Campground Electric Service Testing

[ETCrockett]

One other suggestion. If you do buy an EMS, protect your investment! Spend the extra $20 on the box that you put of the connection point of the EMS and the electric cord to your RV. You can put a padlock on the box. Someone will have to cut the lock or destroy the box to steal the EMS. This will take too long and discourage most thieves. Also, you should consider a protection plan if offered. I have a buddy that used and EMS for 30amp TT. The campground was struck by lightning and it fried the EMS which did its job and protect the RV. The EMS was replaced by the protection plan the same day at Camping World.

[SkyBound]

I have been at a private campground that had 30A service, and the power tested just fine before plugging in. After plugging in, everything was normal until any significant draw was introduced (air conditioning, electric water heater, etc.) and then the voltage would plummet. Like 102V with a ~15A draw. Load it up to 25A+ and voltage in the low 90s. I didn't have an EMS at that point but a basic plug-in AC digital voltmeter showed me the problem. I bought an EMS shortly after that. Still can't figure out what the issue was at that place - I "borrowed" power from the neighbouring site for a minute to experiment and had the same effect, so it was likely campground wide.

[GL243]

Thanks everyone for the great discussion and education. I went ahead and sprang (springed? sprung?) for a Surge Guard 34830 EMS, and the warranty tipped a bit in favor of this one over the Progressive Industries 30 amp model as it is "lifetime" now like the PI produce but it also includes "connected devices" coverage, so hopefully that turns out to be true should I ever fry something intended to be protected by this thing. It was also a bit less expensive than the other one and is described as "weather resistant" which the FAQs say is good for rain, snow etc., just don't submerge it in water, etc. I also got the lockable security device thing for it. Thanks again for the help.

[Atlee]

I would suggest you invest in a PI 30A or 50A EMS. You have a lot of sensitive circuits inside your trailer. Makes a lot of sense to protect them.

Originally Posted by Jagiven

An EMS is great, but I do not have one.

I use a 120V 30 amp to 15 amp plug adaptor along with a circuit tester similar to this one. It only gives you a look at a single moment in time. We have found a few times where we have had an open ground or another issue at the power post.

It does not protect you from surges, power spikes or anything else.

Attachment 37089

[curver900]

Originally Posted by GL243

Thanks everyone. I have to say that electrocity has always had a fair amount of "mystery" to it (maybe I'll one day learn to spell it correctly also . . .), and this thread is reinforcing that for me! Gotta say I'm choking a bit on thinking about spending $300 or more for another accessory. It never occurred to me before that having lower than needed voltage, or amps, joules, might be a problem for any of the electronic stuff on/in a trailer, but looks like that's an issue I need to worry about now also. Anyway, I have some good info to think about now, hope to decide something before next trip "with hook-ups". Thanks again.

they are 225 on ebay... 30amp

[GL243]

Originally Posted by curver900

they are 225 on ebay... 30amp

Thanks, the one I ended up buying was $229 with discounts at Camping World, so looks like I got close.

[nolosrv]

I too have the Progressive EMS and yes, they're a bit expensive, but the level of protection and the diagnostics provided are great! Spend a little now and protect your investment.

[01tundra]

We have a hard wired Progressive EMS-HW30C in our Hummingbird.

We're there to relax and camp, not mess with meters troubleshooting the campground's electrical system. We plug in and let the EMS do the work for us, our limited camping time is worth the expense, let alone the protection it gives our TT.

[spoon059]

Good decisions to buy an EMS. I didn't have one on my old camper, but my newer Jayco has a lot of more expensive electrical devices (fridge, AC, water heater, etc). We stayed at a beautiful park last year that had poor power. The voltage would often drop close to 100 volts... too low for sensitive equipment. I'm glad that we had an EMS to prevent damage. Small price to pay for peace of mind!

[GL243]

Thanks, all, for the great information and advice. I know enough now to no longer be "dangerous", I think. Knock on wood . . .