EMS surge protectors

[Richiee23]

I m in the market for a 30 amp surge protector. Im looking to get one with EMS protection like hughes watchdog or southwire 34931. I read some reviews when Both ac s kick on the surge protector is kicking off because its close to 30 amps. Some reviews I read said they were only pulling 25 amps and the surge protector was shutting down. Has anyone experienced this issue ?

 

[RPR]

Do you want a EMS or a surge protector? EMS controls what shuts down when you exceed the amp draw programmed in.

 

[Richiee23]

Im wanting a EMS surge protector. They shut down the power for low/ high voltage,
power pedestal wired wrong, loss of neutral, etc. Its a extra layer of protection for the electrical system.

 

[cpd1343]

I recommend the Progressive Ind. EMS-HW30C Hardwired RV Surge & Electrical Protector.

https://www.progressiveindustries.net/ems-hw30c

I have had them in two RV's over a 10 year period with no issues. They have worked great! The remote display is particularly helpful in managing the electrical load.

 

[jetlag]

We have the Hughes Watchdog 50A unit. It works well, only time it has tripped occurred late spring last year at Hilton Head on a nearly new fancy resort. It showed an over current. It did not auto reset as I thought it would. Unplugged it, and reset and all was good. Camp folks checked the post out and didn't have a conclusive explanation, but we were fine the remainder of our stay. The "guts", surge unit that takes the hits and protects you can do this so many times depending on the severity of the problem. Once it is done, it will tell you by a red face on the watchdog. Unit still works but without protection. They sell replacement surge units, very cheap at less then $40. After that event at Hilton Head, I bought a spare just in case.

 

[Camper_bob]

We run the Hughes Watchdog 30A, and it has always worked perfectly. I will say that there is NO slack; it will cut us off RIGHT at 30A. It's doing its job, and I'm happy with that. We have gotten pretty good at managing power, so it doesn't cut us off that much any more. I absolutely love the Bluetooth control and monitoring. If we trip, I can pull up the app and see exactly what's going on, as well as reset it. No more going outside to reset a breaker, and no more worries about sketchy RV park power poles.

Last trip out it cut us off a couple times because we were running a heater. I used the draw monitor on the Hughes app to show the family how many amps everything uses so they could learn what they could and couldn't run all at the same time. DW tried to use her hair straightener while the heater and ice maker were running. No good, and she did it multiple times. So I pulled out the app and walked around the camper turning things on to show how much we had left. 30A runs out QUICK when you're running high draw appliances (microwave, heater, ice maker, coffee maker, hair dryer/straightener, water heater on electric...), and even with the Greyhawk's built in energy management, you have to be strategic in your usage.

 

[Route 66 Traveler]

. I read some reviews when Both ac s kick on the surge protector is kicking off because its close to 30 amps. Some reviews I read said they were only pulling 25 amps and the surge protector was shutting down.

The simple way to avoid that problem is to install a SoftStart in both AC units. I did that about 4 years ago. It will allow your AC's to both start on a 30 amp RV, or to run off a small generator.

I use a Hughes Watchdog to protect my TT electrical system.

https://softstartusa.com/

https://www.rvtravel.com/softstartdave954/

 

[DWehberg]

I m in the market for a 30 amp surge protector. Im looking to get one with EMS protection like hughes watchdog or southwire 34931. I read some reviews when Both ac s kick on the surge protector is kicking off because its close to 30 amps. Some reviews I read said they were only pulling 25 amps and the surge protector was shutting down. Has anyone experienced this issue ?

We have the Hughes 30a Power Watchdog and love it. No issues with shutting off under load unless we exceed 30a. The app is great to monitor your usage for better power management. It comes down to personal preference on brands, and whether or not you want to go with a hardwire solution or outside hookup. Ours is not hard wired and have no issues.

 

[Jagiven]

OP, you have a 30 amp MH. That unit should have a power management system, that monitors your AC's and will only allow one to kick on at a time, to minimize any inrush issues with the EMS shutting down.

I would say all the EMS are good. My only thing I do not like about Watch Dog, is the bright front panel light. At night it just glows brightly and tells everyone, I have an expensive piece of equipment sitting here.

 

[Camper_bob]

OP, you have a 30 amp MH. That unit should have a power management system, that monitors your AC's and will only allow one to kick on at a time, to minimize any inrush issues with the EMS shutting down.

I would say all the EMS are good. My only thing I do not like about Watch Dog, is the bright front panel light. At night it just glows brightly and tells everyone, I have an expensive piece of equipment sitting here.

I modified my shore power connection in the back of the little box. Originally so that I didn't have to push cable through the little hole, but now our Watchdog lives inside the compartment, that can be locked. AND we can just push the end of the shore power cable up through the hole to plug in.

A word of caution regarding my setup; you'll want to check periodically that your plugs are good and tight. I actually melted one end of my plugs because it had wiggled loose.

I agree though, that bright light can be quite obnoxious.

 

[Wiscampsin]

We used a hard wired Progressive EMS in our last 2 30Amp TT's and liked the digital readout display. On our 50Amp MH the power bay was too tight for a hard wired EMS due to the thickness of the wires and inability of bending them so I went with the portable Hughes Watchdog with blue tooth. I agree the unit is bright but a DYI cover cured that. I lock it to the power pedestal with a heavy duty cable lock to make sure it stays there.

 

[KCSA75]

Another vote for the Hughes Watchdog. I chose it mostly because it was on sale at Amazon for about $75 less than the Progressive EMS. I like that should the surge module is replaceable for a reasonable price and the bluetooth remote management.

Hughes makes a "Dimmer Shade" that attaches to the face of the appliance. It makes a difference but it's still pretty bright. I usually put a black trash bag over the power pedestal for additional dimming. It also protects from raid.

I had a surge protector previously that got fried by a bad power pedistal at COE campground. Now I plug in the EMS to check the power quality before connecting the TT.

 

[ARoamer]

Thumbs up for the power watch dog. Bluetooth, detected many power pedistal problems for us. The first thing I do for setup is plug it in to check power. I agree the light is bright, if it's annoying, you could wrap it in a bag or tape it over.

 

[Jerry713]

Another vote for Watchdog. I really like that I can view all the power data on my phone via the Bluetooth app.

But I heard Softstart now has an EMS surge protector that also has the Softstart function. I haven’t researched this so not positive but might be something to look into.

 

[JFlightRisk]

We used an older Progressive Industries EMS for many years until it was in a serious monsoon and somehow got water in it. Started to sound like a machine gun. The internal relay went ballistic. We replaced it with a Power Watchdog, and like it for the many reasons stated above. Ours did come with a sticker to apply to the face to dim it down some. When needed, I do secure it to the pedestal with a cable lock.

It only shut our power down on one trip last summer for a power issue, then a no-ground notification. It works well. Just my .02.

 

[CoraS]

We always request 50 amp service at parks. If you use both air conditioners you need 50 amp per our dealer. When we purchased our Watchdog our dealer told us if we were going to run both air conditioners a 50 amp was needed or the breaker would trip. We’ve never had a problem.

 

[weiom]

Good to know about Watch, sounds great!

Newbie-ish here. To offer some level of protection but not spend a lot as we get started, we bought a Geargo RV surge protector and circuit analyzer. Had good reviews on Amazon.

It caught bad wiring at least once already and the camp folks came out to fix the post.

https://www.amazon.com/GEARGO-Protector-Analyzer-Protection-Defender/dp/B0B38DJ5Z9

 

[Camper_bob]

Good to know about Watch, sounds great!

Newbie-ish here. To offer some level of protection but not spend a lot as we get started, we bought a Geargo RV surge protector and circuit analyzer. Had good reviews on Amazon.

It caught bad wiring at least once already and the camp folks came out to fix the post.

https://www.amazon.com/GEARGO-Protector-Analyzer-Protection-Defender/dp/B0B38DJ5Z9

That's CERTAINLY better than nothing, for sure.

But there are several advantages to "biting the bullet" and purchasing a true EMS/Surge protector. Not the least of which is LOW voltage protection. When you're in a full park in the summer, and every unit is running wide open, many CG grids can't take it, and voltage will drop. Low voltage can cause damage to several appliances, especially AC units.

I fully recognize living on a budget, but a true EMS/Surge protector such as the PD EMS units or a Hughes Power Watchdog is money well spent. Even though IMO these units are a little spendy, personally, I'd rather skimp somewhere else.

Full disclosure: I went SEVERAL years without one; the whole time I owned my trailer, and a few years into owning my MH. Then while parked in my driveway, plugged into my own shore power, we had a lightning strike nearby. In the house, we lost our fridge control board, a TV, and an old DVD player. I think it caused some failures in the RV as well, but I could never prove it. I immediately had a whole-home surge protector installed, and ordered the Hughes Watchdog and haven't looked back. The Watchdog has alerted us SEVERAL times of varying issues including low voltage at the post. Plus since we have a 30A MH with 2 AC units, it's handy for monitoring power usage and cutting us off ahead of the breaker when we overdraw. The Bluetooth control/monitoring is SUPER handy, and power can be restored without going outside most times.

 

[SkipperD]

X2 on hardwired Progressive 30amp

I recommend the Progressive Ind. EMS-HW30C Hardwired RV Surge & Electrical Protector.

https://www.progressiveindustries.net/ems-hw30c

I have had them in two RV's over a 10 year period with no issues. They have worked great! The remote display is particularly helpful in managing the electrical load.

I installed their hardwired system under the fuse/D box and located the remote near the other remotes above the counter. It has warned us of low voltage (often), floating neutral, and the amp reading allows us to balance the load, especially when we first tie in and the charger comes on, so we wait a few minutes before turning on the AC. The remote light is also a night lite for bathroom runs

 

[mrmom]

OP, you have a 30 amp MH. That unit should have a power management system, that monitors your AC's and will only allow one to kick on at a time, to minimize any inrush issues with the EMS shutting down.

I would say all the EMS are good. My only thing I do not like about Watch Dog, is the bright front panel light. At night it just glows brightly and tells everyone, I have an expensive piece of equipment sitting here.

I "fixed" the problem of the bright light in my EMS with a coating of smoke colored translucent spray paint on the inside of the cover. Similar to any lens or window tint spray, just make sure it works on plastic. Still allows me to see the light at a quick glance but does not scream "here I am"!