Electrical issues after a storm

[WVPete]

Originally Posted by oscarvan

So what powers the fridge when you're driving?

following

[biker-bob]

I've had 2 surge protectors be ruined, 1 due to campground wiring and one due to lightening storms. One convection oven and 1 ats replaced. More damage was prevented because of the surge protector. Surge protectors aren't an option - they are a necessity.

Originally Posted by WVPete

following

[wolfe10]

If an electrical storm is likely, just UNPLUG your shore power cord.


A nearby strike can overwhelm any surge protector. Heck, air is a great insulator and that lightening bolt just traveled through thousands of feet of air.

[OldWEB]

Originally Posted by wolfe10

If an electrical storm is likely, just UNPLUG your shore power cord.
A nearby strike can overwhelm any surge protector. Heck, air is a great insulator and that lightening bolt just traveled through thousands of feet of air.

EXACTLY!

Many times I have seen porcelain bits scattered around where a lightning arrester once stood in a HV station. Lightning and its voltage surge will do what it wants to, travel where it wants to and do whatever damage it wants to, sometimes making no sense to the damage it caused on its travels to find a good earth point to dissipate its energy.
Now everyday voltage surges can also be caused by improper switching by the power company, capacitive or inductive loads and underground cabling and typical surge protectors will/may help to some degree.

[Steve 716]

Do you use a quality surge suppressor? If not, buy and install one. I have been in RV parks where power problems suddenly start occuring during or after a big storm. The cause could be within the park or at a pole ouitside a park. I have also seen problems when power company linemen were working on a pole. RV park pedestals, wiring, and breakers can and do go bad. In every case my surge suppressor caught the problem and isolated my coach until they were resolved. As a result, I have never had to replace any of my internal RV components because of external power problems. At one park the park maintenance people were using my voltage readout from my suppressor to monitor wildly fluctuating campground voltage. (Power company workers were working on outside the campground poles with blown transformers after a major storm). I hardwired a Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C with a remote readout. A pole mounted version with the same protections also is available.

There was another problem caused by this event. The campground uses well water. When power was restored the pump initially pumped mud. I have an outside water softener and install a 5 micron house type filter in front of it. No mud got past it. I would much rather replace a filter instead or a water softener.

Some transfer switches include one and done surge suppression, meaning no or impared operation after a surge. Others don't incorporate any surge suppression. If this describes you, the only solution is installing a high quality surge suppressor in front of your transfer switch or accept the possibility of RV electrical damage.