Portable surge guards

BobD · 09-30-2006, 06:49 PM

I'm thinking of purchasing a portable surge guard however I have a dumb question.
If you have a 50amp service on your motorhome I suspect you need to purchase a 50 amp surge guard but if you plug into a 30amp service at a campground will the 50amp surge guard work as it should? Give you the protection necessary?
Thanks for the information in advance.

BobD · 09-30-2006, 06:49 PM

I'm thinking of purchasing a portable surge guard however I have a dumb question.
If you have a 50amp service on your motorhome I suspect you need to purchase a 50 amp surge guard but if you plug into a 30amp service at a campground will the 50amp surge guard work as it should? Give you the protection necessary?
Thanks for the information in advance.

AFChap · 09-30-2006, 06:58 PM

Yes, you need a 50a surge guard on a 50a rig. When you plug it into a 30a service, you use the 50-30 adapter just as you would with your power cord. It will work as it should, and it will give you the same protection. I had mine hardwired in so I don't have to "remember" to put it in the connection.

BobD · 09-30-2006, 07:33 PM

Thanks Paul I thought it would but I wanted to be sure.

bellsharbor · 09-30-2006, 08:46 PM

BobD

Yes, the last post says it all. As a side note: I purchased a portable 50 amp surge protector and on out first trip out, I was pluged into 30 amp service. A lighting strike hit the park and fried the electrical of one of our neighbors and caused my surge protector to kick off. I think it saved my coach. Good luck and happy travels.

ichn2go · 10-01-2006, 03:53 AM

Put this under the heading "must have". DON'T be without!!! Good Miles

DriVer · 10-01-2006, 04:42 AM

Please consider installing in a 50A hard wired surge suppressor. It just removes a layer of complexity by having the SS out of sight and out of mind.

Remember; "Don't leave home without it!"

Ptribbey · 10-01-2006, 05:58 AM

I first purchased the surge guard. While camping in Ohio last summer I found the power shutting off. When I checked it out I found that the Park power was down to around 103 volts. The surge guard did its job as it is supposed to shut off at that power level. Problem was, now what do I do? I solved that problem by installing an autotransformer that boosts the voltage when needed. So now I have both. I have the autotransformer hard wired in my basement and use the portable surge guard on the post. I also have a lock installed on the surge guard to keep people honest.

chasfm11 · 10-01-2006, 06:54 AM

I, too, have a 50amp hardwired SurgeGuard. I like the fact that it is always involved and out of sight when we are hooked to shore power. I personally didn't want the extra hassel of having to lock a portable up every time we plugged in.

Regarding the voltage dropping too low and the SurgeGuard dropping out, I'm pretty militant. I believe that when we pay a campground fee, we are paying for stable electrical power. I wouldn't tolerate the water in my shower turning cold in hotel and I have little acceptance of brown-out type electrical voltage levels in campgrounds. I would expect either to move to another site or to be given a refund if the electrcial service proves to be unreliable. Of course, I would "gently" describe my situation to the campground management and allow them to act upon it before escalating the matter. We recently lost electrical power at Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone (wire had been loose and burned off the breaker inside the site box). They responded promptly and repaired the problem.

Ron-in-Tn · 10-01-2006, 08:54 AM

I agree with the "must have" on this item. I just ordered one myself after reading about them in this forum. I know that your typical household/office surge protectors have a shelf live due to the material inside and have been told by a reliable source that they should be replaced if they ever take a surge that trips the breaker on the unit. Does anyone know how much of this, if any, applies to the Surge Guard? This would be a determining factor on weather or not I had mine hard wired in or stuck with the portable unit. I was going to call the manufacturer but since it's Sunday...thought I would see what you folks might know on this.

Nonno · 10-01-2006, 02:37 PM

I use my 50A portable when connected to 50Amps but use my old 30A when connected to a 30Amp site. Is this OK or should I always use the 50A regardless?

rebelsbeach · 10-01-2006, 03:20 PM

Bob, there's certainly no need to have both unless you just want to as it has been described in earlier posts and even proven by me that the 50A will do both...
I guess I'm a trusting soul, but I've never locked my portable to the pole and never had an issue with anyone taking it...

My electrical compartment consists mostly of a drum of cord and the rewind reel....I'm sure I could find a place for a hardwired one,but the portable one does the same thing.....

It's tomato or tomatoe I think....

BobD · 10-01-2006, 03:48 PM

Rebelsbeach,
Thanks for the information and I agree I just purchased the portable 50amp surge guard today
from Camping World. I also will put a lock on it just to keep the honest people honest.
Again thanks to all who responded to my question it is nice to have good feedback on the issues that we all face with our RV's.

Bushman512003 · 10-01-2006, 04:54 PM

Ok I have a question Most parks I use are 30 amp, I just bought a 50 amp Unit Motor Home. But have a 30 amp post model I am thinking of useing with cheaters Will not over ride the power as say run 2 airs or fry pan and coffee maker and other things at the same time I know better.I have a 3000 honda for Booning and have the Surge guard wired for that..What is the way I should go?Bushman Asking thanks for your help in advance.....

BIGRED1 · 10-01-2006, 05:03 PM

The Progressive Industries HW50C is the best unit on the market for the money if you're interested in serious surge proteciton.

cwg · 10-01-2006, 07:16 PM

After the outlay in purchasing the 50 amp Surge protector,I was quick to initially lock it to the power cord with the mechanism sold for that purpose. Then, over the past couple of years, I became more complacent and realized that most campers would not remove it from my campsite --- now I just skip the extra time and hassle of securing it. It comes back to the old adage that "some of the most honest people are RVer's".

Toby · 10-02-2006, 01:58 PM

I too have the Progressive surge guard. This is my second hard wired unit. Would not leave home without it. Was at Petersberg Corp park in Georgia last week and it went off 3 times during our stay. (every time we go there we have power outages or surges). The unit worked fawless. Our friend who refuse to get one did not know the power was out or surged. I told him he should remember this when he replaces his fridg and a/C and tv. s/Toby

WALLY NJ · 10-02-2006, 04:38 PM

We bought a surge protector to late
almost have never camped in a Campground.....only at fairgrounds , expositions,etc.
we use the coach for our business.........
only recently we have discovered from other RV'rs that these places are notorious for fluctuating voltage.
and we found out......
we fried a bunch of things over time
the convertor......... a board on the generator
an a few A/C circuits & the rear TV is dead,( cheaper to buy a new one by the way}

every time we asked the repair guys they all said the same thing:

"Most probably from a voltage surge."...........!!! so we bought a 50amp surge protector.......FINALLY! and from the use of the " lites" we have found bad circuits on a few of the 'posts" or " stancions" at these places....

ANOTHER thing
the only way we survived this , was from our extended warranty....... glad we bought it!!

GOOD LUCK

WALLY NJ · 10-02-2006, 04:51 PM

PS

Another thing...... why cant the manufacturers build this into the RVs..........?
for the costv of the Coachs,,, you would figure this would be a standard item.......
my 2 cent's..........

Ron-in-Tn · 10-02-2006, 05:12 PM

I couldn't agree more....give me one less electric switch on the couch and put in something that I really need. I mean let's face it...a lot of us pay more for these coaches than we paid for our first homes. One would like to think Winnebago can afford to toss out another $300 worth of accessories that would really help the owner out...like a Surge Guard. I've said it before and I'll say it again...this forum is a "must have" for anyone who owns an RV. I got lucky and had a friend send me this link shortly after I bought my RV. I truly feel for those folks out there who go at this stuff alone and have to learn these things "the hard way".