A few months ago I installed an inline progressive surge protector in the area at the foot of the bed where the automatic switch boxes are. The unit I got has the read out box on a wire that can be mounted somewhere so it can be monitored.. if you have one where did you mount the read out box and how is the wire routed to get there?
Thanks
Keith
Doesn't it come with 20 feet of wire? I think I will mount mine out of the bedroom where I can see what's going on.
Keith, you installed an EMS under/over voltage protector which is much more than a surge protector.
The remote monitor is VERY helpful to learn volts and amps being used on each leg of your shore power and/or generator. Some coaches have other ways to know leg voltage, but likely there is no other way to know about amps.
You will soon learn that amps can be important, so the remote monitor is best installed in a common area maybe with other meters. Never a good idea to install in front of bed, covered by spread. Every coach floorplan is different, so you will benefit if you find a creative way to mount meter in an easy to view location.
We have a carpeted bedroom and drilled a small hole in side of bed near the floor, and another small hole in center cabinets near the floor. Ran wire out bed hole, then under carpet, then into center cabinet.
We did not use the flat RJ-11 telephone type cable that came with EMS. We used a long four-stranded-wire jacketed cable which slips through small drilled holes and is easily routed within center cabinet to kitchen area. To connect this routed cable to EMS and remote meter, we connected our jacketed cable to a common off-the-shelf square 4-screw-terminal telephone connector that has a female RJ-11 outlet built-in. From square telephone connector to EMS & meter we used off-the-shelf pre-made short telephone cables with attached RJ-11 male connectors, normally used for wall landline phones. The short telephone cables have fixed color coding that work for telephones, but not for non-telephone devices, so just screw the jacketed cable wires so it matches the wire that came in the EMS package.
Good luck, your hard work will pay you back many times over the years.
Barry
right
We followed BnC's lead and mounted our read-out near the existing ProSine and Power Watch meters. We had replaced our bedroom carpet with solid flooring, so I routed a DATA cable under the flooring trim, thru the bottom of closet, up and over a pocket door, thru bath cabinets to the information displays. I stayed out the bay areas and all routing was above the floor. We bought a extra long cable and installed our own connectors.
We like having all the display information in one convenient/common location. You'll find the Progressive amp read-out extremely helpful, especially when connected to a 30 amp pedestal. Remote mounting the read-out to a more accessible area is definitely worth the effort.
Good Luck, Dave A
I installed the Progressive Industries EMS behind the hose reel, after originally having under the bed. The 60 cycle hum was too distracting for Tys and I wasn't fond of it either. I took a length of PEX and threaded from the passenger side over the grey tank to create conduit to run the wire for the display. I put one display in the wet bay and one in the coach info panel next to the pantry. Progressive sells the separate display with a switch which I placed next to the hose reel control in the wet bay. When hooking up shore power, I use the display in the wet bay to check it out, and then switch over to the inside display. The wire is routed from the switch in the wet bay through the pex over the top of the grey tank, then up through the floor below the closet where the washer hooks go through. Then up through the rear corner of the closet across through the back of the pantry at the top using some flex conduit to the area behind the coach info panel. I have a second EMS which I will install for the generator in a TBD location, but that is a project for another day. I have a second display which I can mount under the shore power EMS display on the coach info panel, but I may use a switch mounter there instead to use the same display.
Don
As always, good work Don.
John
We installed the unit under the bed but ran 2 read outs. One is located in the utility bay so I can check to ensure no errors when I first turn on shore power and the second where our inverter readout is opposite the kitchen. I agree that monitoring inside the coach to gauge loads, especially when connected to 30 amp, Is helpful.
That is one sweet install, Don. You are setting that bar pretty damn high!
jor
Thanks John,
I know the original poster has already installed their unit under the bed, but as this is a no doubt often searched topic, I just wanted to present an alternative location. If somebody else is bothered by the noise, locating the unit out of the sleeping area is maybe the best option. That said, if you want protection on the generator side and only want to use one unit, then after the transfer switch is the only option. Of course, this option leaves the transfer switch unprotected. Still, since the transfer switch is less costly than any number of other systems and appliances, installing after the transfer switch is a practical solution for most. I am not sure where I will install the second unit for the generator yet, but under the bed could be a viable option since the generator running would most likely cover any sixty cycle hum. Especially since I don't think we have ever had the generator running while sleeping...
Don
I'm glad I stumbled on this post because I'm not a fan of white noise, especially when camping. I'm working on replacing the old ATS because of it's terrible humming, and I had planned on installing the HW50C under the bed like Keith did, but I'm definitely going to rethink it now. Thanks for the tip Don, and I really like the use of PEX as a conduit.
I currently have a portable 30 amp surge protector (I don't recall the brand) that we use for our travel trailer. Would it work with our 50 amp Grand Villa when plugging into 30 amp service?
We have both (before and after transfer switch) EMS units under bed and don't hear any hum from either EMS or AT-100 transfer switch.
Used SO #6 cable, but found the many copper strands would not stay under hold-down screws without being first inserted into brass crimp terminals.
That's my experience too. I've had three of these things and no noise from any of them.
jor
When we got this coach, it had a hum under the bed, and I thought we'd have to live with it. We later took a pedestal hit and fried the wiring all the way to ( and including) the transfer box. When it was all replaced with fresh; no hum to this day. I'd wonder if 'the hum' is a sign of the TB starting to go south? Yes, we DID buy a Progressive EMS pedestal mount after that instead of the in-coach version because of all the damage to our power cord and connections the 'spike' did.
I do have a hum from 1 or both of my transfer switches, it was there before I installed the hw-50. I haven't noticed any hum from the hw-50 it's self, I would like to get rid of the hum, maybe replacing the TS's will be next.....
I'm just trying how to get the wire from under the bed th the electronic info center up in the living area......
We also found the hum intolerable but traced the source to the ATS, which we replaced and that solved that problem. To answer the original question, we have the remove read out on the pedestal at the foot of the bed under the skirt. I don't want it where the constantly changing info will be a distraction. The only time I want to see it is when initially plugging in to a campground pedestal or when there is a problem with the feed. I usually keep track of what is going on at the inverter voltage meters. If I notice a problem, I can always "lift the skirt" for specific info.
The most common incoming electrical issue is not surges, but low voltages. The "surge protector" also monitors and protects for over/under voltage, reverse polarity, open neutral and open ground (physical danger). If anyone is considering getting protection, it is highly recommended that the you get the unit that covers all these issues. I just attended the seminar at the FMCA convention in Indio and learned a lot.