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Old 02-28-2011, 06:41 PM   #1
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why a surge protector is needed?

I have a Damon Daybreak 3190 first trip coming up, saw an earlier post about the necessity of a surge protector. Can someone explain this to me?
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Old 02-28-2011, 07:05 PM   #2
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Prevents laying out big bucks after your electronics are fried by a voltage surge or your A/C compressor.
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Old 02-28-2011, 07:08 PM   #3
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Simply put, it saves your coaches electrical/electronics from power abnormalities.

This link will get you started

iRV2 Forums - Search Results

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Old 02-28-2011, 07:26 PM   #4
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Very cheap insurance. When some older campgrounds gets busy and the power levels drop, the low voltage can fry your a/c fridge etc. Low power can be a real killer. Your surge guard protects from high voltage and low voltage. Mine has saved me more than once.
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Old 02-28-2011, 08:36 PM   #5
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Surge protectors that hook directly onto campground pedestal can be stolen. Get one that you can lock onto your cable or better yet if you can afford it, get one that attaches directly to your coach at the on board end on the electrical cable.
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Old 02-28-2011, 08:51 PM   #6
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Many members (us included) have EMS's (Energy Management Systems) from Progressive Industries, portable or hard-wired, in our RV's. You have to protect yourself & your RV's equipment from what can be questionable campground power. Not having protection can lead to VERY expensive repairs.

Go to THIS LINK on their website & view the videos they have. They are excellent & will help you understand the need.

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Old 02-28-2011, 08:59 PM   #7
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You have to protect yourself & your RV's equipment from what can be questionable campground power. Not having protection can lead to VERY expensive repairs. Lori-
Do I need a surge protector for my laptop when using the rv generator, or only when plugged into shore power?

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Old 02-28-2011, 09:25 PM   #8
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IMO, the chances of your generator (i.e.genny) blowing up your electronics/appliances are slim to none compared to shore power. Although never say never, it COULD happen.

You can place an EMS either before or after the transfer switch (the item which controls whether power to your coach systems comes from shore power or the genny).

Placing it before the transfer switch protects the transfer switch & all your electronics/appliances from shore power problems, but not from genny problems.

Placing it after the transfer switch protects your electronics/appliances from shore power & genny problems, but does not protect the transfer switch - which is a VERY expensive piece to replace if fried.

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Old 02-28-2011, 09:43 PM   #9
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Why would you need a surge protector? Let's just say I wouldn't have a new pure sine wave inverter, transfer switch, EMS, and 2 flat screens IF I had owned one! Lesson learned cost me approx. $6000.
Oh, what happened? Some idiot plugged coach into his 220V welder plug.

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Old 02-28-2011, 09:51 PM   #10
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Why would you need a surge protector? Let's just say I wouldn't have a new pure sine wave inverter, transfer switch, EMS, and 2 flat screens IF I had owned one! Lesson learned cost me approx. $6000.
Oh, what happened? Some idiot plugged coach into his 220V welder plug.

Kerry
YIKES!!! Well, THAT answers the question better than anything!

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Old 02-28-2011, 10:31 PM   #11
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Omg, that gave me chills. I hate to hear those types of hardships, but I'll bet it will help others from similar hardships.
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Old 02-28-2011, 10:33 PM   #12
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Some idiot plugged coach into his 220V welder plug. Kerry
LOL, well you sold me on the merits of buying a really good SP! THANKS!

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Old 03-01-2011, 05:06 AM   #13
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So....neighbor at campground asked why we had a Surge Guard when we already had protection from surges with the EMS (Energy Mgmt. Syst.) already built into our coach. He made a comment to the effect this was kind of paranoid and like having extra switches for the same light bulb.

Didn't have an answer for him since I don't know NUTTIN about electronic wiring systems. All we know is that our Surge Protector HAS protected our rig on at least two occasions (maybe 3) from campground electrical systems which took hits from lightning during severe storms.

So, is there a reason to additionally include a Surge Protector in line when hooking up when your rig includes an EMS system which should (I guess) already protect the rigs electronics???

Just curious.

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Old 03-01-2011, 05:37 AM   #14
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Chickadee,

The EMS system in your coach is really more of a load management system that is usful when not plugged into a full 50 amps. It will shed appliances based on the amount of power available and what is being used. A great thing to have when plugged into 30 or 20 amps.

The Surge Protector also gets called an EMS but works completely differently. It will check the shore power for various conditions that are real bad for todays modern coaches and the electronics in them.

Bottom line is you need both. Most of the time the SP EMS shuts us off for low voltage, but twice it has been for high voltage. The first time the voltage was 255. As mentioned that will fry just about everything inside the rig. It was at a fairgrounds CG and somehow two 'hots' came into contact inside the box doubling the voltage.

The real scary thing about that was that it also increased the voltage at the other sites because it was the old daisy chain type of wiring (from 1 site to the next ...). I would never be without ours.

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