Hard Wired Surge Protector

[mrofb]

Has anyone installed a hard wire surge protector in a 26RSB. If so, where did you put the surge protector and how was it wired.

[stevek]

I was wondering the same thing? Good topic.

[Mike Astley]

We had a Progressive Industries EMS-HW30C installed in our coach. It was located under the bathroom sink, hardwired to the back of the input plug and mounted to the sidewall. The display unit was mounted under the sink lip next to the water heater switch.

The downside of this location is that it doesn't monitor the generator.

I have made it part of my routine to check the display each time power is hooked up. It has found 4 miss-wires, and has shut off low or high voltages numerous times (mostly in Mexico and mostly in the middle of the night). Most often it tells me I forgot to flip the breaker on the power pole.

One miss-wire was an extension cord provided by a friend who admitted he had replaced one end himself. Another miss-wire was questioned by the campground (in Mexico) as they said it had "just been repaired by an electrician". (I didn't question the my unit and moved to another site). The other 2 were a missing ground connections in US campgrounds (one was immediately repaired, the other unknown..the information was received with a "I don't believe you and I don't care expression".

[oliverpsmile]

The downside of this location is that it doesn't monitor the generator.

If it did, you would be subject of frequent black outs. The generator frequency and voltage are very volatile.

[charlesbell]

The folks at the Born Free factory hard wired surge protectors on two coaches for me over the last five or six years. In each case the surge protectors performed well. I would not want an RV of any sort without a surge protector. Prior to adding them to my subsequent coaches ALL the electronics including the TV and the microwave oven were FRIED on my 2006 BFT by an improperly wired 30 amp box at a friends house. Fortunately, Progressive Insurance covered me without one cent out of pocket and I learned a valuable lesson.

[Ray]

Charles - What kind of surge protector did BF put in?

[charlesbell]

Surge Guard model 34520. There may be a newer and improved model now.

[mrofb]

Update:
I installed a progressive 30 amp hard wire surge protector, model numberEMSHW30C, under the bathroom sink. Found it works good because first time using at Fort Pickens Campground, it gave low voltage readings. Had to use my 50a to 30a plug that my wife didn't think I needed to buy.

[oliverpsmile]

How much lower?
During the summers Con Edison in NYC regularly lower the voltage. In one time my house voltage went to 95 volts. The local transformer was the reason. After replacement I was OK with 102-108 volts.

[mrofb]

It was down to 102 volts. Once I changed over to the 50 amp to 30 amp adapter voltage was good.

[Ray]

I dont think I could put much trust in a 20 year old surge protector.

The metal oxide varistor which is common in these devices degrades cumulatively as it absorbs additional energy which is diverted to it. These protectors do have a definite lifespan. The older the protector the more likely it has reached the end of its life cycle. Some of the newer surge protectors have indicators which are intended to show when the unit needs replacement but there have been some issues reported with their accuracy.

Although - surge protector lifespans aren’t measured in years, they’re measured in joules absorbed. So if in 20 years your usage consists of 1 or 2 road trips you are probably adequately covered.

[CuJo's Pride]

After reading about surge protectors on this forum, I thought it might be a good Father's Day gift until I priced those things out. UFFDA... thats going to remain on the wish list for a while. I'll get him a good portable one instead.

[randallrae]

I recommend Progressive Dynamics EMS-PT30C , made in US lifetime warranty .

[shilohdad]

Curt and Jo,

I just had to look up UFFDA. I am used to the younger generations' use of acronyms (LOL, ROFLMAO, etc), but had no clue about UFFDA. So, I googled it. Love it! Seeing where you live, I now understand!

Here is the wikipedia entry for it for those as ignorant as I am:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uff_da

Perhaps it is somewhat similar to the Yiddish, Oy!

[CuJo's Pride]

I've got a lot of Norweigen running through my veins and its a word I grew up with. UFFDA was said instead of "Oh sh*t" usually

Jo