Protecting RV From High & Low Voltage, Miss-wired Pedestals & More –
It Could $ave You From Replacing Anything Using Electricity in Your RV –
There are different brands & types (30amp & 50amp) of rv surge protectors. We’ve always chosen smart surge protectors. This one is a smartportable power protector & features EPO (emergency power off). It will automatically SHUT DOWN power if there are dangerous conditions of too high or low voltage, open ground or open neutral as well as more. It will automatically shut down power if voltage drops below 104 V or over 132 V. Once power conditions are good and stable for 90 seconds, the unit will turn back on automatically.
There have been times during our decades of RVing, that we’ve encountered miss-wired power supply pedestals. A portable surge protection device can reveal any issues, the moment that you plug into the power supply, before bad power gets to your RV. Bad power can damage some of the electrically powered equipment in the RV (charging laptops & phones, convection & microwave ovens, refrigerators, TVs & more). If that sort of damage occurs, it would be A LOT more costly than the cost paid for a good power protector. We haven’t dealt with damage from bad power supply, but we’ve encountered several RVers that have, and they’ve expressed how much of a HA$$LE it was to replace some of their damaged RV equipment.
Above, is our old Surge Guard brand power protector, and saved us many timesfor well over a decade. The newer model of this brand has improved over the years. As you can see, to keep the labels from peeling off, I used some tape to hold the labels in place. We keep this old Surge Guard as a “back-up” to our latest choice of power protection – the Power Watchdog.
Our newest power protector, the “Watchdog” , has (twice, so far) saved bad power supply from entering our motorhome. It’s a smart surge/power protector, that will disable the power to the motorhome, if there are any dangerous power supply conditions. There are less costly portable power & surge protectors, but many of those only let you know that there are power issues, and don’t actually work to protect the RV. This model checks power instantly, after plugging in, and the dog face will display white if all is good. The face will display red if there is an issue, and bad power will not be allowed to our rv, until the pedestal issue is resolved. Usually, when there is a power pedestal issue, I’ve contacted the park’s office, and someone was sent out to repair the issue at the power pedestal. We’ve only had to move to a different rv spot one time, in our decades of RVing. We are not endorsing this particular brand, as there are other good RV power protectors available, but this was the one that we chose.To get the full, detailed, description of this product, click HERE
The “Watchdog” can be monitored with a free app available for my phone. The app shows continuous power information. As you can see, it shows amps on each 50amp leg (one shows 28.5, the other 27.0) and the voltage on both lines (legs). Also, a text notice will be immediately sent to my phone if there are any power supply issues that develop from the pedestal. I like this app because I can learn how many amps and volts are being used (in real time), when I’m operating different equipment in our RV (A/Cs, convection oven, toasters, coffee pot, blow dryer, washer & dryer etc etc). The app also displays ongoing energy consumption (at the top of the app). This app is Bluetooth connected to your phone, and only works within about a hundred feet of the RV. That’s all I need it for, but there is an app that can be purchased from RVWhisper.com that works with this Watchdog app, to show you the power at your RV, even if you’re miles away. That might come in handy if you leave pets in your RV during hot summer times, and you’ll be notified on your phone (where ever you go) that there could be power issues that would shut down the air conditioners. There are many good features to this power protector, and among them is that the surge module is replaceable, instead of having to replace the entire power protector (as is the case with other brands). Again, for the full, detailed, description of this product, click HERE
The portable surge protector is in addition to an onboard surge protector that came with our motorhome. We like to have the portable one, for several reasons, and one of which is, we can check the power at the pedestal, before we enter into a designated RV spot. The portable power protection offers better protection than the particular one that came with our rv, which is also an ATS (automatic transfer switch that changes power supply to the motorhome when pedestal or generator power is chosen).
This is the Surge Guard RV Power Protection & Automatic Transfer Switch that was standard when we purchased our motorhome. It does well for high voltage protection, but not as well for low voltageprotection, which we’ve dealt with at a few RV parks(mostly decades old parks, with aged power pedestals). The portable power protection that we use, works very well for, both, high and low voltage protection.
There are different brands offering complete power protection. We’ve owned 2 different brands over the years, and have been happy with the performance of both. There are different types, whether you have 30amp or 50amp power in your RV. There are models that only let you know that there are power supply issues, but don’t fully protect the bad power from entering your RV. If you’re anything like me (and, I know I am), you’ll do some online investigating, and asking around, as to which level of RV power protection is best for your needs and budget.The information provided is from my years of RV ownership. Others may share different experiences, products & ways that they handle their RV ownership & adventures. My motto is “take what you can use, and leave the rest” (or shelve the rest for a later date). Reach out to me, if you have questions that you believe my opinion may be helpful. Email: info@TomsMaHauL.com
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