Quote:
Originally Posted by Jopopsy
I love the idea of a hard wired EMS; but I can't get over the fact that its something else that could break and leave me w/o power. That's why I always leaned towards a portable unit. If it breaks or fries doing its job - I can just disconnect it and carry on. Oh, and Amazon next day ship the replacement !
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Not trying to hijack the thread but it does go to the point Jopopsy makes about having a fried suppressor ruin an outing.
My PI EMS unit is hardwired,
mostly. I have a Seneca, so what I did may not be feasible in a smaller unit with less available working space. My transfer switch is located in an area under the wardrobe in the bedroom. There are two drawers there too, and when I take them out I have good access to that area. Lots of "extra" room to work with.
First a warning. Do not attempt this without being absolutely certain of your line voltage electrical skills. I would go so far as to recommend a qualified electrician be utilized. So endeth the lecture!
Bear with me now:
I took the shoreline cable out of the transfer switch and instead of wiring it directly into the EMS I installed a 4-wire 50-amp female range receptacle in a metal box on the end. Then I took a male range cord (larger gauge wire than even my shoreline) and wired the connection end into the EMS. The molded range plug plugs into the new shoreline receptacle. Out of my EMS I ran a length of the "excess" range cord wire to another identical 4-wire, 50-amp receptacle. Then I used another range cord and wired the connection end into the transfer switch. Both receptacle boxes are right next to each other.
Under normal (protected) operation power comes in the shoreline to the female receptacle, goes into the male plug and through a short cord into the EMS, out of the EMS to another female receptacle, into another male plug and through a short cord and into the genny transfer switch. The way the plugs and receptacles are oriented the male plug terminals are never "hot" if unplugged. Only the receptacles are live when a plug is out. Having live male plugs could be deadly.
If the EMS ever fails, you unplug both male plugs and then take the one now coming into the transfer switch and plug it into the receptacle coming from the shoreline. Then you have restored the electrical system to the way Jayco gave it to us, save a receptacle and plug in between.
I sourced all my materials from my local Home Depot and had it done in a couple of hours. Working with the stiff, large gauge conductors was the worst part. While I have put extra connection points into my system, they are inside where weather won't be an issue. And they also will seldom, (hopefully never) be repeatedly removed and reinserted which might cause wear and increased resistance. I even metered the resistance between the shoreline plug (extended it into coach!) and the EMS input after going through one plug. No change in resistance at all. I could not check all legs all the way to the generator transfer switch because the EMS won't close (create a connection) without seeing voltage and the correct electrical conditions. But I am certain resistance-wise I am just as good as stock.
This won't work for everyone and does entail some expense, but it does give me peace of mind that if my EMS does fail (protecting me?) I can still use shore power until I get it fixed.