Community Forums

HammerLane · 03-03-2014, 08:19 AM

We use our portable 50 amp all the time with 30 amp service and it seems to work just fine with our coach. I found a used one on craigslist for $100 and the seller even showed me that it worked before I bought it.(I would have passed on it if I was unable to verify if it worked)They also sell locks for the portable units, and most power pedestals have a padlock mount on them so you could just use your own lock. Gary

poppopc · 03-03-2014, 09:11 AM

Won't leave home without one! Especially after not having one cost 3500.00!

joelyn5 · 03-03-2014, 09:33 AM

Yep, a 50 amp surge/voltage protector will work when you're plugged into 30 amps. X5 for previous comments about needing protection. Surges aren't too common, but catastrophic. More common are voltage and pedestal miswire problems. Low voltage is insidious: it significantly reduces the life span of things like air conditioners/heat pumps. We've had lots of incidences of disconnect due to low voltage, particularly in the summer time at older parks where wiring just isn't up to the demands of lots of air conditioners. I've installed the Progressive Industries myself twice. It's not difficult. Figuring what wire to connect where is easy (terminals are clearly marked). Biggest problem is finding space in the electrical bay to mount it. You'll need 3 or 4 feet of individual strands of 6 gauge wire. Get them at Home Depot or Lowes. Good luck

gemini5362 · 03-03-2014, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImagineIF

Just so new folks don't buy a "surge protector", surge protectors are inexpensive devices that solely protect against surges.

Many use the term "surge protector" to describe the more robust energy or power management devices. I would leave home without one. I use Progressive Industries product with their lifetime warranty. The other dominant product is made by TRC and have both products.

He is 100 per cent correct. I am glad he pointed that out. What you want is a power management system. Those will have surge protection as part of what they do but just as importantly they will look for no neutral ( No neutral means you can have 240 volts on your 115 volt lines if there is a wiring issue. ) No ground, Low voltage situations, over voltate situations. All of these can be critical to your coach electronics.

vincee · 03-03-2014, 09:52 AM

I have the Progressive Industries portable 50 amp model based on this and other forums advice. Their lifetime warranty and protection seem to give it an edge over the Surge Gard sold at Camping World stores and elsewhere. Since I just bought mine last fall at the end of the season, I am confident in its performance based on forum reviews. I plan on securing it to the power pedestal with two hardened gun lock cables I have laying around.

gemini5362 · 03-03-2014, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doodah

Thanks for all of the suggestions-they're very helpful! My RV is wired for 50 amp.service-I have deduced from the comments that if I buy a 50 amp surge protector it will still be effective if I plug into a 30 amp supply-correct? Also,I have an original-equipment roof mounted antenna that doesn"t seem to pick up any signals-I was planning on buying something to replace it and going with a Dish receiver/subscription.Should I get the receiver and subscription first and see if the current antenna works with this set-up?Would any new antennae be compatible/mount to the current roof system(i.e. replace the antenna but still function with the current retract/rotate mechanism)?

Crank up antennas have a limited range. Also most of them have a signal amplifier with them. If you are in a city and it is not working check to see if you have the DC power turned on for the amplifier. This power will be available in different ways. My entertainment control system has it built in when that system is on it supplies power to the antenna amplifier. Some antennas have a separate switch for the Amplifier power.

Different Dish recievers are set up differently. My 922 recievers had an antenna connector on them. My Hopper had to have an extra module which I bought on EBay to hook up to the hopper receiver. Both recievers have an over the air setup that you need to run any time you are using the OTA antenna. This setup will do a channel scan for local channels. If you are using your crankup antenna it will have to be pointed towards the transmitting antenna. You can do this several ways. You can get a meter that hooks onto the line and you turn the antenna until you get the strongest signal. If you are using a dish receiver it has a signal meter built in if I remember right.

If you are thinking about a satellite receiver and are not sure about whether or not you need that go with the simple manual set up one that you put up on the ground on a tripod. I believe those can be bought for a few hundred dollars. Like I said earlier a lot of the 5th wheels at the campground I was just at used them. A lot of these people were oil pipeline workers and set up for a few months at a time but these antennas worked well and I helped them set up one of them and it was a lot easier than I expected. IF you decide later you want to get a winegard traveler you can keep the manual system for a time when you are parked under trees and need to get your antenna away from the site a bit. The winegard traveler is a deluxe system but it costs between 1600 to 2000 installed. with the cheaper price being for the dish and the other for directv.

is.chowa · 03-03-2014, 02:18 PM

I have the progressive industries hard wired after the transfer switch so that it will also give protection when the generator is running. This winter I was "exercising" the 5 KW generator at -20C when I notices a small voltage surging until the genny warmed up. Had the 60Hz frequency or voltage been beyond the specifications, the monitoring system would have shut down power delivery to the coach. This has not been mentioned previously in this thread and is worth a consideration.
Steve

ImagineIF · 03-03-2014, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by is.chowa

I have the progressive industries hard wired after the transfer switch so that it will also give protection when the generator is running. This winter I was "exercising" the 5 KW generator at -20C when I notices a small voltage surging until the genny warmed up. Had the 60Hz frequency or voltage been beyond the specifications, the monitoring system would have shut down power delivery to the coach. This has not been mentioned previously in this thread and is worth a consideration.
Steve

I did the same on my last coach. The only left unprotected is the transfer switch when you do this.

Redridge · 03-03-2014, 04:48 PM

it doesn't matter wether before or after the xfer switch... it's protected either way.

ImagineIF · 03-03-2014, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redridge

it doesn't matter wether before or after the xfer switch... it's protected either way.

It can't protect the transfer switch if it's in the power line after the transfer switch. Mount it before the transfer switch and the generator power is not managed, after the transfer switch the generator power is managed and the transfer switch is unprotected. Either location is okay. Most mount them before the transfer switch as is the case with plugin styles.

vincee · 03-04-2014, 07:47 AM

Another good forum suggestion, using my portable unit on the genny as I don't have an auto transfer switch. I have to plug the 50A power cord into an outlet in the power bay, now I'll just plug in the PI unit. Thanks is.chowa!

is.chowa · 03-04-2014, 10:09 AM

Can't say what/ if the xfer switch needs protection or not. For sure the rest of the coach (electronics) certainly does. Before or after your choice. I prefer to get protection from the genny as well. Can't remember if Redwing was on this forum or not but he did a study of gennies which suggested that they can run afoul.

Steve

is.chowa · 03-04-2014, 10:48 AM

Just reread the thread and noted the following from Gemini5362 a partial quote:

"but just as importantly they will look for no neutral ( No neutral means you can have 240 volts on your 115 volt lines if there is a wiring issue. ) No ground, Low voltage situations, over voltate situations. All of these can be critical to your coach electronics."

Can't see how this would affect the stuff after the power management unit. Since there is no neutral (ground) nothing would work as each side of the leg is not connected through the equipment-devices to each other. the common point is the neutral (ground) connection unless one physically bodywise does so, then see you next time around. But remember there is that bare wire "ground" (not the white (Neutral) which connects to the chassis which could render the entire coach "hot" if it was missing. The white neutral could have some voltage present if the loads are not balanced. This is how the GFIC (Ground Fault Interrupt Circuit) works for each leg to prevent accidental electrocution by touching a metal case of the devices.

Anyway the power management unit would prevent that if the input was not correct. My point is that if the genny misbehaves, ie, over/under voltage/frequency (which the power management unit does not see) if the genny is not monitored it could fry all of those expensive electronics. Probably not your toaster.

Steve

Dr4Film · 03-04-2014, 11:13 AM

Depending on what type and model generator you have in the coach determines whether there is a potential for a runaway generator destroying any devices downstream of the ATS switch.

If your generator puts out 240 VAC which in the Onan QD line are the two top models, QD 10,000 and QD 12,000, then having the Progressive Industries EMS HW-50C unit after the transfer switch makes total sense.

However, the lower models such as mine, QD-7500 and others only output 120 VAC so the possibility of losing a neutral (which is bonded to the ground) and having 240 VAC from the generator is impossible. If the digital voltage regulator goes haywire then it could cause some problems but at least my model has a built-in internal safety device to shut the generator down when that happens.

Dr4Film ----- Richard