Do you use a power surge protection device

[teddyblue]

Does everyone use the autoformer with the surge control?

If you are using the portable 50A, what do you have to do when you go to a CG that has a 30A power connection.

thanks for your reply


Teddyblue

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by teddyblue


Does everyone use the autoformer with the surge control?

If you are using the portable 50A, what do you have to do when you go to a CG that has a 30A power connection.

thanks for your reply


Teddyblue

This may not answer your particular question, but we have the Surge Guard and when we have been parked where the power was low (below 102 volts), we connected our autoformer in front of the Surge Guard (between the power pedestal and the Surge Guard) to raise the power above 102 volts.

Orv

[TLightning]

Re the security of the portable unit...I put a chain around the stalk (and surge guard) and pad lock it, then cover the hole thing with an old tire shade held in place by a bungee. When questioned I say it's to keep the water off the stalk and out of the electrical connections.

[Fire5er]

Portable 50 amp Surge Guard is what we use.

[countrylady]

okay, beg my stupidity here....still learning the "ins and outs" of this lifetyle, but what is a surge guard and why do you need one?

[Craig A]

I have both a 30A and a 50A Progressive industries portable unit. After 8 years, I had an LED burn out in the 30A unit and contacted Progressive. They asked me to send it to them and they would diagnose it, and they actually replaced it. Great warranty and even better people to deal with. I was really impressed with the whole experience.

[bncinwv]

Phil,
Sorry about the delayed reply. You should have read a post in another thread by now. I have the Autoformer before the EMS and have had occasions where I had to take the Autoformer out of the loop because of overboosting the voltage. I would suggest the addition of a voltage meter in the rig to see if that may be your problem.

Countrylady,
A surge suppressor is a device that disconnects power to the rig in the event of a surge in voltage. High voltage can be damaging to high-end electronics, in particular microwaves and some televisions. Some of us are referring also to EMS systems which protect from other electrical irregularities including low voltage, improperly grounded pedestals, high voltage, etc. Essentially, I personally feel it is a must have device to protect the delicate electical devices that are present in our rigs. Hope this helps,
Bingo

[countrylady]

Thanks, Bingo....
much like the surge protectors we use for our computer equipment then?

[bncinwv]

That would be a good analogy. As others have stated, we also use a Progressive Industries 50 amp hard wired Electrical Monitoring System (EMS) in conjuction with an Autoformer, which will provide a voltage boost (and respective amperage reduction) in times of low voltage that when occurring can also be damaging to electrical equipment. Our entire system (labor was free since I installed it) was a little less than one thousand dollars. It is an investment that I am very comfortable having made.
Bingo

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by countrylady

Thanks, Bingo....
much like the surge protectors we use for our computer equipment then?

That's a good example to help illustrate what it does, but in the case of a trailer surge protector, you need to remember it is dealing with a lot more amperage. While that probably doesn't mean anything to you, it will help to explain why they cost so much more than computer surge protectors if you check on prices.

[Briarglenn]

Good Evening,

We had the following experience this past summer. We pulled into a campground, and because of problems w/our landing gear switch my wife decided to plug in the power cord. End result was that while there was spark when she plugged the 50a cord in, we had an electrical problem.

We still do not know what happen, but the result was that after we lowered the landing gear and unhooked the 5vr we had a terrible odor inside. The good woman thought someone was burning garbage, but no, it was the smell of an electrical fire. A check showed that all of our plug in surge protectors had burned out (melted). I checked the pedistal and the power connections appeared to be properaly connected.

We just had your normal electrical surge protectors bought at Home Depot, WalMart, etc., but all were burned and melted. When my bride had plugged them in, she did not turn off the circuit breaker, thus the spark. But, the disconnect, turn off turn on seemed to correct the problem. Following a reconnect, no smell and all circuits worked right. None of our equipment was damaged. We replaced the surge protectors, and everything works o.k.

Just our experience.

[hookman]

I use a PowerMaster Voltage Controller. It has a built in surge protection of 3580 joules. I was told it does not need further protection above this. It has very well so far and I don't for see any problems with it.
http://www.rvperformanceproducts.com