Surge Guard Power Monitors/Circuit Analyzer

SueJean

SueJean

Active Member
Greetings from Somewhere over the Rainbow!

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the Surge Guard RV power protection devices. I'm looking for an easy way to check for problems with shore power before hooking up. I've read several warnings about miswired pedestals and faulty grounds. I've never had any problems with this in any of the places where we've stayed, but obviously, I would want to avoid it if it really is a potential problem.

The prices for these devices in rvoutletmall.com catalog range from a $744 "cadillac model" that does "everything but dance" to a basic $99 device that just checks for "open ground", "open neutral" and "correct polarity". I'm considering this device as something to have in my little "box of tools".

Is this just an "RV-type urban legend" or a real concern?
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what they're using (if anything)? Has anyone ever ran into a problem with a miswired pedestal?

Thanks for sharing!

SueJean
 
TXBobcat

TXBobcat

Fulltime
Take a look at the surge protectors on Tweetys

I saw one RV (Cookies I believe) where he located the read out of a Progressive internal on the step so when you came into the trailer you could see the readings immediately. You could put it anywhere but that was a need idea.

I am using a portable Surge Guard. and it works great. However I can not see what the problem was that caused it to trip. If I were going to do it again I would look real hard at the LED readout types.

If you're using a portable like I have you can plug it in when you arrive and after 2 minutes if it turns on then you have a good power source. If you have it built in you have to connect to the trailer before you can test the shore power.

FWIW
BC
 
jimtoo

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi SueJean,

A lot of folks do not use the surge guards and a lot do. I started using one after a friend lost some of their appliances due to a surge or something. I have never had mine tell me anything was wrong yet, except voltage a little on the low side a time or two. I think that spending 300 to 400 is a better investment (insurance) than hoping you will not need to spend 300 to 1000 or more if you should get a major surge. I looked around a lot before I purchased mine. I found the best deal here at Tweetys. I don't remember the model #, but will get it tomorrow. It is for 50 amp and plugs in to pedestal, not wired into trailer. And it works whether you are on 30 amp with adapter or 50 amp.

Jim M
 
2010augusta

2010augusta

Well-known member
Hi,

We are using the Progressive EMS HW50c with the remote display. it has saved us a few times, We were at a campground in Uvalde TX and the power would drop as low as 90 volts and jump to 140, we even had it trip on an bad frequency one time.

We too look at it as a small insurance policy for all the real expensive electronics in the trailer.
 
cookie

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
SueJean, I really can't add add anything to what the others have said. They said it all. Oh, except for one thing. Two weeks ago when I hooked up at this park, I had a low voltage fault on one leg of the power. I had 118 volts on one side, and 87 volts on the other. Turns out it had a faulty breaker. Park maintenance was called and they fixed it. So yes, it is a real concern.

Peace
Dave
 
TXBobcat

TXBobcat

Fulltime
Good information. I may try to make one sometime in the future. More junk and toys....

For those that would like it I took the information from the link and made a PDF file out of it so you can save it on your computer..

BC
 

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JohnDar

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
TXBobcat said:
Good information. I may try to make one sometime in the future. More junk and toys....

For those that would like it I took the information from the link and made a PDF file out of it so you can save it on your computer..

BC
Click to expand...

Jim B sent me the link to do that, but I just ain't done it yet. :rolleyes:
 
B

branson4020

Icantre Member
God, what a Rube Goldberg gadget! I love it! Of course, you can also check all those parameters with just your voltmeter, and if you have a Surge Guard or Progressive EMS, its gonna check all that stuff for you - except for the "fake" 50A service.
 
SueJean

SueJean

Active Member
Good info/feedback!

Thanks Everyone!

I've bookmarked Tweety's as their prices are significantly better than the resource I had. I agree with you Jim that avoiding a problem is better then paying to have something fixed. It just seems like there are way too many ways to spend money avoiding things then there is money. ;)

I really like the plans for making something myself. I think I will give that a try ASAP and see how it goes. When you see how much it costs component-wise to make something like that, it makes you feel like you're being gouged on the prices for some of this commercial stuff, eh?

One other question that we've debated during occasional storms on our travels is concerning lightening. We've been through a few storms with intense lightening where we were wondering as to whether or not it would be wiser not to be hooked up to shore power. We have a good battery array so getting through a night isn't an issue.

Of course, the downside to that discussion is that once you realize that the lightening strikes are getting a little too close, the debate then moves to who's going to go out and take that great big electrical plug out of the pedestal. :eek: That tends to bring the discussion to an abrupt end. Drawing straws just isn't that fun when there's only two people. :p

Thanks again!

Blessings,

SueJean
 
JohnDar

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
SueJean said:
Thanks Everyone!

I've bookmarked Tweety's as their prices are significantly better than the resource I had. I agree with you Jim that avoiding a problem is better then paying to have something fixed. It just seems like there are way too many ways to spend money avoiding things then there is money. ;)

I really like the plans for making something myself. I think I will give that a try ASAP and see how it goes. When you see how much it costs component-wise to make something like that, it makes you feel like you're being gouged on the prices for some of this commercial stuff, eh?

One other question that we've debated during occasional storms on our travels is concerning lightening. We've been through a few storms with intense lightening where we were wondering as to whether or not it would be wiser not to be hooked up to shore power. We have a good battery array so getting through a night isn't an issue.

Of course, the downside to that discussion is that once you realize that the lightening strikes are getting a little too close, the debate then moves to who's going to go out and take that great big electrical plug out of the pedestal. :eek: That tends to bring the discussion to an abrupt end. Drawing straws just isn't that fun when there's only two people. :p

Thanks again!

Blessings,

SueJean
Click to expand...

That's where the surge suppressor comes into play, be it pedestal mount or hardwired. I would invest in one of those before relying solely on the initial test of the pedestal as being good to go. In a busy park, with high demand, the power can fluctuate. Low voltage is just as bad as a high voltage spike to sensitive electronics and motors. The way electrical grids are laid out, a storm miles away can affect the power in your park, even though you're not in the storm itself. And if the storm rolls in while you're away sightseeing or whatever, who's going to run and disconnect your shore power for you?

I'm partial to the hardwired Progressive unit, with remote display. Although I had my dealer install it, I could have done it myself. They ordered it and did not put a mark-up on the price shown at the Progressive website.

http://www.progressiveindustries.net/
 
B

branson4020

Icantre Member
Yup - got to agree with John. Last summer we were visiting Grand Coulee Dam - the largest hydroelectric plant in the US by the way. Every afternoon as folks came home from work and turned on their air conditioners, the park voltage would sag to the point my Surge Guard tripped. Nothing worse for your air conditoner than low voltage.
 
jimtoo

jimtoo

Moderator
JohnDar said:
That's where the surge suppressor comes into play, be it pedestal mount or hardwired. I would invest in one of those before relying solely on the initial test of the pedestal as being good to go. In a busy park, with high demand, the power can fluctuate. Low voltage is just as bad as a high voltage spike to sensitive electronics and motors. The way electrical grids are laid out, a storm miles away can affect the power in your park, even though you're not in the storm itself. And if the storm rolls in while you're away sightseeing or whatever, who's going to run and disconnect your shore power for you?

I'm partial to the hardwired Progressive unit, with remote display. Although I had my dealer install it, I could have done it myself. They ordered it and did not put a mark-up on the price shown at the Progressive website.

http://www.progressiveindustries.net/
Click to expand...


The tester listed is neat, but good only when you plug it in and for the peroid of time it is pluged in. It is exactly what it is listed as a "Tester". It has no way to stop anything or turn the power off if something happens after you plug in the trailer.

This is the unit I purchased from Tweety's. It can be locked to pedestal, sometimes a little bulky to hook up, depending on the pedestal, but have not had a problem using it. Like someone said, it takes about a minute before it turns on the power when you plug it in. And I have read reports and heard that if it is ever damaged by a power surge, they will repair or replace free.

Jim M
 
dennis2188

dennis2188

Member
Jim if you could post the model number it would be appreciated. Thanks! Cancel my question I just didn't read far enough.
 
W

WRIGHT ll

retired Oklahoma Chapter Leaders
When we got our '08 horn we decided it was a good time to get a surge guard hardwired since we have an on-board genset too. At the time Campingworld had a fantastic low price sale going on so we were in luck there. We purchased the Surge Guard model 34560 (50Amp) and had the RV tech install it when they transferred the genset from our old rig into the Horn. It has a "caution light", time delay indicator, low voltage and high voltage cutoff and, if power is OK or corrected, has a 2minute and 16 second delay. If power isn't correct it keeps the rig safe from damage. It sure eases the worries about electric problems.
 
SilverRhino

SilverRhino

Well-known member
jimtoo said:
The tester listed is neat, but good only when you plug it in and for the peroid of time it is pluged in. It is exactly what it is listed as a "Tester". It has no way to stop anything or turn the power off if something happens after you plug in the trailer.

I agree...this is only a tester.

One of the pros for the plug in protector is that you can check the power before hooking up...seems to me that by using this or another tester...you would be able to determine if there is a problem..if not go ahead and set up and let your hard wired protection do its thing.

Is my thinking on this correct??
Click to expand...
 
jimtoo

jimtoo

Moderator
SilverRhino said:
I agree...this is only a tester.

One of the pros for the plug in protector is that you can check the power before hooking up...seems to me that by using this or another tester...you would be able to determine if there is a problem..if not go ahead and set up and let your hard wired protection do its thing.

Is my thinking on this correct??
Click to expand...

Yes, you are correct. But with the Progressive Industries Surgeguard or any of the good units I think, even the hard wired inside the trailer, it checks everything for you before it turns on the power to the trailer. It has a built in delay while it checks the power system. It has a continuous display monitoring the lines and voltages and how many amps your pulling through each leg. It has a built in 136 second delay in case of a shut down for some reason to protect A/C and things that need to wait a couple of minutes before starting again.

I''m not saying the tester is not good... it is a neat project, it should test the pedestal for you. It's just not going to protect you from anything after you hook up your trailer. And it's something else to carry with you and store.

Jim M
 
Rainbowillie

Rainbowillie

Member
When we bought our TT a couple of years ago it was recommended to purchase one so we bought the portable Surge Guard model #34730, with the locking clasp, for approx. $300. Wanted to have a little more peace of mind on things, as has been mentioned. No problems with it. Just bought a new Elkridge 5'er so will be trading my 30amp protection out for the 50amp version when my new rig arrives.
 
L

Larryheadhunter

X-Rookies Still Luving it
I bought one of the portable Progressive EMS 50 amp surge guard. I did not receive a remote with it. Any way to add that, as it would be nice to check the surge protector info from inside the rig?
 
mrcomer

mrcomer

Past Ohio Chapter Leaders (Founding)
Here are some pics of what I did. I have been very happy with this unit. I know it works because it has shut down our rig when voltage got too low. It also showed me when a plug had the neutral and ground backwards. I alerted the people at the campground and they came right out to fix it. I also built the tester that TXBobcat linked to. I have to say that after having owned 5 other trailers this is the first trailer we have had this type of protection and I don't know why I didn't have it before. All is good now.

Mark
 
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