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Old 08-12-2015, 06:45 PM   #1
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Surge and Electrical Protection

Good Evening,

Our 17B is not equipped with the ETI's surge protector. Rather than buying a hard wired version, would this Progressive Industries portable one (EMS-PT30C 30 Amp Portable EMS ) work effectively. Anybody used one of these? Experiences if you have?

Fred
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Old 08-12-2015, 08:05 PM   #2
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Yes it would. We used this one

http://www.bestconverter.com/SSP-30-...l#.Vcvt70o8KK1

for years with our Casita. The one you linked does everything the one provided by ETI does.
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Old 08-12-2015, 08:08 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fbalexander View Post
Good Evening,

Our 17B is not equipped with the ETI's surge protector. Rather than buying a hard wired version, would this Progressive Industries portable one (EMS-PT30C 30 Amp Portable EMS ) work effectively. Anybody used one of these? Experiences if you have?

Fred
My biggest concern would be theft. That is why I would prefer the hard wired version.
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Old 08-12-2015, 08:20 PM   #4
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That's what we thought too. Theft can be a problem in some areas. Kind of depends on how you camp and whether you are obviously away from your camper for the day. We went with the hard wired ETI unit even though we've not knowingly experienced questionable voltage. Had
It retrofitted this spring. There are lock boxes but the reviews aren't that good on some either. With some shop time and a little thought you might be
able to come up with one of your own.
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Old 08-12-2015, 09:29 PM   #5
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Another issue with the portable units is clearance. I used one for a couple of years and found some campground outlets were too close to ground and I was unable to plug in directly.
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Old 08-13-2015, 12:45 PM   #6
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Many thanks folks, for your input on this issue. All good and valid points.

Fred
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Old 08-13-2015, 01:56 PM   #7
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Question

For those with a hard wired surge protector I have a question. Is there a audible hum coming from it? We heard there was, so since the surge protector on our 17B would be directly below our heads when we sleep we went for the portable one. And as far as theft is concerned I’ve been told it is extremely rare and besides if I was even a little concerned I would simply disconnect, and stow it in the trailer overnight or when we were away from the campsite.
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Old 08-13-2015, 01:58 PM   #8
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We have a 19 and have not heard any hum or other sound from the surge protector.
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Old 08-13-2015, 02:16 PM   #9
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We have a hard wired surge protector in our '19'. Last week while camping at Pinery Provincial Park, it shut off the power on a LOW VOLTAGE condition. It came back on after about a few minutes. That night we noticed the protector was humming. This continued into the next day. The next day there was a short power outage in the park. When the power came back on, I noticed the protector was no longer humming. In the future if it is humming again, I will try unplugging for a few minutes to see if this fixes it.


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Old 08-13-2015, 02:29 PM   #10
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There is no hum from our ETI installed unit either. I believe, however, there was a discussion on this sometime back. Disconnecting and storing is an option and you're right, theft is probably rare, for us, the internal unit was just one less thing to think about as far as getting it out and putting it away. That and not having a concern about clearance, water tightness, etc.. It's probably a matter of personal choice. I just like knowing we have the protection. Same goes for water pressure reduction devices. "Don't need the hassle" of damage that isn't my fault. I can do enough in my own.
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Old 08-13-2015, 03:54 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunrisetrucker View Post
For those with a hard wired surge protector I have a question. Is there a audible hum coming from it? We heard there was, so since the surge protector on our 17B would be directly below our heads when we sleep we went for the portable one. And as far as theft is concerned I’ve been told it is extremely rare and besides if I was even a little concerned I would simply disconnect, and stow it in the trailer overnight or when we were away from the campsite.
But if it is stowed in the trailer then it is not doing what it is intended to do.....
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Old 08-13-2015, 04:19 PM   #12
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Ok, so if I opt to install the hard wired version at some point, and I don't run the A/C until the unit is installed, will a "brown out" or some other surge damage any of the other components in the trailer?

Fred
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Old 08-13-2015, 04:28 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by sunrisetrucker View Post
For those with a hard wired surge protector I have a question. Is there a audible hum coming from it? We heard there was, so since the surge protector on our 17B would be directly below our heads when we sleep we went for the portable one. And as far as theft is concerned I’ve been told it is extremely rare and besides if I was even a little concerned I would simply disconnect, and stow it in the trailer overnight or when we were away from the campsite.
Our hummed when we got the trailer. Called Progressive Industries, they had me clean out the relay. When I opened it it had a bunch of junk in the box, like it was left open while ETI built the trailer. Blew it out, got better but still hummed. Progressive sent me a new relay that I installed, no hum since.
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Old 08-13-2015, 05:10 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fbalexander View Post
Ok, so if I opt to install the hard wired version at some point, and I don't run the A/C until the unit is installed, will a "brown out" or some other surge damage any of the other components in the trailer?

Fred
Fred, A severe surge can damage anything, but particularly something with a circuit board. And while I would recommend getting the ETI installed surge protector, if it makes you feel any better I can tell you that before I purchased my 5.0TA, I had a Colemsn pop-up, two Aliners, and a Scamp 19, all without surge protection and in years of camping/RVing never had any surge damage. The only time I would be most concerned is in a raging electrical storm. You could always unplug the entire trailer until the storm passes.
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Old 08-13-2015, 05:14 PM   #15
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Ditto. I've been thinking about surge protection for seven years, but that's as far as I've gotten.
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Old 08-13-2015, 05:37 PM   #16
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Surge and Electrical Protection

Our previous trailer ended up with a partially melted battery fuse as a result of a spark on connecting improperly to shore power. We didn't notice it for a long time, but it impacted our electrically system. When we found it and fixed it I resolved to get a surge protector on our next trailer. So we have it on our Escape 21 and don't have to worry about things like Brown outs causing a surge in amperage and maybe damaging our fridge or so on.

Bob K
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Old 08-13-2015, 06:07 PM   #17
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Quote:
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Our previous trailer ended up with a partially melted battery fuse as a result of a spark on connecting improperly to shore power. We didn't notice it for a long time, but it impacted our electrically system. When we found it and fixed it I resolved to get a surge protector on our next trailer. So we have it on our Escape 21 and don't have to worry about things like Brown outs causing a surge in amperage and maybe damaging our fridge or so on.

Bob K
Heaven help us ! Let's not damage the Dometic frig ! We have the surge installed . So far one instance . A circuit was overloaded and blew and surge shut down the electrical in trailer immediately . No damage to trailer back in Nov, 2013 just after we picked up . Pat
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Old 08-13-2015, 06:34 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobbito View Post
Our previous trailer ended up with a partially melted battery fuse as a result of a spark on connecting improperly to shore power. We didn't notice it for a long time, but it impacted our electrically system. When we found it and fixed it I resolved to get a surge protector on our next trailer. So we have it on our Escape 21 and don't have to worry about things like Brown outs causing a surge in amperage and maybe damaging our fridge or so on.

Bob K
Always a good idea to turn the 30amp breaker off, plug in the trailer, then turn the breaker on.
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Old 08-13-2015, 07:28 PM   #19
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We've traveled in our vintage Shasta trailer for years without an electrical protector. Haven't had a problem. But our 19 has a lot more electronics than Shasta, so I added a built in Progressive Industries surge protector. Don't know if there'd be any problems without, but I'm paranoid.

On our last trip it came on with a loud electrical buzz. It was irritating enough that we un-plugged. I called Progressive Industries and they suggested cleaning any debris from the contactors. I did this. The noise changed some, enough to see the problem was there. But cleaning didn't solve the problem. When I got home I bought a can of "air" and blew out the contacts. Didn't help.

Now, I am a professional. Nothing to do with electricity, but I am a professional. This next step is not recommended for anyone, professional or not. DON'T DO THIS AT HOME. After blowing out the contacts I was quite irritated with the surge protector. I pressed the contactors together, while under power, with a piece on NON-CONDUTCIVE material, I used the lid of the surge protector box. Did this a couple of times, with gusto. To my surprise it stopped buzzing and has been OK since.

I have the feeling talking to Progressive Industries that this isn't unheard of. I suspect if I called back they'd send a new set of contactors as they did for Bob.

Anyway, no recommendation given and your mileage may vary.

Thanks.
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Old 08-13-2015, 07:51 PM   #20
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That was one of the steps PI had me do, beat on the contactor some (technical term). This is something we used to do at work fairly often so I was familiar with the idea although we did it more as a means of checking to see if the unit was working as opposed to a way to clean the contacts.
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