Had to bypass my EMS.......Anyone else have to?

[NB Canada]

Rare? We have experienced voltage drops severe enough to damage equipment on at least 8 occasions (different places), spikes and rapid cycling due to faulty park equipment once, a transformer for the park knocked off its foundation by a piece of heavy equipment causing a grid "blowout" once, and three lightening strikes within 1/4 mile (all of which caused brown-outs, then black-outs, then spikes coming back on)... all this in six years. Without the EMS, we would have been out thousands of dollars in appliances and electronic equipment.

Rob

Not saying it can’t happen just don’t believe the OP did any harm
What choice would he have had anyway? Leave?

He wanted to stay and made it work. All good


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

[xrated]

Not saying it can’t happen just don’t believe the OP did any harm
What choice would he have had anyway? Leave?

He wanted to stay and made it work. All good


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

Low voltage, unless the equipment is operated for extended periods or extremely low voltage conditions, would be considered a chronic issue as opposed to acute. The effect of it is cumulative and will worsen with time until the point of failure....it will never heal or get better once the damage has been started. And yes, he had a choice, and leaving would have been mine, but again, to each their own.

[Richter]

We take ours seriously enough that we actually carry two. We first ordered a Progressive 50-amp portable unit. After a short while, it failed. They diagnosed it over the phone and sent out a replacement. Since we were leaving on a trip before it would arrive, I ordered one from Amazon, which arrived in two days, one day before we left for our trip.

When the replacement unit arrived, after our trip, I had two. I thought about selling the new one, but decided that if one were to fail on an extended trip, I didn’t want to be without.

So now I carry two, and one is a back-up. “Two is one, and one is none.”

[RickLight]

EMS do more than protect against low voltage. Twice in 3 years I've bypassed because of open ground issues. Once allerted, I could be extra cautious outside. If I got a low voltage I would shut off my AC.

[Gronk1]

For this reason (and others) is why I always carry my portable generator. One AC is better than none or smoking two.

[Keebler]

I had a Progressive Industries EMS that measured low voltage and kept killing power to my unit. Fortunately, I had a meter to check and determined that there was an issue with my EMS. After seeing that my error code was low voltage and seeing the value that the EMS was reading was different than my meter; i did bypass my EMS for that trip.

To Progressive Industries' credit, they very quickly sent me a new unit. All they asked for was a picture of the old one with cable cut; no shipping anything even required. Was a VERY simple warranty process.

[JKellerJr]

I had never ran one before, including 4 years on our previous Solitude. I did have a autoformer that I probably used 2 or 3 times when the voltage was low.

That being said I'm sure I was on borrowed time. On our new unit I "hardwired" in a Hughes watchdog and the autoformer in the front basement. I say "hardwired" because I used the portable units so I can easily bypass one or both units if something goes wrong with either. It does happen, my dad's hardwired EMS went bad while on a trip.

[tfgd21bhe]

We just bought a couple acres to camp on during summer months and had an electric stanchion installed. First time I used it I checked the voltage to make sure the electrician didn't wire it as a 220v receptacle and everything looked good. Plugged in my ems and then the trailer. Had no power to the trailer. After checking everything for several minutes I finally noticed the ems showed a reverse polarity error code which I missed when I first plugged it in. Reversed the black and white wires to the receptacle on the stanchion and the trailer had power.

Would have never known if it wasn't for the EMS.

[traveldawg]

I have had to bypass my EMS a few times this summer. And I almost did it again the other day.....

This season it has always been leg 2 that causes my EMS to shut down the electrics. And it has only been for a few seconds that I the power goes too low. When this happens I check to see why there was shutdown. Every time it has been leg 2 that is low - every time.

So I hit the bypass switch and just don't use the AC in the bedroom and switch over to gas on the water heater; both are on leg 2. So, IMO - it is OK in certain conditions to bypass; one just needs to understand the situation (and consequences). By the time I use the bypass anything the EMS has already done its job of checking for proper wiring (missing ground, reversed leg, whatever....).

A number of times I have measured at the power pole and found (and have reported before) that it always seems to be leg 2 that goes low. And I find that the 30 amp receptacle always has the same low voltage. So my conclusion is that panels use leg 2 for the 30 amp receptacle as a default. I'm not sure why they aren't split between leg 1 and leg 2.

When I get home the Autoformer is going back in this thing permanently. It would have helped a lot this season. I normally saved it for trips to Canada but even now the US has some pretty ugly power even at nicer campgrounds.

[Jerryr]

When visiting a friend at his cabin I plugged into the 30 amp RV receptacle at his barn that his 30 amp class C is plugged into. My EMS would disconnect power every time my AC would run. I ran without AC that trip.

The next time I visited I brought him a 30 amp Autoformer as a gift. I was able to run the AC but still ran fridge and water heater on propane.

Then I found out my friend over 2 years before I gifted an Autoformer he had to replace his AC twice and had to repair his fridge once. Obviously due to low voltage.

EMS saved us. I also carry a (heavy) 50a Autoformer case I run into low voltage.