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Old 10-24-2022, 10:06 PM   #1
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Progressive EMS install on a E19

Getting a new E19 delivered in 2 weeks that does not have the EMS option. I will install the hardwired version with the remote display when I get it.

Appears that ETI installs these under the DS dinette with the display on the face of the dinette seat on the E19.

BTW - The trailer also has the "inverter with all plugs" - doubt I will ever use that........but...........

I'm considering installing the EMS under the DS bed area in the back, closest to the incoming shore power (removable power cord) and mounting the display above the refridge (5 ft 3 way) somewhere.

No hatches on the DS at all

Question - Does it make any realizable difference from an electrical safety standpoint to have the EMS as close as possible to the incoming shore power versus installing it 15', or 20' of wire downstream from such?

My gut says to mount it as close to the shore power input as possible, though I'm a retired finance guy, not an EE or a sparky.

Likely easier to mount under the DS dinette, though I would like the display at eye level regardless.


What says the hive?
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Old 10-25-2022, 06:56 AM   #2
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Honestly I wouldn’t worry about it not being right at the power cord entrance. It’s there to protect the appliances not the power cord. Many RV’s have it down the line a bit or don’t have one at all. I would install it where you have the best area to install (or troubleshoot/ replace if you have issues in the future) which is likely under the DS dinette seat. That back corner is tight with hot water heater and trying to access under the bed. When I installed ours under DS dinette the hardest part was getting enough slack in the main power wire. A good part about the EMS display on the dinette seat face is that you can glance in the door when setting up camp and see if power is ok. Having it above the fridge with red, scrolling display may be annoying at night depending on which way you sleep. FYI if you mount it like Escape on top of the wooden box encasing the black tank be careful that the screws are not too long. I forget if it came with mounting screws or not.
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Old 10-25-2022, 07:29 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 7Gentex View Post
I'm considering installing the EMS under the DS bed area in the back, closest to the incoming shore power (removable power cord) and mounting the display above the refridge (5 ft 3 way) somewhere.

No hatches on the DS at all

Question - Does it make any realizable difference from an electrical safety standpoint to have the EMS as close as possible to the incoming shore power versus installing it 15', or 20' of wire downstream from such?

My gut says to mount it as close to the shore power input as possible, though I'm a retired finance guy, not an EE or a sparky.

Likely easier to mount under the DS dinette, though I would like the display at eye level regardless.


What says the hive?
Either location is fine.

Escape's rational for the location of the EMS display under the driver's side dinette, is so you can see it from the doorway after you initially plug in without having to climb in the trailer to look at it. For the most part that is when you will look at it the most. You may want to see how much running the microwave, or air conditioner uses and then it isn't the greatest location for seeing that. But, generally once you see those, they aren't going to change, so it's not something you will be repeatedly looking at.

I didn't have Escape install the EMS display as I convince myself there would be a better location. In the end, I ended up putting it where they would have.
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Old 10-25-2022, 07:52 AM   #4
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When choosing a location for the remote, be sure you will be comfortable with its flashing red display, particularly at night...
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Old 10-25-2022, 10:17 AM   #5
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I mounted our hard wired EMS under the dinette bench seat & attached a Velcro sticky to the remote display. The display is left under the bench seat, figured the only reason to look at it would be if there were a problem. It’s all been good for 4 years now. We have only needed to look at the error display once for a error code & there is plenty of cord attached to the display to bring it up to eye level.
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Old 10-25-2022, 10:54 AM   #6
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The ability to easily monitor 120V current draw while plugged into shore/generator power will be important for me. Has anyone attempted to permanently relocate the remote display to a more convenient/viewable position in the E19 (assuming the EMS unit remains in the factory location)?

It looks like it might be possible to fish the wiring behind the outer luan bathroom wall paneling and mount the display below smoke detector or adjacent to the overhead door. The wiring appears to the use telephone-style RJ11 connectors, so it should be easy enough to source a longer cable....if required.
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Old 10-25-2022, 11:58 AM   #7
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On a E19, you can pull the medicine cabinet to gain access to the wall space between the bathroom and the D/S dinette bench. Takes a few minutes since the top of the medicine cabinet has been caulked along the top to prevent water getting inside the wall cavity during a shower. Once the cabinet is removed, I was able to access the wall cavity and the black tank vent chase. which is in the angled corner of the bath. If you are going to fish wires or drill into this space, be aware of the black vent pipe is in that space.
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Old 10-25-2022, 12:54 PM   #8
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Quote:
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On a E19, you can pull the medicine cabinet to gain access to the wall space between the bathroom and the D/S dinette bench. Takes a few minutes since the top of the medicine cabinet has been caulked along the top to prevent water getting inside the wall cavity during a shower. Once the cabinet is removed, I was able to access the wall cavity and the black tank vent chase. which is in the angled corner of the bath. If you are going to fish wires or drill into this space, be aware of the black vent pipe is in that space.

Thanks!


Believe I will mount the unit in the factory DS under dinette location. Display mount TBD.


Appreciate all the responses.
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Old 10-25-2022, 01:00 PM   #9
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I would put the EMS itself somewhere approximately between the external power port, and the power center just so I don't need a lot of extra romex wire to reach it.

the EMS display on my 21 is above the fridge, next to the tank status display panel
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Old 10-25-2022, 06:07 PM   #10
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Consider using the external EMS. It mounts on the power pole only when needed. No installation necessary. From the same manufacturer, same protection.
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Old 10-25-2022, 06:21 PM   #11
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Consider using the external EMS. It mounts on the power pole only when needed. No installation necessary. From the same manufacturer, same protection.
Make sure you don’t leave it on the power pole when you leave the campsite. They can tend to sprout legs n walk off or forget to pack it up when you leave to go home. It has happened
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Old 10-26-2022, 06:04 AM   #12
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Master padlock makes a cable and padlock system that may have been designed to lock a Progressive EMS to the pedestal. Just as a bike lock can be easily defeated, so can this. It just discourages the casual thief.
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Old 10-26-2022, 07:16 AM   #13
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Master padlock makes a cable and padlock system that may have been designed to lock a Progressive EMS to the pedestal. Just as a bike lock can be easily defeated, so can this. It just discourages the casual thief.
Even the casual thief's knows that a B/O cutsaw makes super short work of chains and cables. Why tempt them. Permanently mounted inside no worries about forgetting it or it walking off
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Old 10-26-2022, 09:35 AM   #14
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Consider using the external EMS. It mounts on the power pole only when needed. No installation necessary. From the same manufacturer, same protection.
I have an external EMS from my previous trailer. After having had things like a Rubbermaid plastic step stolen from my campsite, I decided to get a built in EMS when I ordered my Escape.

The external EMS is also more expensive than the internal one.

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Old 10-26-2022, 09:42 AM   #15
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This thread has been timely read this morning. I plugged in to shore power yesterday and this morning while sitting at the dinette having breakfast, coffee, and morning conversations, the blinking red EMS light started bothering me. It is mounted at eye level in front of me.

After thinking about it I decided I don't really need the EMS except to check the power when first connecting. I just turned the EMS off and the annoying blinking stopped and it reads "OFF". This is less annoying but the light is still quite bright. I can cover it with a plastic diffusing lens if I want.

The reason I am commenting here is that others have mentioned the blinking red light. It has never been a concern to me until this morning. Now I think this is a valid consideration. The reason it bothers me this morning is that it is dark due to the season and weather so the blinking red light in front of me is a rather prominent annoyance.
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Old 10-26-2022, 10:16 AM   #16
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I remember people placing black tape on their car display to eliminate "check engine" signal.....
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Old 10-26-2022, 10:52 AM   #17
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Make sure you don’t leave it on the power pole when you leave the campsite. They can tend to sprout legs n walk off or forget to pack it up when you leave to go home. It has happened

I can neither confirm, nor deny, that the above has ever happened to me...............


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Old 10-26-2022, 02:22 PM   #18
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Make sure you don’t leave it on the power pole when you leave the campsite. They can tend to sprout legs n walk off or forget to pack it up when you leave to go home. It has happened
I think the portable power management units getting stolen is highly over rated. I have never heard of one getting taken and haven't even read in any of the several forums I frequent about one getting away. I'm sure it happens, but its kinda like a lot of things in life, you have to set a level of tolerance.

I installed a Progressive HW30 in my motorhome, put the display with the levels and switches panel. I liked seeing the numbers and knowing what was going on electrically. Then I sold the motor home. It didn't make a rats difference to the buyer, so I basically gave it away. Then I realized that if you do have a permanent one installed, you need to make up the short jumpers, and know how to install them should the relay or circuit board fail, and you need to have the tools (an "ought" phillips screwdriver for the cover and tools to install the jumpers across the relay).

I bought a Hughes Watchdog portable because I liked the Bluetooth feature of it but the lit up face was too much, so I opened it up and unplugged the wire to the face lights. Then the Bluetooth would not work and I called Hughes once, never got a call back. Called a couple of months later and the lady I talked to tried to have me do all of the common things I had already tried. Finally she connected me to the tech guy who I wanted to talk to in the first place. It took about 20 seconds for him to say "app permissions" and I discovered they had been changed either thru an update or my mis doings. Now it works.

I talked with Progressive about another issue and asked when they were going to incorporate Bluetooth in their portable units. The answer.... NEVER. The reasons were perfectly logical. Constant tech support issues related to two apps (Android and Apple) and a zillion different phones with varying versions and sub versions of the operating systems and updating of the operating systems necessitating updating of the apps. Its a never ending battle and I understood his reasoning, it made a lot of sense.

Charles
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Old 11-09-2022, 01:35 PM   #19
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Important Safety Addition

Quote:
Originally Posted by rubicon327 View Post
Honestly I wouldn’t worry about it not being right at the power cord entrance. It’s there to protect the appliances not the power cord.
Agree. The EMS surge protection is there to protect your appliances. We've had several nearby lightning strikes that caused surge. Glad the EMS did its job.

The EMS polarity detection is there to save you and your family.

Because of several RVer electrocutions, the 2020 NEC added this requirement for all RVs: "551.40(D) - requires a visual or audible alarm when there's an ungrounded (black) conductor and grounded (white) conductor reversal."

The ETI EMS (Progressive HW30C) is UL certified (listed) and Canadian approved, and it meets this RVIA US certification requirement. Suspect Canada OAI certification will add this requirement with the next CSA Z240 RV series update.

We've been at several older RV parks that had low voltage conditions, due to a bad pedestal outlet or overload by the many RVs. The EMS detected this condition and disconnected.

We like having the EMS display visible at the front door. We plug in and watch for "E0". We cover the display at night with some black duct tape that lays over the display.

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Old 11-27-2022, 07:14 AM   #20
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Installed?

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Originally Posted by 7Gentex View Post
Thanks! Believe I will mount the unit in the factory DS under dinette location. Display mount TBD. Appreciate all the responses.
How did your installation go?

73/gus
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