Progressive Industries EMS: What to Do Low Voltage, How to Proceed?

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Gizmo

Gizmo

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Joined
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Bellingham,WA
I am planning to purchase & install a Progressive Industries hard wired EMS unit in my truck camper for those times when we stay at a RV CG/park and I am curious to know what others do if low voltage is detected by the unit upon arrival.  Up to now I have used a portable surge protect unit that indicates power/no power, ground fault or miss wired pedestal and of course protects from a surge of power.  The one time it detected no power, the park management allowed me to plug in to the adjacent site which had power. So to those who have one of these units and was faced with low voltage, did you make the CG management aware and if so how did they respond?  What did you end up doing because as I understand correctly these EMS units shut power to the rig if low voltage is detected to prevent damage to the electrical components in the rig.  It would seem to me if one is paying for a site, they should get full voltage, so I am wondering if a discount is typically offered, but then again I have heard low voltage is a common problem at CG's so maybe not? Thanks.
 
If the voltage is low enough that the EMS shuts power off, you don't want a discount. You have a site with no usable power at all. If the voltage is high enough to stay on, then its safe to use and you are getting what you pay for. There is no single fixed voltage that you can expect - standards vary across the country. Generally, local power will nominally be somewhere between 110v and 120v, but variations of 5%-10% from the nominal value are considered normal.

The typical reaction in many parks is that their power is fine and there must be something wrong with your RV. Afterall, the last person to use the site didn't complain (and didn't have an EMS either). Insist on being given another site, or at least a connection to a different power source that had acceptable power.
 
We have one state park we love which is nice for getting out of the worst of the AZ heat, but which has chronically low voltage. The solution is expensive.
 
About three weeks ago, we were at the Redwoods RV Resort in Northern Cal, and returned to our campsite after a long outing. The coach had power, but our Progressive 50 amp system was indicating a "Previous Error" message. When I read the message, it indicated that the device had shut power to the coach off due to low voltage. (A good reason to leave your inverter on by the way, especially if you have a res-fridge.)

I told the campground's maintenance guy about it, and showed him the error message. When he said no one else had reported any problems, I (politely) pointed out that no one else seemed to have a power monitoring system. He said he'd open the power pedestal and do some testing, and he worked on it for about 15 minutes. When he was done he said, "You shouldn't have any more trouble." He was right, we didn't have any more power problems for the rest of the week.

Who knows what the problem was - it might have been just a poor/loose connection. I was just glad he fixed it. I never would have known about it had my Progressive not detected it.

Kev
 
What to do about it Bruce is what Gary said. Don't plug in, if you value your electronic appliances. The PI units typically disconnect at voltages south of 108 volts. If it drops below that threshold then the PI will not reconnect.

And that's the part where a typical campground will deny that there is a problem.  Because usually low voltage won't kill your appliances right away. Instead 6 months from now you will go to a campsite with perfectly acceptable power, go to turn  on the AC or heater, and nothing happens.  The electronics are fried, and just couldn't function any longer.

They either fix it, you dry camp, or run on generator if you have one. It's not worth it to me to sacrifice my appliances to bypass the PI.
 
If you must stay where the power is below 104 volts, don't run the AC or microwave.  Most of the other things will tolerate low voltage.
 
I appreciate the helpful comments.  Yes I agree, nor would I plug in, if a low voltage is present especially after installing an EMS system.  The reason I raised the discount question Is, in a situation where lets say you make a reservation at a CG, which usually requires a deposit and/or a nights stay up front with a cancellation policy that would preclude getting a refund if you chose not to stay.  Or if for whatever reason you elected to stay but using alternative power.  I was wondering if anyone faced that kind of situation and had their stay discounted?  Hopefully if faced with such a situation, one would have Kevin's experience be the norm.  Again thanks.
 
Yes, I have. I was at a campground and the power was dropping out frequently and it was HOT outside. My dog was in the RV, and the PI kept taking me off line. When it did, the gen start would kick in. The decision is do I leave, or do I stay and deal with it.  After trying to work with it for 2 days,  we pulled out. The money I gave up wasn't a fraction of what my electronics would have cost.  The campground tried, but it was height of summer and I was the guy at the end of the line.  I ran off the gen when necessary, and off campground  power when it cooled off and other rigs AC units were not in use. 

I left early because my rig was more important than a few bucks of campground fees. You purchased the PI surge suppressor to protect your rig. If you don't want to deal with the ramifications, take it of and throw it away.
 
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