amazon.com: Progressive Industries SSP50 Smart Surge: Automotive
I got thinking about what protection it would have when we were connected to a 30A supply or even 20 using adapters. I emailed progressive and received a reply from the company president same day "You can use it on 15,20,30 and 50 amp and have full protection."

These days customer service like that is hard to find.

[Dr4Film]

Originally Posted by The General

Hi Cruzer,

Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C should be used with a surge guard, as a team, to protect your voltage booster from burning out.


Steve

Steve,

Where did you see or read that a Progressive Industries EMS-HW-50C unit needs a Surge Guard to team up with the EMS?

Heck, the EMS-HW-50C unit itself has 3580 Joules of Surge Protection already built into it, one of the highest rated Energy Management System units for the RV industry and I won't leave home without it. I also use the PowerMaster Voltage inline before the PI EMS unit to take care of all low voltage situations around the North American Continent.

Whoever told you that was full of BS.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

[The General]

Originally Posted by Dr4Film

Steve,

Where did you see or read that a Progressive Industries EMS-HW-50C unit needs a Surge Guard to team up with the EMS?

Heck, the EMS-HW-50C unit itself has 3580 Joules of Surge Protection already built into it, one of the highest rated Energy Management System units for the RV industry and I won't leave home without it. I also use the PowerMaster Voltage inline before the PI EMS unit to take care of all low voltage situations around the North American Continent.

Whoever told you that was full of BS.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

EMS-HW50C
4th item down on above website:
Surge Indicator:
If ever a power surge damages the surge protector circuit within the EMS L-N, or L-G, the digital display error code will read E-10. This is your indication that it needs to be replaced.

Steve

[Cruzer]

I guess adding a second surge protector ahead of the main surge protetor would offer better protection for that unit but using that reasoning I think that maybe adding a third surge protector to protect the second one would also be a good idea. Of course then what would protect the third unit? Maybe add a fourth?

[PanJH]

Originally Posted by Cruzer

The EMS-HW50C does not boost voltage. It thoroughly protects your electrical system from any damage. The basic surge protector won't be needed. The EMS wil shut down power to the coach should anything be out of whack.

However, if you want to continue to operate your coach when the pedestal voltage is low you can add an AutoFormer to your system. In that case the AutoFormer needs to be installed prior to the surge protection or else it won't get any incoming power to boost. AutoFormers also only work in marginal conditions. If the voltage is real low they wont' help. I do have an AutoFormer but rarely need it unless I am in an RV park with ancient 30 amp service that is way overtaxed.

For more details check out Surge and Spike - Protecting Your RV's Electrical System - RV Magazine

According to the Hughes Autoformer documentation that I have , it does not have surge protection and it is suggested to put a surge protector before the autoformer to protect it.
In traveling around the northeast this summer, we had several instances in CG's where the voltage dropped to unacceptable levels so we left or moved sites. This week I bought an autoformer to use on our next trip and will set it up with the surge guard being plugged into the pedistal, the autoformer into the surge guard and then the shore power line into the autoformer.

[Cruzer]

Decent quality surge protectors also feature voltage protection so if the pedestal voltage goes too low it'll kill power to the coach. If you put the surge protector prior to the AutoFormer it will kill power to the AutoFormer and render it useless. If you place it after the AutoFormer you will still protect the coach should anythig happen and the AutoFormer "might" boost the low voltage top a point where you can continue to operate the coach's electrical system. That's only if the voltage isn't too low though or else the AutoFormer won't be able to boost it enough to make it useable.

Technically the AutoFormer is at risk but the only way to protect it would be with a low quality surge protector that didn't offer any low voltage protection. If a good surge came about I doubt that the cheaper surge protector would be able to protect the AutoFormer anyway so I just run the AutoFormer when needed and the odds of it ever getting a surge that could destroy it (it is pretty robust compared to your coach's electrical system) are extremely small.

[LadyFitz...]

Originally Posted by PanJH

According to the Hughes Autoformer documentation that I have , it does not have surge protection and it is suggested to put a surge protector before the autoformer to protect it.
...

Curious. Hugh's website says it does have surge and spike protection.