On our recent trip there was a problem with the electrical supply to the site which resulted in a power spike. This gave nearly everyone on site problems, with boilers, fridges etc in statics going. Those of us in tourers also had problems. We lost our caravan Power Supply Unit, portable 12v dc supply, and our 12v "Beer" fridge.
Question is does anybody use an inline surge arrestor on their mains cable, and if so could you reccommend one.
This is a purpose made, fast acting unit that monitors and limits the through voltage to very close to 230; not to be confused with the devices sold normally to protect computers.
Whilst made for Schaudt controllers, they are an inline device and just as suitable for protection of any other make of sensitive unit.
These dont come cheap at £85 +P&P, they are available in the UK from:
http://www.davenewell.co.uk/
see "Latest products"
I always use one plugged into the sockets inside the caravan, but of course this does not protect the battery charger (which recently packed up and got replaced with a cheap one from Aldi)
We have done a lot of rallying and occasionally use a generator. I always use a surge protector with a generator as they are notoriously "spikey". We had an LCD tv fail on us running on a generator through a surge arrestor and I am convinced it failed due to the irregular voltage from the generator.
(the tv comes on fine, after a few minutes the buttons and remote stop working then eventually it goes into standby and won't come back on unless it is unplugged for an hour or so)
When we had our van on the drive a few years ago, plugged into the mains, the electricity board had a fault in the supply, which caused thousands of pounds worth of damage all down our street.
Our van mains unit/charger went as did a computer printer, alarm clock, stereo in the house. The electricity board arranged and paid for all the repairs.
I think they lost the neutral which causes the voltge to go very high or low on the different phases. This can be very dangerous on a PME supply, as most modern systems are. It happened a few times before, when the lights just glowed. Eventually they recabled the whole street.
I have been told to replace the items and then send receipts to an appointed loss adjuster. The power company is going to arrange to re-imburse everyone affected.
Quote: Originally posted by JTQU on 19/8/2010
One of the better ones is made Schaudt.
Schaudt Overvoltage Protector OPV 01A.
This is a purpose made, fast acting unit that monitors and limits the through voltage to very close to 230; not to be confused with the devices sold normally to protect computers.
Whilst made for Schaudt controllers, they are an inline device and just as suitable for protection of any other make of sensitive unit.
These dont come cheap at £85 +P&P, they are available in the UK from:
http://www.davenewell.co.uk/
see "Latest products"
The only problem I can see with that is that its only rated at 10A. But if that not not bother you, it could be integrated in to the existing wiring. However a more permanent solution would be better, but this is the best I have seen so far.
When we had our van on the drive a few years ago, plugged into the mains, the electricity board had a fault in the supply, which caused thousands of pounds worth of damage all down our street.
Our van mains unit/charger went as did a computer printer, alarm clock, stereo in the house. The electricity board arranged and paid for all the repairs.
I think they lost the neutral which causes the voltge to go very high or low on the different phases. This can be very dangerous on a PME supply, as most modern systems are. It happened a few times before, when the lights just glowed. Eventually they recabled the whole street.
You should be able to claim from the site owner.
I think you have something muddled up. A PME system doesn't have a neutral, it uses the earth as a neutral. This is why it is important that all the pipes in the house are bonded. If they are not, you can get a shock from the sink or taps.
Sorry LegsDownKettleOn but a PME system most definately does have a neutral,the system runs as normal, if you get a broken neutral on the mains then the neutral current goes via the earth to the nearest earthed point on the system the other side of the break and back to the distribution transformer.
Saxo1