Surge Protector

sokol

Senior Member
Joined
May 27, 2013
Messages
134
Location
Sequim, WA
Does anyone have any feelings about how much value the surge protector is on a trailer? We will be new to trailer camping when we get our new Escape in November and aren't familiar with how necessary a surge protector may be. You comments would be very welcomed. Thank you.
 
Not to be blunt, but it is like "safe sex". In campgrounds your trailer will be open to miswired pedestals, over and under voltage, spikes and surges all of which can ruin the electronics in your trailer, the refer, the converter, the tv, everything can be fried without using the EMS. It monitors the electric constantly, similar to GFCI, and any problems, it cut s it off. Without one, you take the risk of having your trailer fried, electrically.,
 
Jim,

Thank you very much. Without any campground experience your comments were very valuable and I appreciate them.
 
We bought one last year from Escape to add to our 17b and it went into action a few times during our 7 weeks in Florida- it worked flawlessly.
There were certainly some Campgrounds that, if we hadn't had the surge protector, I wouldn't have wanted to plug in. As Jim indicated above - It's definitely worth the peace of mind.
 
I've had mine trip 4 times in the last 2 years of travel - once because of reverse polarity, and 3 times for low voltage. While that isn't all that often, it well could have saved air conditioner damage running at low voltage.

I have the Progressive EMS-HW30C Surge Protector, which shows the voltage, frequency & current on an external display. The current reading is handy, particularly when you are connected to 15/20 amp connections - if you have an electric water heater you can tell when it cycles off and wait until it does before you add other large loads.
 
So is it better to have a 50A surge protector plugged in directly and then step it down to 30A with an adaptor, or is it better to have a 30A surge protector plugged in to the 50 -> 30 adaptor that's directly plugged in to power?
I ask because the cheapest 30A protector I could find is $30 cheaper than the cheapest 50A protector. We're not in the market for something fancy and expensive, I just need something that works so we don't fry our electrical system!
 
I also don't want to spend $300, but would like some protection. I don't have air, so do I really need the fancy surge protector? Would some other inexpensive device warn me of polarity issues, etc.?
 

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I think without AC one only needs 15 amp power. A power bar and a garbage bag may be an answer. Plug your rig into a computer type power bar then into the campsite power pole. Place plastic garbage bag over power pole to keep out moisture.
 
So is it better to have a 50A surge protector plugged in directly and then step it down to 30A with an adaptor, or is it better to have a 30A surge protector plugged in to the 50 -> 30 adaptor that's directly plugged in to power?
I ask because the cheapest 30A protector I could find is $30 cheaper than the cheapest 50A protector. We're not in the market for something fancy and expensive, I just need something that works so we don't fry our electrical system!

Hillary, the 30 amp model is what you want, 50 amp is not. This is just a surge for electrical, it will not address incorrect wiring, see Baglo's post nor will it address over/under voltage. If you want that you will need this one Progressive Industries Energy Management System 30 Amp Portable
 
Hillary, the 30 amp model is what you want, 50 amp is not. This is just a surge for electrical, it will not address incorrect wiring, see Baglo's post nor will it address over/under voltage. If you want that you will need this one Progressive Industries Energy Management System 30 Amp Portable
Got it, I was thinking I could supplement that with the $5 polarity checker I already own, not realizing it wouldn't do anything about over/under. Guess we'll be going with nothing til we can buy the $250 one! We haven't actually even plugged in once yet, but have been using our portable solar panel on every trip at no hookup sites. The October NOG will be the first time we'll actually have electric at our site, and we definitely won't be using the AC on the coast in October.
 
The cheapest spot to buy the progressive industry one was through Escape Industies, that I found.
 
Anyone have any thoughts (pros, cons, etc.) over the internal surge protector that Escape offers vs. an externally mounted one?
 
External mounted one can be stolen, in addition some pedestals are so low to the ground that the EMS will not fit or work. Had both, like the built in better
 

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