Surge Protector's

[jimcumminsw]

Originally Posted by emuller1

I have only camped (RV) for 3 years now up in Canada and never have seen or heard anything about a surge protector. I have also talked to may longtime campers and not 1 has mentioned that need for one, most respond with why?

My question I guess is why? Is power that dirty in the US that you require one or is it the campgrounds that provide dirty power that you require one?

Not trying to sound smug or anything else just trying to understand why is it a problem in the US and not in Canada. I do plan to become a fulltime RV in the near future and want to make sure that I have protected my investment. At the same time spending $500 plus because someone had a problem once does not justify the cost.

Will I have camped for over 20+ years 70's to the early 90's and the only electronics we have had was a radio. Now in the last 10 years we have owned a couple of 5er's and the electronics keep get more expensive with more of them such as refrigerator, TV 's, control panels and such items in the trailer. So, any little issue with the power going into a trailer/home can become a real expensive issue.

Do you not have surge protectors on your home electronics? I do every item is protected; such as my woodworking power tools, exercise equipment, TV's, stereo's and computer.

[PatStab]

My husband said the portable would be to easy to steal. He put a plug on the cord from automatic transfer box and mounted the surge protector in the bay, then put the cord on the other side and bolted it down so I wouldn't pull it loose. Never had a problem.

I bought it after I heard of some bad problems at a campground, they even had a sign up they were not responsible for surges, etc.

I have a whole house surge protector put on my electric meter at our home, its from the electric company and cost $2.95 a month. I had lost a frig, stove, and computer, all with electronics, have lost nothing since.

[emuller1]

Originally Posted by jimcumminsw

Will I have camped for over 20+ years 70's to the early 90's and the only electronics we have had was a radio. Now in the last 10 years we have owned a couple of 5er's and the electronics keep get more expensive with more of them such as refrigerator, TV 's, control panels and such items in the trailer. So, any little issue with the power going into a trailer/home can become a real expensive issue.

Do you not have surge protectors on your home electronics? I do every item is protected; such as my woodworking power tools, exercise equipment, TV's, stereo's and computer.

Actually why would I? The electrical build codes ensure that your house properly protected. I pay my electrical company to provide me with power not something that is going to fry my house. If that happened they would be responsible. It appears that there are different standards in the quality.
Secondly someone mentioned that they had fried their unit when it was plugged in their house which was hit by lightning. Again the building in Canada ensures that if there are lightning strikes a house is able to withstand unless a direct hit in which case I would suggest that a few fried electronic would be the least of your worries.

[jacwjames]

The building code does provide for protecting against lightening strike but does guarantee that your house will not be hit and damage can be done. If this happens I doubt "your" electrical company can be held accountable. In case of low/high voltage or frequency issues you may be able to argue that the electric company would be responsible but if the the problem came about by an act of God I believe they would not be held liable.

Over the last 30 years I have had 3 TV's damaged by lightening strikes, some of them were plugged into a surge protector, other not. Sometimes the lightening strike was near the house, hitting the ground, the last one actually blew out the lightening arrestor on the pole that feeds my house. Several years ago during a severe storm I was standing in the living room and a lightening strike hit a large round bale of hay across the street.

Not using a surge protector on expensive electronic equipment does have risks, especially since almost everything you buy and use in the house has electronics that could be damaged.

I am building a new house, codes require that electrical grounding be accomplished by using the rebar in the foundation. Although this does provide some protection in case of a lightening strike it does not guarantee they won't happen. I will be doing the electrical work myself and found that you can install a surge protector to your own house for a modest price, I will do this in an effort to protect the whole house. Here is an example, seems like cheap insurance and common sense.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Intermatic-...tor/1000009408

[dexters]

Originally Posted by emuller1

Actually why would I? The electrical build codes ensure that your house properly protected. I pay my electrical company to provide me with power not something that is going to fry my house. If that happened they would be responsible. It appears that there are different standards in the quality.
Secondly someone mentioned that they had fried their unit when it was plugged in their house which was hit by lightning. Again the building in Canada ensures that if there are lightning strikes a house is able to withstand unless a direct hit in which case I would suggest that a few fried electronic would be the least of your worries.

I'd suggest you get surge protectors for your house and RV - even in Canada.

Home - lightning does not have to strike your house directly - it can strike the power line and then fry your house's electronics. Also, if there is a power outage there can be a power spike when it comes back on.

RV - same as in the home but you have the possible added issue of a poorly maintained park.

I've encountered parks requiring you to sign an acknowledgement that they are not responsible for electrical damage.

At a recent RV park I encountered high voltage of 134v at a site. The mtc man said they were having this problem at spots but couldn't find the problem. That reading would have caused problems over time. The Progressive surge protector alerted me. I move to a sit with the proper voltage.

Not having a surge protector is like having unprotected sex - you don't know if you will be catching a disease.

[jimcumminsw]

Originally Posted by emuller1

Actually why would I? The electrical build codes ensure that your house properly protected. I pay my electrical company to provide me with power not something that is going to fry my house. If that happened they would be responsible. It appears that there are different standards in the quality.
Secondly someone mentioned that they had fried their unit when it was plugged in their house which was hit by lightning. Again the building in Canada ensures that if there are lightning strikes a house is able to withstand unless a direct hit in which case I would suggest that a few fried electronic would be the least of your worries.

In our last trailer, we were sitting in the trailer during an electrical storm in Virginia, when there was a lighten strike in the park. All the power to the trailer shut off immediately along with everyone else trailers in the park. The power poll was hit taking out the transformer on the poll. After the storm was over and the power was restored sometime later that day by the power company. I checked my surge suppressor which was fried and needed to be replaced, but the trailer did not have any electrical issues everything worked. Unlike the five trailers around me that lost everything in their trailers that was electrical.

I don’t know what happen has far as insurance payments to them, but I do know there were some pretty unhappy people that day. I will never be without an electrical surge suppressor for my electronics whether it is in my home or trailer. It is better to be safe than sorry. To me $500 for a good quality surge suppressor is far less expensive than replacing all of the electrical components in my trailer which I know is will over $5,000 in cost.

[marknpeg]

Originally Posted by emuller1

Actually why would I?

Why would you not? Even if it's "someone else's responsibility" you're still out the time and money to replace anything that fried, and then the pain of trying to get compensated after the fact. I'd rather have a suppressor and not worry about that, and make dinner with the game on while my neighbors are trying to light a fire.

I have the Progressive unit hardwired into my electrical bay with a bypass switch if needed. On our very first outing, I kept hearing a THUNK! from the back of the coach, and I was sure something was hitting the roof, a bay door flapped open, or we had a visitor. Actually went outside several times and didn't see a thing. I finally realized it was the suppressor doing its job, apparently iffy power coming from the park!

I'm glad I spent the money on it.