Surge Protector or not?????

[life2short]

I think the cost is very minimal for the peace of mind. My daddy always said you got to pay to play. I don't RV because its saves me money.

[Kevinc2011]

Any area that has Thunderstorms is a danger without a surge guard. I had to add a unit to my 2012 Alpine 3600RS, After discussing the Surge Guard units with Keystone last year, They are now Standard Equipment in their Alpine Line of Campers. I have had every camper around me damaged during a Storm, and my unit shut off the power until the surge passed, then after its 90 second pump protect time delay, it pulled in and resumed activities as usual. After seeing what Mobile RV Service costs, my unit was paid for before I installed it.

[Fool]

In the whole scheme of things...the money spent for a surge protector is minimal, and does give peace of mind.....we are out there for that are we not....

Has protected me once...that was enough.

My only question of need , would be to have it installed in the RV or haul it around and hook it up manually...I decided I didn't need to spend the money to have it installed and still have the peace of mind.

Fool

[Heber Eason]

Installing a surge protector is not complicated. In my MH,I disconnected my land line cable at the junction box and connected it into the surge protector. If you are lucky, the cable disconnected in the junction box will be long enough to connect back to your surge protector and the job is complete. You may have to secure your wiring and you are ready for your next trip. My surge protector had excellent directions and also a super tech services for moral support. Draw yourself a sketch and follow the color code of the wiring.

[Shadowcatche]

I decided to install a Progressive Industries EMS to protect our teardrop, which has rather a lot of electronics. A miss-wired pedestal can totally mess up a camping trip, and an RV, not to mention lightening which we have lots of.

[dennis45]

Originally Posted by Heber Eason

Installing a surge protector is not complicated. In my MH,I disconnected my land line cable at the junction box and connected it into the surge protector. If you are lucky, the cable disconnected in the junction box will be long enough to connect back to your surge protector and the job is complete. You may have to secure your wiring and you are ready for your next trip. My surge protector had excellent directions and also a super tech services for moral support. Draw yourself a sketch and follow the color code of the wiring.

Mine is hard wired, not difficult to do and it is out of site, out of mind. Have the monitor inside in a cabinet so it doesn't cause problems blinking at night! Have not had occasion to need it yet but I figure it is a lot cheaper to install this device than replace two led TV's and all the sat gear etc.



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[Scottybdivin]

Good insurance. Easy to install other than space limitations. I hardwired a PI EMS-HW50C downstream of the transfer switch so it would protect from both shore and gen power. I have the monitor mounted in the basement near the UDC so that when I plug into a new source, I can see what is happening at that moment. It has an option for a 2nd monitor and I would like to place it inside. It has already ID'd a bad pedestal that I plugged into at one campground that only had one leg on the service. I like the fact that it tells you how many amps are being used on each leg.

[IMDSailor]

Originally Posted by C-PHartley

Without a doubt, You need one.

Originally Posted by iawoody2

IMO it's cheap insurance.

Nuff said.

[Paulandvicki]

If you don't get one you will wish you did. If you invest in one you will never need it.
Just like all insurances.......I hope.
Got one and glad I did.

[webslave]

Many people don't buy one, never need it, never miss it. They do the same thing with their computer equipment... It only takes once to fry everything in your TT or 5er or you home computer. In the days when the most "electrical" thing in your RV was a clock and maybe a tube type television is wasn't a big deal. Fast forward to today's new RVs. Computer boards everywhere, remote control everything, LED/LCD/Plasma televisions, microwaves...you get the picture. You may go the rest of your life and never need one, but, you could wind up in a situation tomorrow where you'll wish you had one. Like the lottery...the odds are really stacked against you, however, someone, sometime hits it. The odds are really stacked against really needing an EMS system for your RV, but, for $250-400 for a good one, do you want to bet $3500 and up for all new electronics that you won't?

I have had my EMS stop power or prevent initial initial powering up 3 times. Twice on my TT and once on the 5er. Two of the times, I'm not even real sure why it cut the power, the 3rd was a miss wired pedestal. Would any of those times ruined any of my electronics? Again, I don't know, but, I'm glad that the EMS killed the power so that I wouldn't find out the hard way. A lot of folks carry testers and meters and always check their hook ups and monitor the power in their RVs constantly. I have the meter that shows the voltage and I glance at it every now and then, but, the EMS is on duty 24 hrs/day, 7 days a week and even when I'm dead asleep, it is watching out for my electronics.

[SLJKansas]

There are surge protectors and energy management systems (EMS). A surge protector protects for voltage surges (spikes), A EMS system protects you from surges, PLUS high and low voltage, faulty grounds and improper polarity. We had low voltage one night, just as we were going to bed, voltage dropped to 104 vac then to 64 vac. the EMS shut the power down at 108 vac and kept it off until the voltage came back up. We were having 100+ degree days and had both AC's running for the night. We could have had to replace both AC's, refer and converter. The EMS runs around $300, but is well worth the cost. Surgeguard has a 1 year warranty, Progressive Industries are life time and have excellent customer service. I have the Portable 50 amp EMS, and never plug in without it.

[Kevinc2011]

The hard wired SurgeGuard units do over/under voltage, pedestal Miswire, and compressor protect delay, as well as surge protection. They are actually a motorized circuit breaker. Meaning they physically open up like an electric motor starter. If the power presented does not meet the required specifications, these units will not close to provide the power to the RV breaker panel at all! The units 10 years ago had a Bypass. The new ones removed it.

[oldbeek]

I am really cheap, but after reading all the reasons to have one, I just purchased mine after 19yrs of rving. Don't want to ruin a nice RV trip.

[Larry Barnhart]

We have had a surge protector since 2001. Yes you need one.
chevman