Surge Protector install surprise

[edatlanta]

Originally Posted by bjlakatos

I installed the Progressive HW50C in the rig last weekend and wanted to share a few notes and a BIG Surprise.

Progressive instructions were very easy to follow. HW is best in class.

Access to the shore power wires on the converter were easier than expected.

Getting the existing feed from the shore power plug to the new location where the HW50c was mounted was mostly easy, had to dodge heating ductwork and other wiring.

Getting new wire (~5' of 6AWG back to converter was also pretty easy. Same comments re: heating ductwork and other wiring.

The big challenge was getting the wires routed to the HW50C and coercing them into position for connection was the biggest challenge. 6 AWG is just not very compliant to your wishes...

I flipped the power on to make a few crosschecks and then buttoned it up. All was good for the rest of the day. (Trailer parked in storage location).

BIG SURPRISE: The next evening I go to do some more work on the trailer, plug into the same power pole and the HW50C blocked the power to the trailer due to being too High. The power coming out of the pole into the rig was 135v. The HW50C blocks it at 132v. As the evening went on the power dropped back to 125v again and the HWC let it through. Then it cycled a few more times.

The spec on the WFCO 8955 converter I have is 130V max so the HW50C did its job.

This my third trailer in this storage lot over a period of 7yrs and never had any power problems, although I have known others that had all sorts of electrical issues with their Rig's converters and microwaves.

I am just wondering how long this issue has been going on.

I had the same problem at my home base site which is in a residential area a few years ago. My PT50C shut me down too. When the power company arrived and verified they had a bad transformer issue, the lineman wanted to see the device that shut me down. He was a RV'er and said he was going to order one. My neighbors had been complaining about burned out light bulbs also (incandescent).

I will Never Ever plug in anywhere without my PT50 inline.

[edatlanta]

Originally Posted by rarebear.nm

It important to keep in mind low and high voltages >+/-10% can cause damage to some types electronics. Damage may not be realized right away, but slowly degrades the reliability of the device in an accumulative manner. Damage from one event may not show up for a long time, but its there.

Its difficult to say that your electronics were never damaged with out an EMS. It may simply show up when the device fails earlier than it would have otherwise.

IMO- EMS, TPMS and water pressure regulators, etc are just another form of insurance.

Agreed.