Surge Protector

There’s probably no better name in RV surge protection than Safe Guard. Made by Technology Research Corporation, the 30 amp surge protector has long been the traditional protection for all RVs. Their 30 amp surge protectors come in three styles: a 30 amp portable with ground fault, 30 amp portable standard and a 30 amp hardwire unit. The unit with the ground fault has a manual reset for when it trips. It’s the least expensive of the three models and has a fairly long extension cord, whereas the other two, the standard has an internal reset switch, that doesn’t require long cord and the hardwire model is built into the RV.

The reason to choose one over the other is personal choice. There is really no difference between them as far as quality and how they handle power surges. Although with the hardwire model, there is zero possibility of it being stolen or affected by the elements. The thing most people want to know about the surge protectors is can they be converted easily to 50 amp version. The answer is yes. With a little bit of mechanical skill can be done, but it can be quite expensive. Depending on the vehicle you are converting.

Now the 30 amp surge protectors are perfect for trailers that connects to a hitch, like pop-ups and travel trailers. Should there be fluctuating campground voltage, whether it’s too high or too low, this surge protector will trip and depending on the model will either reset itself or it will need to be reset manually. The effects of these voltage fluctuations can damage an air conditioner if it drops too low and will fry electronics if there is too high of a surge.

When you install the surge protector on your RV, prior to turning on, you want to make sure all of your appliances are turned off. Then once you connect the RV surge protector, you will have to wait a few minutes for it to come on. When it does trigger on, you will hear a pop quite clearly. The power sources in RV campground aren’t the cleanest. It’s very easy for a surge to damage appliances within your coach especially expensive electronics with microprocessors and chipsets. A 30 amp RV surge protector will safeguard your RV’s electrical system.

Why would you need to convert your vehicle to use a 50 amp surge protector? The only reason for this would be if you had two air conditioners running or wanted to run two or more high-powered appliances at the same time, such as a hot water heater and a microwave. RV campgrounds are usually made to harness a 30 amp voltage capacity, so you really don’t need much more than 30 amp surge protector. Some parks only have 15 amp connectors. A 50 amp surge protector would be useless in the situation as there aren’t any adapters made for this kind of connection.

You can use 50 amp units on 30 amp sources without difficulty. However, devices like air conditioners usually need 20 amps to run, so it would easily trip an RV 30 amp surge protector if you were to run two units at the same time. Since there are now 20 amp surge protectors made. You would be forced to upgrade your RV to 50 amps. The reason being most class C vehicles are right at their max weight (GVWR) with one air conditioner and a generator. Adding a second air conditioner would push you over the limit, resulting in your need for a 50 amp device. Most people don’t take into account the power needed to run the generator on RV. This uses a lot of the RV is resources and is the reason why you can’t run to high-powered appliances at the same time.

The thing to understand about this whole conversion process is that you’re not just adding 20 amps, you need to change the rig from hundred 120V to a 120/240 volt. It’s not recommended that you make this conversion yourself unless you’re very familiar with electrical wiring. The level of difficulty comes in wiring between the sure court in the breaker panel. Hardwired to surge protection, you will need to change up the 30 amp cord for a 50 amp service cord. You will also have to make changes in the breaker box so that you can divert any incoming power surges from that source.

Other than the reasons described there is really no reason to have a 50 and surge protector in your RV. In most cases, you’ll be perfectly fine with a 30 amp surge protector. I recommend you check out the Technology Research Corporation’s website to research the Safe Guard 30 amp surge protectors.

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