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Old 10-12-2020, 01:31 PM   #1
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Autoformers (Voltage Booster)

I wonder if anyone has experience with autoformers to boost low voltage instead of just unplugging if it gets too low?
Something like this one
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06W55ZKB6
One potential situation is camping in the summer with a lot of neighbors using their ACs.
I am curious if it duplicates the EMS functionality as well?
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Old 10-12-2020, 01:48 PM   #2
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Looks like another item that can "walk away", I much prefer the Progressive EMS inside.....
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Old 10-12-2020, 01:53 PM   #3
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Looks like another item that can "walk away", I much prefer the Progressive EMS inside.....
could be hardwired inside, I guess
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Old 10-12-2020, 01:59 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dosby View Post
I wonder if anyone has experience with autoformers to boost low voltage instead of just unplugging if it gets too low?
Something like this one
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06W55ZKB6
One potential situation is camping in the summer with a lot of neighbors using their ACs.
I am curious if it duplicates the EMS functionality as well?
I have the Surge Guard 10176 120v 30a. I use it for exactly the situation you stated. Coming back from ETI on pickup in Aug 2019 I used it 2 times when the EMS shut down, once at a KOA in Ely NV and again in Benson AZ. It did the job!

I carry it in my rear bumper basket, Weighs about 25 lb. I don't routinely hook it up. If my EMS quits because of low voltage, I connect the VR input to the pedestal and the output to the trailer plugin. The VR must be between the shore and the EMS. Surge Guard claims it will boost the voltage by about 10%.

Dupes a few EMS stuff. There are status and fault indicators lites. It will tell you if the Gnd connection is good, Ground or neutral open, Line and neutral reversed. also under or over voltage. It is not a surge protector.

Normal condition is bypass mode. Nothing happening in there.

They are a bit pricy. I don't know if I would have bought one but I had this one so I take it along.

Check the Surge Guard site for all the specs.
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Old 10-12-2020, 02:05 PM   #5
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An auto transformer is not a cure all and it can in fact make the low voltage conditions in a campgrounds worse . I would suggest you do some research and not take the literature furnished by auto transformer vendors at face value
I could give you a long winded electrical explanation but I won’t !!
All I will say is you can’t get something for nothing .
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Old 10-12-2020, 02:16 PM   #6
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Autofromers increase the voltage by increasing the amperage draw from the pedestal. If you were the only one using one & you didn't go over 30 amps (the breaker protecting it) it could be considered a solution to low voltage. The problem, as Steve points out, is if everyone used one, the campground power would quickly be overloaded. The usual reason for low voltage is an overloaded campground service or wiring, both of which your use of an autoformer would contribute to the problem.

There are those that say I paid for 30 amps, therefore I should be able to use all of it. The problem with that is wiring codes do not require a campground to provide full power to each & every site. The larger the campground, the smaller percentage of full power capability is required. As RVs get more electrical appliances & more crowded, that has become a problem. Most newer campgrounds provide far more than the NEC minimums, but older campgrounds & hot days when everyone is running an air conditioner still overloads many.
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Old 10-12-2020, 02:18 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
An auto transformer is not a cure all and it can in fact make the low voltage conditions in a campgrounds worse . I would suggest you do some research and not take the literature furnished by auto transformer vendors at face value
I could give you a long winded electrical explanation but I won’t !!
All I will say is you can’t get something for nothing .
Anyone who takes marketing literature/hype at face value is begging for it!

Some campgrounds do not allow them. Too many folks using them and it's becomes obvious to the most casual observer that nothing good is going to come of that situation.

As you say, no long winded explanation necessary
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Old 10-12-2020, 02:24 PM   #8
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Looks like another item that can "walk away", I much prefer the Progressive EMS inside.....
My Voltage Regulator sits in my rear basket and is connected thru holes in the box. So maybe I get a tore up box and a stolen regulator. Bummer!

Our ETI installed EMS is not a voltage regulator.
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Old 10-12-2020, 04:15 PM   #9
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My Voltage Regulator sits in my rear basket and is connected thru holes in the box. So maybe I get a tore up box and a stolen regulator. Bummer!

Our ETI installed EMS is not a voltage regulator.
That's a great idea to keep it in the locking box. I am almost 100% sure the new lithium option from ETI would put the battery itself under the bench, freeing up space in the back, so I guess I could bolt some small to medium locking cargo box there.
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Old 10-12-2020, 05:35 PM   #10
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My Voltage Regulator sits in my rear basket and is connected thru holes in the box. So maybe I get a tore up box and a stolen regulator. Bummer!

Our ETI installed EMS is not a voltage regulator.
True, it does not regulate the voltage but only allow voltage between a preset range to your trailer. Thus low(brown outs) or high(spikes) are controlled and only the correct amount is allowed.
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Old 10-12-2020, 06:17 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
True, it does not regulate the voltage but only allow voltage between a preset range to your trailer. Thus low(brown outs) or high(spikes) are controlled and only the correct amount is allowed.
To be clear the EMS just cuts out in those extreme low and high voltage cases, it doesn't correct them.
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Old 10-13-2020, 07:20 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
True, it does not regulate the voltage but only allow voltage between a preset range to your trailer. Thus low(brown outs) or high(spikes) are controlled and only the correct amount is allowed.
A voltage sensor. I'll go for that!
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