Community Forums

DikEva · 12-07-2017, 08:27 AM

I've just received our new Progressive Industries EMS HW30C. I'd like to hear from those who installed this as to the location. We have a Forest River Forester 2301 (24'). I'm assuming under the corner bed near the breaker box but have not looked there yet. Also, wondering where to put the little monitor panel. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

vsheetz · 12-07-2017, 08:55 AM

Typically mounts in the shore power line where it enters the transfer switch (if a transfer switch). The display is good to have where it can be seen when connecting up power. You use it to monitor when first connecting to the pedestal or if there is a power problem.

jvalich · 12-07-2017, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vsheetz

Typically mounts in the shore power line where it enters the transfer switch (if a transfer switch). The display is good to have where it can be seen when connecting up power. You use it to monitor when first connecting to the pedestal or if there is a power problem.

Ditto where I installed mine. Mounted the display with double sided tape so I can relocate if needed.

Jim.B1 · 12-07-2017, 09:23 AM

The 50 amp Surge Guard Transfer Switch on our 2014 Fleetwood Southwind is located in the rear bedroom under the dresser draws, and mounted on the floor.
Fleetwood previously mounted it on the floor under the bed.
The problem with it is that it has a "humming" sound from the 60 Hz relay that is annoying at night.
We have not been able to get a definitive answer from either Fleetwood or the manufacturer (TRC) if this is normal!
I have received comments through this forum from owners, some stating their's hum and others that do not hum.
To replace a 50 amp unit is approx. $800.00 so I do not want to simply replace it without a guarantee of silence.
At this point, we are waiting to have Fleetwood's Service Techs (during the Fleetwood Rally) re-locate the Surge Guard from the bedroom to an exterior service bay with hopes that we will not hear the sound.
If you do have space in an exterior service compartment, I would suggest that may be your best location.
As for the display unit, they come with a lengthy cable, and our display is located on an interior wall along with the furnace thermostat, battery display and tank monitor.

GlenB · 12-07-2017, 09:30 AM

I have mine under bed also after hearing the hum I asked my RV tech to put carpet under the unit and tighten all connections...no more hum ...GlenB

kenandterry · 12-07-2017, 09:37 AM

Installed my 50amp model in the power bay where the cord comes into the rig. You want to protect everything before it gets to the converter etc. It has a 30 second delay while it monitors the park power before powering the rig.

The 50amp wiring is very stiff to work with but I got it done. The remote display unit does have quite a lengthy cord, so I installed it inside the bedroom facing the living room. I can see the display from all the rooms. I like to be able to monitor from inside the coach. Don’t point the display towards your bed....the red digits are quite bright and annoying if it were visible while sleeping.

bobmac · 12-07-2017, 12:34 PM

I have mounted my Progressive units close to the main breaker box inside the coach. I remove the feed to the main AC breaker and connect it to the input of the EMS and purchase a new piece of the same wire - connect it to the EMS output and run it to the main AC breaker connection in the box. Then run the display to a suitable accessible point where it can be easily read. I have mounted the EMS under a bed in a Class C (30 amp) and adjacent to the breaker box (50 amp) in my Class A.
The advantage to mounting inside is simplicity, the ability use slack in the feed making it much simpler to make secure proper connections in the device and the ability to mount the display inside where it is easily seen and referenced. The "disadvantage" is that it does not protect the transfer switch from an electrical event.

swuebbels · 12-07-2017, 01:19 PM

I have a Sunseeker 2300 and installed the PI under the bed. There is a lot of room under there. The transfer box is near the bathroom wall. Many of use have it wired after the transfer switch. There are directions included on how to do this.
Stan

baraff · 12-07-2017, 02:25 PM

I'm curious why you would want or need a hard wired EMS on a 24' motorhome. For the remote display? There just isn't a lot of room. We have an Winnebago Aspect 26A and there is no room near the power cord at all for a hard-wired unit without some rather major surgery which just isn't worth the return in my mind. We went with the Progressive EMS 30 portable unit and are extremely pleased with it.
If you're worried about theft, well, it comes with a locking loop attached. We lock ours down with a cable and combination lock. Never had a problem.
Do you have an automatic transfer switch or like ours, have to switch the plug from house to generator?
What are the benefits of a hard wired unit in a smaller Class C?

ThePowells · 12-07-2017, 03:50 PM

Mine is in the same bay my electrical cord stores in and is mounted to the back wall. I plug it up and look at the readings as it cycles through. Then I pull the excess cable back into the bay. I don't have the external panel, yet.

Damion · 12-07-2017, 04:11 PM

Should the surge protector before or after transfer switch? If it was after it would monitor your generator power also?

l1v3fr33ord1 · 12-07-2017, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damion

Should the surge protector before or after transfer switch? If it was after it would monitor your generator power also?

From the Progressive Industries FAQ page (link here):

Quote:
Q: Should a Hardwired EMS be installed before or after the transfer switch?

A: A hardwired EMS should be installed prior to the transfer switch. The reason for this is most RV generators already have built-in voltage and frequency protection. If the EMS is installed after the transfer switch, this leaves the transfer switch vulnerable to power problems.

CharlesinGA · 12-10-2017, 06:13 PM

I installed the hardwired Progressive unit on my Winnebago View. It has a cord compartment on the LH side at the very rear. It has the receptacle you plug the shore cord into to operate off the generator in that compartment, so I made a new piece of plywood and mounted the PI unit above the 4x4 box the genny receptacle is in. Shore cord into the PI unit and then to the original wires to the breaker panel. The PI protects from both shore and genny power issues. Remote is mounted just below the control panel for water heater/pump/level indicators.

Some people say you are subjecting yourself to no power if the hardwire unit fails, but the relay is a 40 amp Leviton unit, designed for tens of thousands of cycles (under load) and in an RV installation it is not used that much plus almost never switches under load, so I am not overly concerned about relay failure. The bypass switch can force the relay should the circuit board fail.

Charles

gladu2 · 12-10-2017, 08:35 PM

I installed our 30A Progressive Industries hard wired surge protector in the shore line cabinet on our 2016 Itasca 25B. It is nice to have it out of the weather and also locked up in the cabinet. Plus it not only monitors city power but has the advantage of also monitoring generator output power as well. We were lucky Winnebago made a fairly generous sized power cord cabinet to install it in but it was still an awkward and pretty difficult installation. Not technically difficult, just physically awkward trying to get light and 2 arms in there to do it in a low area of the RV.