Surge Guard

Ricoh

Past Ontario Chapter Leader
I used my Surge Guard 50 amp surge protector for the first time this past weekend. I hooked everything up and plugged into the 50 amp outlet. My Surge Guard started to blink and it said waiting as it was analysing the circuit. After approx 3-4 minutes the line 1 light came on and then the line 2 light came on and we had power to our rig. I felt really good about the way it seemed to work and personally feel that it is cheap insurance against blowing up all the sensitive equipment we have in our rigs.

Rick
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Glad you got one. In my mind a surge guard is a must have not a nice to have item.
 

Ricoh

Past Ontario Chapter Leader
This is why I am glad I have one and use it every time I hook up. From another site.
Rick

Took our new (to us) 5ver out to Ft. Pickens [COLOR=#0072BC ! important][COLOR=#0072BC ! important]campground[/COLOR][/COLOR] this weekend for our maiden voyage. Pulled up. Backed in. Got applause from other campers for the good backing job (good = i didn't hit anything), Chocked the tires, lowered the front legs, deployed the tripod, put out the slides, rolled out the awning, hooked up the hose, all in 10 minutes.... Then we hooked up the power, went inside and turned on the master breaker. Black smoke poring out from underneath. Tripped the breakers back, opened up, no flames, only electrical smoke. Pulled out my power testor - yup - on the pole, Hot and Ground are reversed. This campground was just re-opened this week after recovering from Hurricane damage 2 years ago. I should have known. Don't trust ANYONES wiring, ESPECIALLY a national or [COLOR=#0072BC ! important][COLOR=#0072BC ! important]state [COLOR=#0072BC ! important]park[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]. Rangers said this whole park had been checked, rewired just a few weeks before. Course no one offered to help us move, check for damage, etc. My fault for not being properly paranoid. HOPEFULLY this note will help someone else avoid the same fate. Results - dead TV, dead microwave, dead converter, dead clock radio, damaged Refer. Next time, EVERYTHING will be unplugged AND circuit breakers off until quality of power is confirmed.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Our personal experience. We camped at this (unnamed) campground many time in the past. Since we never had trouble we did not put our Progressive EMS on the pedestal. In the middle of the night we smelled and electrical smoke smell. What happened was a power surge and it blew out our converter, bedroom tv, clock radio, micro/convestion oven, central vac, and basement TV. So you see, the campground electrical may be great, but they cannot control what the power company does. Brown-outs can also be a problem.
 

gratton

Active Member
I owned another brand of 5th wheel for 11 years and never gave much thought to getting a surge protector and was lucky enough to not have had an issue. Purchased a Big Country in April and after reading several post about problems I purchased a Surge Guard 50. Having read about other peoples problems it put something in the back of my mind and if something were to happen I would just be kicking for not taking precautions. Just thankful that I never had a problem in the past. Now the first thing I do in the setup process is to hookup the surge guard and let it check the power before I do anything else.
 

SLJKansas

SLJKansas
It's just like insurance, you hate paying for it, but whjen you need it, it was worth it. I has 30 surge protector on my old 92 5th wheel, When we bought the BH, and saww all the electronic in it, I told my DW, we need a new 50 amp unit. Bought the Progressive portable 50 amp EMS unit.

Our Son's FIL was parked next to use one weekend when a storm went through. There was a lot POP, we didn't see anything, and all was finen our unit. Next evening FIL was complainng the lights were dimming, yep blew his converted. called Mobile RV repair, and $300 later he was back in up. I sold him my old 30amp unit the next day. Got $75 for it, found out later I gave less than that for it. But he uses it everytime he plugs in now.
 

SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
OK...being "electrically challenged" I have a question! Doesn't the circuit breaker on the service post where you plug in at most camp grounds provide protection against such issues?
 

tmcran

Well-known member
Got 50 amp Surge Guard last year. We were in Nashville during the flood. The storms were strong with lots of thunder and lighting and all of a sudden we had a very large lighting bolt that was very close. Our electricity went off and I started checking for breaker problems Found none. Then in a few minutes I hear a click and the lights came on ---no more problems. Had a surge and the Surge Guard worked great. Some other folks had some over load on their RV"s. Well worth the money IMO.
 

SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
OK...I understand the need for the protector now! I am not wanting to buy a piece of junk but I also don't want to purchase more than I really need. I saw this surge protector comparison chart and looking at the specs, I see very little difference between the $120 Smart Surge and the $300+ Surge Guard. Is there something I am missing in the specs?
 

2010augusta

Well-known member
Heres a 50amp for around a $100. Do the specs seem adequate?

You want something more than a surge protector. You need something like an EMS that will protect from low or high voltage, reverse poliarty, open netural and ground, low and high frequency, and of course power surges too.

I am suprised by the number of time ours has trip from a frequency problem (i.e. not running 60hz), and that is a power company issue not a campground problem.
 

beardedone

Beardedone
I purchased a 50 amp progressive EMS for our Augusta. Is there any issue in locating an area to locate this device in an Augusta. For instance, was there enough slack in the line and any issues identifying the best place to cut the line?
thanks in advance.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
OK...being "electrically challenged" I have a question! Doesn't the circuit breaker on the service post where you plug in at most camp grounds provide protection against such issues?

In a surge the circuit breaker may or may not trip. Most surges are so quick it happens before the breaker can react. As far as surge protectors go, there are various kinds from the very basic to the high end. The high end will even boost your voltage if the voltage is too low. Personally I use the Progressive EMS 50 amp portable. This one will diagnose the pedestal for proper wiring, and will shut off the power in the even of a surge, or if the voltage of off frequency, goes too high or too low. It also will throw a code to let you know what the problem was. They are not cheap (about $400) but it has saved us on more than one occasion. The other thing is the owner of the company stands behind his product to the max.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Personally, I think you're better off with a hardwired surge suppressor over a portable one. That way there's no worries about it growing feet and there's no option for you not to use it.
 

branson4020

Icantre Member
OK...I understand the need for the protector now! I am not wanting to buy a piece of junk but I also don't want to purchase more than I really need. I saw this surge protector comparison chart and looking at the specs, I see very little difference between the $120 Smart Surge and the $300+ Surge Guard. Is there something I am missing in the specs?

The Progressive Industries PT 50 listed in your comparison table has an MSRP of about $429 and can be had at discount retailers for about $300, same as SurgeGuard. Don't know where you got that price of $120.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
The Augusta basement is similar to the BH3670 (I think it is, anyways). There might be enough slack in the main cable to cut and mount it, but if not, you can buy a few feet of 6-3 w/g sheathed cable. Connect one end to the main breakers at the panel and the other end to the output side of the suppressor. Use the end you removed from the breaker panel to connect the supply to the input side of the suppressor. It's a little tricky manipulating that heavy gauge wire inside the box, but it's not impossible. I had the dealer install mine, but later moved it myself since they put it in a very difficult position (right behind the breaker panel under the kitchen cabinet) to get at. I attached a piece of 3/4" plywood to the framing for the steps and mounted both the suppressor and my converter on it. First to make them accessible (I made access panels in the walls), and second to get them out of harm's way should a leak occur. In the photo, the suppressor is mounted above the converter. The remote display (upper left corner) for the suppressor mounts in my main switch cabinet and is visible through the smoked glass.

View attachment 8691View attachment 8692
 

2010augusta

Well-known member
I purchased a 50 amp progressive EMS for our Augusta. Is there any issue in locating an area to locate this device in an Augusta. For instance, was there enough slack in the line and any issues identifying the best place to cut the line?
thanks in advance.

I found a good section with slack just before the auto-transfer switch, and it was close enough to the main switch panel, that I fished the cord for the remote display there.

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TXBobcat

Fulltime
Both of JohnDar and Andy give you good advice. First unless you absolutely have to, do not cut the main cable coming to the main breaker. Disconnect it as John said connect a piece of cable, and don't be sparingly, to the main breaker. Connect the power cable to the suppressor.

Now if you change trailers you can go in and disconnect the surge protector to be installed in a new one.

BC
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
We hired an electrical contractor to install a 30 amp plug in our garage to power our NT when it was at our home. The contractor was someone we knew, so we trusted him to do the job right. He installed it, and we plugged in the trailer (no surge protector). Apparently it was wired incorrectly, and zapped the Half-time oven control board, possibly damaged the fridge, and the blew the main fuse of the converter. $1000 later, back in business and new surge protector purchased! Hard lesson learned! When we traded for the Elk Ridge, first purchase before the first trip was the portable 50 amp Surge Guard with progressive EMS. We also bought Surge Guard's a hard plastic sheath to put around the connection that can be padlocked, to deter theft. Someone would have to take our entire 50 amp cord to get it.
 
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