Surge Protector

[haste_maker]

Is there a need for a Power Surge Protector? If so what is the one most RVer's recommend ?

[AllegroD]

haste maker wrote:
Thanks for the info, I will be getting the PROGRESSIVE INDUSTRIES EMS-PT50X Portable RV Surge Protector (50 A)

I think this very wise. As an EMS it has protection features that many ATS and other surge protectors do not. The low and high cutoffs are important in some parks. I was at a park where I was running 1 AC and nothing else. My power kept going off. I reset it and watched my kill-o-watt. I saw the voltage drop to 97 before my EMS shut it down. Park was poorly wired for the volume of summer AC in that part of the park. I was glad I had the PI.

[DFord]

The Camco PD-50 was also monitoring HIGH/LOW voltage.

The thing that killed it was water. It's supposed to be "water resistant" and is sealed with silicone during assembly. Unfortunately for me, that seal had flaws that allowed rain water to seep in. It's strange that I never noticed any of that water leaking back out while I was handling it but I never saw a drop - until I took the screws out and separated the case halves. The towel I open the case over was soaked with over 1/2 cup of water. The circuit board had shorted out when in was immersed in all that water. One component (an "Optocoupler") suffered the worst damage and I ordered a replacement. The chance of replacing it and restoring the operation of the surge protector is a long shot but it's better than nothing at all.

If you own one of these surge protectors be sure to open the case on a regular basis and make sure it's dry inside. When using it, keep a plastic bag or some sort of rain shield over it to keep it dry. These things are way too expensive to replace not to take some precautions with them. This is probably a good idea regardless of brand.

[catkins]

Progressive EMS! An EMS does so much more than just protect against surges.

Ours will cut off for low power and reset automatically to allow power after a low/high power issue. By far the most reason for us with issues is low power at parks. Our EMS cuts us off until power rises to a safe level again. Worth every penny. This is not the place to go cheap with an inexpensive surge (only) protector. Read the spec and then decide but we never plug in without our EMS.

[DFord]

"Service Unavailable" did it again and duplicated my post.

[DFord]

Thanks for the education on surge protectors. 4 years ago I purchased a Camco PD-50, 50 amp surge protector for our motorhome. It worked okay protecting me from a couple of low power situations until February. I plugged it into the pedestal, then turned the breaker on and went about leveling the motorhome. While I we in the front of the rig I heard a loud noise like someone was using a jigsaw coming from the back. When I went to investigate, I found the PD-50 was the source! I unplugged it and set it aside. Our winter trip was about over and I never tried it again till last week. It's not making the noise anymore but it won't lock in anymore and pass power to the RV now. I emailed Camco about my problem and discovered Camco only stands behind their products for a year and they have no repair facilities available either meaning I've got a piece of trash on my hands now. After searching the forum for Surge Protector and finding this topic, I thought I'd share my experience.


While looking at the difference between Progressive Industry's SSP-50X and the EMS-PT50X, I see the EMS is rated at almost twice the current interrupting capacity as the SSP unit. In case of a lightning strike like we have so many of here in the Midwest, that could be a huge difference. The cheaper SSP doen't have over/under voltage protection either.

[temccarthy1]

MarkTwain wrote:
Progressive Industries EMS 50 ap

X2-- Progressive is the BEST! 30 A or 50 A depending on your rig!

[kdk]

My 13 year old progressive industries EMS-50C burnt up do to miss wired power source this last summer. Called progressive and they promptly sent me a new one under warranty after verifying I had one by texting them a picture of it. This unit saved me numerous times in the past, can't enough good about them.

[bob213]

Don't get confused by the lower price of the "surge protector". What you want is the more expensive, more protective Prog. Ind. "EMS".

[Jim2007]

Yes due buy a surge protector. I have a portable progressive 30amp.Jim2007

[AikenRacer]

Progressive.....lifetime warranty and they stand behind it....I know!

[gswcgi]

Mark Twain has it right. I have the portable model, good product.

[dougrainer]

The BIGGEST seller of Surge protectors is when the RV'er has a power surge or lightning strike and there appliances fail. The WAIT for the appliances to be fixed or repaired can take up to 2 weeks and that is a LONG time to be without needed appliances, especially the Charging system which usually is destroyed in a incident. I cannot remember anytime a customer WITH a surge protector has ever come in with a problem from a surge or lightning. Doug

[joelc]

Y-E-S, YES AND yes. Any way you want to say it. I have 50A service so naturally I have the 50 Amp version. There is a 30 or 50 amp that you can get. I have the Progressive Industries EMS-LCHW50 (built in version) since the unit was new in 2012. It has saved our unit many times. Well worth the investment. Don't know if they have the same model or improved models, but well worth it.

[Ava]

My 30 amp hard wired Progressive unit with remote display has activated with low voltage, and high voltage, no ground and recently with a reversed polarized plug.