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Old 11-25-2004, 07:44 AM   #1
Chester
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Surge Guard Protectors

We had our Monty 2750 for 4 years and did not have a surge guard protector. I have run into a few people that say we should not be without it. I'm looking at getting one for our new Monty but am surprised at the $900 Can cost for a 50 amp unit.

I'm wondering how many of you folks have a surge protector and why. Also do you have the interior or exterior unit. If the exterior do you have a way of securing it against theft??

Thanks...
 
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Old 11-25-2004, 08:11 AM   #2
faeb and genb
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Don't have one never had one. That is what the breakers arte for.
Gene
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Old 11-25-2004, 11:18 AM   #3
azstar
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Hello Brad & Glenda,

We, after thinking about it for a couple of years put one in our new rig. I'm very happy with it. We bought the Surge Guard. They have a good web site at www.trci.net We bought the built in model. Camping World sells them. We told our dealer if he would match the CW Presidents Club price we would buy it from him, which he did. We got the 30 Amp for $215. I see the 50A built in is $305, thats whole lot better than $900. It was an easy install. I also talked with the TRCI engineering dept. and was quite satisfied. Two thumbs up.

Please check out their Web Site.

Happy Camping
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Old 11-25-2004, 01:36 PM   #4
Ormee and Ginette
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We installed the interior 50amp Surge Guard model with the monitor panel last year in our 2880 Montana after having experienced a fire in the inverter due to the line voltage going up to 165 volts AC... Three other RV units at this campground also experienced problems with this over voltage, some had their microwaves, televisions and stereo systems completly burnt up... Do not trust your circuit breakers to protect you they won't none of these folks had any circuit breaker pop... This did not blow any circuit breakers because no load was on the line except the inverter... We had this same unit transferred to our Big Sky 3670RL this year... I truly believe that every RV manufacturer should provide one or offer it as an option on every RV... It is only a matter of time when you will get zapped by an open ground or a hot side sinking to the low side and since your RV picks up its ground and neutral from the post wiring if it is bad you will have damage to your RV... The Surge Guard protects against all types of wiring errors and under/over voltage conditions...
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Old 11-26-2004, 01:23 AM   #5
BillyRay
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never had, probably never will at that price. they are good to have, but never had any problems in the past. it is ironic as we spend thousands on a camper ...and cheap out on items like this.

my feeling is that if any of these dealers thought it was a must have, it would come built in...even alot of your high end MH's don't have them!!!
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Old 11-27-2004, 12:16 PM   #6
Chester
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Thanks for the feedback. I think these units are good to have but I will wait until I'm in the US to buy one. They seem like one of the few things that are priced way out of line with the US price.
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Old 11-28-2004, 03:50 AM   #7
Gypsy
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I bought the Electrical Management System (EMS-HW50C) manufactured by Progressive Industries (www.progressiveindustries.net) through Jolyn Enterprises where John Palmer installed it as part of my new solar system. I feel the price ($389) is justified, as it will protect all my appliances which could cost a lot more to replace. It's rated at 50A, but will still protect at lower amps, depending on what's available for shore power. It's installed internally, and protects against both low and high voltage and automatically shuts off power to the RV. It also provides full surge, reverse polarity, open neutral, open ground, AC frequency and accidental 220V protection.
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Old 11-28-2004, 11:45 AM   #8
ols1932
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Chester

We had our Monty 2750 for 4 years and did not have a surge guard protector. I have run into a few people that say we should not be without it. I'm looking at getting one for our new Monty but am surprised at the $900 Can cost for a 50 amp unit.

I'm wondering how many of you folks have a surge protector and why. Also do you have the interior or exterior unit. If the exterior do you have a way of securing it against theft??

Thanks...
It's interesting to read all the naysayers -- never had one, don't need one. Why do we buy insurance? For the one time that you might need it. The Surge Guard from CW is well worth the money (insurance) to protect against the one time you might need it. A friend of ours had the entire electrical system in their Travel Supreme blow up due to a surge up to 160 volts. The lost their converter, TV, Microwave, Computer and some other electrical appliances. All told it cost them over $2,000. Circuit breakers didn't help.

We use the external surge guard and padlock it to the Montana stabilizer legs. It works very well. It not only helps you in the event you have a surge but also protects against low voltage. Did you know that you can burn out your AC and reefer if your voltage drops below 100 V? We've been in parks where the input voltage to the rig dropped to 98 V. Therefore we are also believers in using a voltage transformer.

You paid many thousands for your rig -- why not spend a little to protect it?

I do a lot of electrical work at RV rallies and have seen just about everything imaginable when voltage is too high and/or too low.

Hope this helps a little
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Old 11-28-2004, 12:54 PM   #9
kdeiss
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by azstar

Hello Brad & Glenda,

We, after thinking about it for a couple of years put one in our new rig. I'm very happy with it. We bought the Surge Guard. They have a good web site at www.trci.net We bought the built in model. Camping World sells them. We told our dealer if he would match the CW Presidents Club price we would buy it from him, which he did. We got the 30 Amp for $215. I see the 50A built in is $305, thats whole lot better than $900. It was an easy install. I also talked with the TRCI engineering dept. and was quite satisfied. Two thumbs up.

Please check out their Web Site.

Happy Camping

Azstar,Can you tell me where you mounted this unit in the Montana Thanks
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Old 11-28-2004, 02:44 PM   #10
azstar
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Hey Ken & Ginny,

Looking at your floor plan it looks the same as ours. Which means if your Elect. comes in the rear like ours, there's a junction box under the Table/Stand thats between the lounge chairs.

I asked my Dealer if he had an old cabinet door lying around? He came up with a door about 12x18. I cut about a 10x16 hole in the side of the table/stand, curb side. I glued and screwed some 1x2" wood pieces to the inside of my new opening and then mounted the new cabinet door.

Now that I created access to this area, I mounted the Surge Guard to the floor where the junction box was and made my connections.

This worked out great. I have plenty of room to store my Elect. cord and have easy access to the S/G. The S/G has a keyed switch just in case you need to by-pass it for any reason.

And for the non-believers out there, we ran into two parks this year with voltage problems. I have been told by reputable persons that even if you don't loose an Elect. device at one of these problem parks, you have shortened the life of the device. Sounds right to me.

Happy Camping
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Old 11-29-2004, 01:59 AM   #11
Bill and Ann
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Another alternative is to purchase an Autoformer. It is not only a surge protector but if you are in a campground that doesn't supply a constant 30 or 50 amp. the autoformer kicks in and supplies the required power to your unit. They are available from Campers World in 30 or 50 amp units. We purchased ours for $100. less that Campers World at a Texas Flea Market in DonWest.
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Old 11-29-2004, 06:57 AM   #12
Chester
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Thanks for the input ols1932. The external unit makes most sense to me since it's easy to move when you buy a new trailer but I was concernned about theft. The dealer had shown me a lock which only locked the unit to an extension cord. Problem was you could steal the extension cord and the surge guard then.

I don't recall anything on the body of the surge guard that you can use a padlock on. It's been a while since I've seen a "real" unit. How do you padlock it??
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Old 12-04-2004, 03:22 AM   #13
ols1932
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Chester

Thanks for the input ols1932. The external unit makes most sense to me since it's easy to move when you buy a new trailer but I was concernned about theft. The dealer had shown me a lock which only locked the unit to an extension cord. Problem was you could steal the extension cord and the surge guard then.

I don't recall anything on the body of the surge guard that you can use a padlock on. It's been a while since I've seen a "real" unit. How do you padlock it??
I use a Master padlock which fits snugly around the surge guard cord and use a bicycle cable fitted from the padlock around whatever is available at the electrical pedestal. If there is nothing to tie to at the pedestal I place the surge guard between the cable from the pedestal and the cable input to my rig. Then the surge guard is padlock either to one of the rear stabilizer legs or a slideout bar.

Usually, when I have questionable power, I use my autotransformer between the pedestal and my surge guard (because if power is low, the autotransformer will prevent power from being applied to the rig). Contrary what some people might believe, the autotransformer only provides minimal surge protection. It is designed primarily to boost power when needed. I'd rather be safe than sorry. I can replace an autotransformer much easier than a lot of electrical inside the rig.

By placing the autotransformer between the pedestal and the surge guard, I provide adequate power to the surge guard which turns on power to the rig. In turn, I am protected from surges.

Hope this helps a little.
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Old 12-04-2004, 06:36 AM   #14
azstar
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Hi Orv,

I was waiting for you to reply about the Autoformers minimal surge/spike protection.

This is good info. that people need to know so they can add this protection.

Happy Camping.
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Old 12-04-2004, 07:02 AM   #15
Chester
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My understanding was that the surge guard unit also protected against low voltage. As such I don't understand the need for the autotransformer. Can you clarify for me ols1932.

Thanks...
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Old 12-04-2004, 07:34 AM   #16
azstar
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Your absolutly right Brad. The S/G does protect for high and low. The S/G slams the door shut on all Elect. power if it see this happening. After 2min. & 16 sec. it allows power to come back on if the problem has corrected it self. If not it continues to wait for corrected results.

The Autoformer will boost low or reduce high power and will protect your unit from these things until it goes out of its range which if I remember correctly is about 90V and 130V at which time your rig will start seeing this low or high voltage. What Orv has done is to use the AF to increase/decrease power until it goes out of range at which time the S/G will slam the door shut, and he has added a good surge/spike protection. Someone someday will put all this tech. into one unit but the cost will probably be big bucks.

The S/G also has other built in protection like mis-wired pedistals and very good surge/spike protection.

The reason for the 2Min. 16sec. delay, is time for the A/C unit to bleed its pressure down so you won't have a high pressure start when power is restored.

Happy Camping
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Old 12-04-2004, 08:02 AM   #17
Chester
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Thanks Steve. I think I've got it and it makes sense to cover both issues.

Also thanks Ov for the description on how you lock the SG to your 5er.

Now I just have to pick some money off that tree in my backyard and head off to the store.
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Old 12-04-2004, 10:54 AM   #18
harleyrider
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i`ve camped next to people that have been Rv`ing for 20 plus years and they have never used a surge guard.I thought that they would be good insurance againist some voltage problem.I just have been having a hard time justifing the cost of one of these.

but like others have said think about the cost if some thing does happen and you lose all your appliances that would be terable.Can`t tell you how many times i`ve been to "camping world"picked one up in my hand,looked at the price and put it back down.maybe next time I`ll put it down on the check -out counter.

just don`t tell my wife-i`ll need more then a surge guard tp protect me from her voltage outradge.LoL
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Old 12-04-2004, 12:21 PM   #19
ols1932
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Chester

My understanding was that the surge guard unit also protected against low voltage. As such I don't understand the need for the autotransformer. Can you clarify for me ols1932.

Thanks...
Sure. Think about this. You pull into an RV park and their voltage is about 100 - 102 volts. If you just have the surge guard connected you will never get voltage to your rig because the SG low voltage cutoff is 102 volts. You have to boost the power up above that in order for it to provide surge protection for your rig. That's why I use the autotransformer in front of the surge guard (between the pedestal and the surge guard). This allows me to have higher voltage for AC, refer, etc and still have the surge protection provided by the surge guard.

Does this help clarify?
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Old 12-04-2004, 12:48 PM   #20
azstar
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HD RDR,

Think of this. The folks like us who have been out there for many years have gotten new Rigs that have all sorts of new power guzzlers in them. Heck 30 yrs. ago not many had A/C and nobody had Microwaves. Most parks we visit have never been up-graded, when it comes to supplied power. Hence more parks are seening lower power. Also there is a heck of a lot more RV'ers.

Orv is probably where we should all be. But not everybody has a printing press in their basement. LOL

If you have a S/G and the Park has something less than 102V, you have to use the built in keyed bypass and I wouldn't use my Microwave, and I would put my Refer on gas. The good news is we have never had to do this yet. We have had our S/G slam the door shut, but it's always been for just a couple of mins.

Happy Camping
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