Surge protector

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

...
If we wished to make trailers electrically safer adding Ground Fault / Arc Fault protection would be a start but at 10 times the cost of standard circuit breakers it ain’t gonna happen !!
...

But arn't they still only $35-$50 each ($US)? Seems like a great idea to me. esp with all the shaking going on creating loose connections.

I wonder what the state of the code is for residential use. I wish my old house (built 1994) had them when the back stabbed wire in the outlet burned. Even in the new house (built 2002) only 2 out of 20 breakers are arc-fault.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by gordon2

But arn't they still only $35-$50 each ($US)? Seems like a great idea to me. esp with all the shaking going on creating loose connections.

I wonder what the state of the code is for residential use. I wish my old house (built 1994) had them when the back stabbed wire in the outlet burned. Even in the new house (built 2002) only 2 out of 20 breakers are arc-fault.

They are required by code (NEC ) but many local jurisdictions do not adopt the whole code because people object to the cost
My son just built a new home in Wisconsin and it doesn’t comply with the 2017 NEC ( GFCI- AFCI )
If your building tract homes every nickel counts and most home owners don’t want to pay that extra nickel , in other words ; if you turn the light switch and the lights work they’re happy
If your house was built in 2002 it probably has 2 GFCI breakers

The way I look at it is , if your trailer is subject to low voltage you could damage your A/C
If your trailer has an arcing fault in the wiring you could wake up to a fire
It appears with all the posts about the necessity of a surge protector that people are more concerned with saving their A/C then their life .

There was a code proposal to require all campground pedestal receptacles to be GFCI protected and it was dropped due to the objections based on cost to install and maintain

[C&G in FL]

My current house was built in 2004 and all three bedrooms are protected with arc fault breakers. It is my understanding that current code requires arc fault on all 120v circuits. If a building permit is pulled for any purpose, the entry panel has to be brought up to code. In 2004, arc fault was apparently only required in bedrooms because that was where people slept, and the thought was if a fire started from an arc in another room, the occupants would be aware of it. Kind of dumb, I thought, as you could be sleeping in an arc fault protected bedroom while arching in an “unprotected” room could start a fire and burn the entire house, bedrooms included, to the ground.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by CPW

My current house was built in 2004 and all three bedrooms are protected with arc fault breakers. It is my understanding that current code requires arc fault on all 120v circuits. If a building permit is pulled for any purpose, the entry panel has to be brought up to code. In 2004, arc fault was apparently only required in bedrooms because that was where people slept, and the thought was if a fire started from an arc in another room, the occupants would be aware of it. Kind of dumb, I thought, as you could be sleeping in an arc fault protected bedroom while arching in an “unprotected” room could start a fire and burn the entire house, bedrooms included, to the ground.

Yup.. the arc-faults here are bedroom outlets.

Well I will be pulling an electrical permit, so I might have to upgrade.. Or maybe I will anyway just to be safe (because the assumption that I put my A/C about my life is incorrect )

[Glenn Baglo]

Home insurance companies are also interested in the state of your wiring. Mine required an electrical inspection and then I had to have deficiencies rectified or they wouldn't insure me.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by CPW

My current house was built in 2004 and all three bedrooms are protected with arc fault breakers. It is my understanding that current code requires arc fault on all 120v circuits. If a building permit is pulled for any purpose, the entry panel has to be brought up to code. In 2004, arc fault was apparently only required in bedrooms because that was where people slept, and the thought was if a fire started from an arc in another room, the occupants would be aware of it. Kind of dumb, I thought, as you could be sleeping in an arc fault protected bedroom while arching in an “unprotected” room could start a fire and burn the entire house, bedrooms included, to the ground.

Bedrooms were the first area requiring AFCI
When a new NEC comes out it then has to be adopted by the State or Local Government . The 2020 NEC will be out this year but it probably won’t be adopted to well into 2021. During that interim period of time any job in progress or a permit is applied for is subject to the old code
There was a time that Wisconsin was enforcing the NEC that was 2 editions back
The problem is not with the code , the problem is with the enforcement
You can adopt the code but if no one enforces it , contractors & Homeowners will cheat to save money
Quote from an Electrical Engineering class I took “ Wisconsin has the best building codes in the nation and the poorest code enforcement”

[charlsara]

Originally Posted by vmj5674

Looking for suggestions on a surge protector, particularly if it is lockable or is cannot be stolen.



Thanks!

All of the outlets and appliance power on the 120 side are ground fault in your Lil Snoozy.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

There was a time that Wisconsin was enforcing the NEC that was 2 editions back
The problem is not with the code , the problem is with the enforcement
You can adopt the code but if no one enforces it , contractors & Homeowners will cheat to save money
Quote from an Electrical Engineering class I took “ Wisconsin has the best building codes in the nation and the poorest code enforcement”

Florida uses the southern electrical code, which from what I understand is the same as the NEC. Just another level of bureaucracy??? My county strictly enforces it. And when I asked a local electrician how many licensed electricians were involved in writing the code, he told me “none, it is all driven by the insurance companies.” I don’t know if that is true or not, but sarcastically and having seen insurance companies in action, I would say it is easier to institute a strict code hopefully preventing a claim rather than to have to find some way to deny a claim.

Originally Posted by charlsara

All of the outlets and appliance power on the 120 side are ground fault in your Lil Snoozy.

Perhaps, but ground fault devices and surge protectors are two very different animals. The person you quoted asked about surge protectors.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by CPW

Florida uses the southern electrical code, which from what I understand is the same as the NEC. Just another level of bureaucracy??? My county strictly enforces it. And when I asked a local electrician how many licensed electricians were involved in writing the code, he told me “none, it is all driven by the insurance companies.” I don’t know if that is true or not, but sarcastically and having seen insurance companies in action, I would say it is easier to institute a strict code hopefully preventing a claim rather than to have to find some way to deny a claim.



Perhaps, but ground fault devices and surge protectors are two very different animals. The person you quoted asked about surge protectors.

For years the NEC code panels mainly consisted of Engineers, insurance company representatives and industrial user and suppliers
Currently there are also electrical inspectors and licensed electricians on the code panels
Two members of my Local IBEW Electricians Union currently sit on a NEC code making panels
The Southern US is in a world of it’s own when it comes to building , plumbing electrical code . Some of its warranted by conditions and part of its just political Bulls_it.

[Seebag]

I have a portable SurgeGuard #34930 which I use whenever hooked up to shore power. While I appreciate that everyone has varying opinions on whether one is required or not, for me it’s (relatively) cheap insurance. My main concern is voltage fluctuations rather than lighting strikes, etc. As for theft prevention, the unit I use came with a fairly robust metal ring attached which I feed a cable lock through and around the power post. Not Fort Knox by any stretch but should prevent opportunity thieves.

[GaryM]

Originally Posted by Justus C

Progressive Industries makes both portable and permanently installed surge protectors.

The portable ones have a metal link around the power cord which you can lock to the power post with a bike lock or similar.

I prefer the portable one because if it ever takes the big hit, I buy a new one. If the permanently installed model gets fried, the old one has to be removed and the replacement must be mounted and wired.

I used the Progressive EMS-PT30X, which has some additional features over a simple surge protector.

Don't know about the permanently installed model, but the portable model has a lifetime warranty. If it gets fried, don't by a new one (I made that mistake once). Call them and they will replace the entire unit or the main board, whatever it takes.