A few years ago, I plugged our Newmar Dutch star in to our 50 amp receptacle that I had installed at home. The Progressive Industries EMS wouldn't let it connect. The code was that the voltage was to high. I thought the EMS was faulty and removed it, sent it to PI and they checked it, saying it was okay. I reinstalled it, same problem. (Okay, I know I was really stupid not checking the house voltage) So, I THEN checked the house voltage and found it to be 135volts. I called the power company and to my surprise, the sent someone out pretty quickly. This was before noon. At 6pm they called me and said they had found the problem. Something wrong at a substation. All was fixed and the motorhome was once again plugged in and connected.
Hey Mike - your survey question (s) were a bit confusing.... In our travels we have certainly experienced both high and low voltage issues, but since we always connect using a PI EMS, we have never suffered DAMAGE to the RV due to these issues. ST
We were in Mexico and a motel had spaces for RVs to park and 15 amp outlets to provide power. Fortunately our 5th wheel had a surge protector built in and recorder 135 volts which tripped the input. All outlets on the motel were reading 135 to 140 volts. So, we just used our 12 volts batteries.
You forgot an option in your poll. >>>High voltage causing a surge protector to trip, not causing any damage. This happened to us. We plugged into the pedestal and ran without issues for several days. Voltage was hovering around 122 to 125 volts. One night, power started to slowly climb above 125 volts until it reached 130 volts (or something in that vicinity), causing our surge protector to disconnect power from the trailer. I have a monitor plugged into one of my outlets, so I can see the voltage at a glance and continuously. The voltage rise was not a sudden event. It took several minutes and hovered between 125 and 130 volts for a half hour before it went higher. I attributed it to something going on with the electric company, and not weather, the campground, bad wiring, or a catastrophic event.
I haven't had a problem with my RV but several years ago I did at my home. The incoming power line came through a tree which rubbed the neutral conductor apart. The result was high voltage in the house and it ruined several appliances. We were gone but when I got home I measured 177 volts. So we lost the refrigerator, dishwasher, two garage door openers, water dispenser, & portable electric heater among other things.
Utilities often have miles of distribution circuits on the same pole line as a sub transmission line for economic reasons. Unfortunately, should an errant tree / tree limb or lightning strike sever the higher voltage line and cause the condfuctor to fall into the lower voltage circuit , the lower voltage circuit will face over voltage conditions until the higher voltage circuit relays open. During the short time it takes to clear the higher voltage circuit, many customers on the lower voltage circuit will lose electronics and appliances. I worked on a project to minimize the effect size and ultimately protect the customers connected. The solution was to install sacrificial intermediate class lightning arresters between the high voltage phases and the low voltage phases. The effect of this was to force a simultaneous faulted condition on both the higher voltage circuit and the lower voltage circuit , thus causing both to relay open on the instantaneous settings rather than to slowly relay open on the time/over-current settings resulting in limiting the extent of the customer damage.
We had a %th wheel about 10 years ago....plugged into a 30 amp pole, in a reputable campground...we were rookies...did not have the knowledge to check the pole....after plugging in flipped the breaker and BLAM...blew out al the electronics in the trailer....the retailer had not installed the surge protector as ordered and paid for..!
Another incident...new trailer this time,( Airstream ) ,,we were armed with knowledge and equipment....plugged in after checking the pole....about 2 weeks later were heard a loud POP....the surge guard had blown....checked the voltage at the pole...was 180 V !!!!!! ...No damage to the RV...the CG owner had an electrician check the circuit ...and repaired faulty wiring ....not certain of the cause specifically ....
Never had a problem thanks to Surge Guard. First was when I had a 30 amp TT in Charleston, S C when the neutral on theservice to several pedestals opened. Eight of my neighbors came home to blown computers, TVs, and power supplies. I didn't have power when I came home, nor did I lose any electrical hardware. Yeah Surge Guard. I upgraded to a fiver and hence a new Surge Guard for 50 amp. Again a neutral opened and my neighbors lost a bunch of their electronics. I remained untouched
Over 132 volts happens a couple times a year. The Power Watchdog won't initially connect the RV or it trips on high voltage when a park is nearly empty or most recently a new section of a park.
While I did have high voltage over 133 volts. My EMS triggers at 132 volts which it did at 11:30pm. It stayed over voltage until around 4:00am. I didn't get any damage because of the EMS.
Left our coach plugged in to 50 amp at an Elks Lodge in MO. Had an agreement to travel away for a couple of weeks. Came back to find the pedestal tripped, batteries were low and when I got power, starting with the generator, the dometic refrigerator was showing a code. Neighbor said there had been a lightning strike nearby. Once I got a mobile tech to replace the eyebrow board in the refrigerator everything came back on line. I ALWAYS have my Progressive Industries EMS online (hardwired version) and it was not damaged!!!
I checked “no damage” but, that doesn’t mean the pedestal voltage wasn’t too high or the receptacles weren’t incorrectly wired. I check the receptacle voltage and wiring with a DMM before plugging anything in, and that has prevented damage to my EMS and rig. I’ve found every problem that you have mentioned, including a problem with the distribution transformer.
Last year we traveled to Lake Tahoe and prior to plugging in (because of Mike's newsletter) I checked the 30 amp pedestal with my meter and found that it was under voltage at 83 volts. Two weeks ago up in Idyllwild, CA. started setting up and found the voltage on a 30 amp outlet to be 176 volts. Very disturbing for sure. We called it in to the host.
Hi Mike,
A few years ago, I plugged our Newmar Dutch star in to our 50 amp receptacle that I had installed at home. The Progressive Industries EMS wouldn't let it connect. The code was that the voltage was to high. I thought the EMS was faulty and removed it, sent it to PI and they checked it, saying it was okay. I reinstalled it, same problem. (Okay, I know I was really stupid not checking the house voltage) So, I THEN checked the house voltage and found it to be 135volts. I called the power company and to my surprise, the sent someone out pretty quickly. This was before noon. At 6pm they called me and said they had found the problem. Something wrong at a substation. All was fixed and the motorhome was once again plugged in and connected.
Hey Mike - your survey question (s) were a bit confusing.... In our travels we have certainly experienced both high and low voltage issues, but since we always connect using a PI EMS, we have never suffered DAMAGE to the RV due to these issues. ST
We were in Mexico and a motel had spaces for RVs to park and 15 amp outlets to provide power. Fortunately our 5th wheel had a surge protector built in and recorder 135 volts which tripped the input. All outlets on the motel were reading 135 to 140 volts. So, we just used our 12 volts batteries.
Good plan!
You forgot an option in your poll. >>>High voltage causing a surge protector to trip, not causing any damage. This happened to us. We plugged into the pedestal and ran without issues for several days. Voltage was hovering around 122 to 125 volts. One night, power started to slowly climb above 125 volts until it reached 130 volts (or something in that vicinity), causing our surge protector to disconnect power from the trailer. I have a monitor plugged into one of my outlets, so I can see the voltage at a glance and continuously. The voltage rise was not a sudden event. It took several minutes and hovered between 125 and 130 volts for a half hour before it went higher. I attributed it to something going on with the electric company, and not weather, the campground, bad wiring, or a catastrophic event.
I haven't had a problem with my RV but several years ago I did at my home. The incoming power line came through a tree which rubbed the neutral conductor apart. The result was high voltage in the house and it ruined several appliances. We were gone but when I got home I measured 177 volts. So we lost the refrigerator, dishwasher, two garage door openers, water dispenser, & portable electric heater among other things.
Utilities often have miles of distribution circuits on the same pole line as a sub transmission line for economic reasons. Unfortunately, should an errant tree / tree limb or lightning strike sever the higher voltage line and cause the condfuctor to fall into the lower voltage circuit , the lower voltage circuit will face over voltage conditions until the higher voltage circuit relays open. During the short time it takes to clear the higher voltage circuit, many customers on the lower voltage circuit will lose electronics and appliances. I worked on a project to minimize the effect size and ultimately protect the customers connected. The solution was to install sacrificial intermediate class lightning arresters between the high voltage phases and the low voltage phases. The effect of this was to force a simultaneous faulted condition on both the higher voltage circuit and the lower voltage circuit , thus causing both to relay open on the instantaneous settings rather than to slowly relay open on the time/over-current settings resulting in limiting the extent of the customer damage.
We had a %th wheel about 10 years ago....plugged into a 30 amp pole, in a reputable campground...we were rookies...did not have the knowledge to check the pole....after plugging in flipped the breaker and BLAM...blew out al the electronics in the trailer....the retailer had not installed the surge protector as ordered and paid for..!
Another incident...new trailer this time,( Airstream ) ,,we were armed with knowledge and equipment....plugged in after checking the pole....about 2 weeks later were heard a loud POP....the surge guard had blown....checked the voltage at the pole...was 180 V !!!!!! ...No damage to the RV...the CG owner had an electrician check the circuit ...and repaired faulty wiring ....not certain of the cause specifically ....
Never had a problem thanks to Surge Guard. First was when I had a 30 amp TT in Charleston, S C when the neutral on theservice to several pedestals opened. Eight of my neighbors came home to blown computers, TVs, and power supplies. I didn't have power when I came home, nor did I lose any electrical hardware. Yeah Surge Guard. I upgraded to a fiver and hence a new Surge Guard for 50 amp. Again a neutral opened and my neighbors lost a bunch of their electronics. I remained untouched
Love those SurgeGuards.
Over 132 volts happens a couple times a year. The Power Watchdog won't initially connect the RV or it trips on high voltage when a park is nearly empty or most recently a new section of a park.
While I did have high voltage over 133 volts. My EMS triggers at 132 volts which it did at 11:30pm. It stayed over voltage until around 4:00am. I didn't get any damage because of the EMS.
Left our coach plugged in to 50 amp at an Elks Lodge in MO. Had an agreement to travel away for a couple of weeks. Came back to find the pedestal tripped, batteries were low and when I got power, starting with the generator, the dometic refrigerator was showing a code. Neighbor said there had been a lightning strike nearby. Once I got a mobile tech to replace the eyebrow board in the refrigerator everything came back on line. I ALWAYS have my Progressive Industries EMS online (hardwired version) and it was not damaged!!!
We always use our surge protector wherever we go, so no problems.
I checked “no damage” but, that doesn’t mean the pedestal voltage wasn’t too high or the receptacles weren’t incorrectly wired. I check the receptacle voltage and wiring with a DMM before plugging anything in, and that has prevented damage to my EMS and rig. I’ve found every problem that you have mentioned, including a problem with the distribution transformer.
2006 - Haines, Alaska. Lightning strike nearby took out my Hughes Autoformer, but didn't make it into coach.
Last year we traveled to Lake Tahoe and prior to plugging in (because of Mike's newsletter) I checked the 30 amp pedestal with my meter and found that it was under voltage at 83 volts. Two weeks ago up in Idyllwild, CA. started setting up and found the voltage on a 30 amp outlet to be 176 volts. Very disturbing for sure. We called it in to the host.
Saw 128 once. Thought my Autoformer might have been boosting when it shouldn't have.