Surge Guard

[avanti]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Was anything in your house damage or affected by those voltage fluctuations? Just curious to know if you noticed it at all in the house or could it be considered nuisance tripping or a problem with the EMS itself.

...and, more generally, has anyone, ever, had actual permanent damage done by ANY of the things checked by these vastly expensive devices? (excluding, of course, lightning-based power surges).

[Davydd]

We have a built in surge protector so we don't have to dangle off one at the campground electrical box. We rarely plug in especially in one or two night stays when we have shore power available. That's the best protection of all.

[Doneworking]

"We rarely plug in especially in one or two night stays when we have shore power available. That's the best protection of all.
__________________
Davydd"

That is exactly what we do as well. Generally we only plug in at our own home in preparation for a trip. Plugging in then is to assure a full charge on the coach batteries and to run the refrig on 110v for the initial cool off and packing. Since we are mostly off grid when camping, we don't use our AC that much, occasionally running the genset to run the AC to cool the rig down a bit.

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by RAA357

I agree with you 100%, my Progressive Industries
Surge Protector with polarity tester saved my RT210 from damage while camping last year.
The camp ground took several lightning strikes and numerous RVs sustained damage to their electrical components. They did not have any surge protection devices.

I sustained no damage at all.

After being in a campground with several lightning strikes, when are you going to replace the surge protection? Do you wait until there's no protection left before you replace it? Do you replace it every few years to make sure you have maximum protection permitted by the product?

-------------------------

I think every participant in this topic so far sees the need for and value of surge protection. There's a difference of opinion the value or necessity of some of the other protections that come with the higher price power management systems.

I'd really like to see surge protection separated from all of the other protections because the surge protection part is sacrificial. It needs to be replaced at some point. You're using up that protection from day 1.

See: Why (and When) You Need to Replace Your Surge Protector - https://www.howtogeek.com/212375/why...rge-protector/

Every power surge your surge protector absorbs decreases the amount of future joules it absorbs.

or just Google surge protector lifespan - https://www.google.com/search?q=Surg...ector+lifespan

The Hughes Power Watchdog units with the $21 replacement surge module seems like a great idea. Instead of purchasing the entire product over and over again just simply replace the surge module periodically if you want the maximum protection available.

[Bud]

So what do folks do that are believers in the bestest, very expensive rv stuff to protect from every kind of bad a/c stuff and aliens....................

Why don't they do the same at home? Or maybe they do?

[avanti]

Originally Posted by markopolo

I'd really like to see surge protection separated from all of the other protections because the surge protection part is sacrificial. It needs to be replaced at some point. You're using up that protection from day 1.

I should have mentioned that the Leviton whole-house surge suppressor that I advocate is designed for residential [edit:] split-phase installation. As such, it really has TWO separate surge-suppressors (one for each branch of the circuit). In an RV, you leave one of them disconnected. So, you actually have a built-in spare--you just swap in the disconnected one. It also has a light that tells you if this needs to be done (as do all good surge suppressors).

Some folks prefer to wire both of them in parallel, since this effectively doubles the protection, at the expense of the redundancy.

[InterBlog]

Is this closer to Cadillac, or Chevy Sprint? Not to be confused with SprintER.

My husband did the research and installed it on the back wall under our couch near where the shore power enters the van (see the rear tire well at photo right).

My only issue is that is hums. I never leave the van plugged in overnight unless I'm running the roof a/c, in which case the hum is overwhelmed by a factor of a thousand by the racket of the a/c.

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by avanti

I should have mentioned that the Leviton whole-house surge suppressor that I advocate is designed for residential 3-phase installation. As such, it really has TWO separate surge-suppressors (one for each branch of the 3-phase circuit). In an RV, you leave one of them disconnected. So, you actually have a built-in spare--you just swap in the disconnected one. It also has a light that tells you if this needs to be done (as do all good surge suppressors).

Some folks prefer to wire both of them in parallel, since this effectively doubles the protection, at the expense of the redundancy.

I think the lights tell you when there's no protection left. They don't indicate diminished protection as far as I know.

The Leviton is for split-phase or single-phase 3-wire installations so you have the two options when installing it in a 120VAC RV as Avanti noted.

When I installed a Leviton I used both wires in parallel for double protection (presumably). George & Avanti used one wire so they have a ready to go spare.

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by Bud

So what do folks do that are believers in the bestest, very expensive rv stuff to protect from every kind of bad a/c stuff and aliens....................

Why don't they do the same at home? Or maybe they do?

The residential power grid is pretty stable in the US & Canada as far as I know. I don't think that under / over voltage is a big issue. Folks use brownout protection devices where it is a problem.

Like this: https://www.amazon.com/Refrigmatic-W...dp/B07JMLSZFW/

or this 2 pack for $20

https://www.amazon.com/Voltage-Prote.../dp/B00JBMSHBC

The RV stuff sure costs a lot more.

Surge protection is needed though. At home I use a Siemens QSA1515SPD for whole house protection.