RE: surge protector
My question: is it worth the money to purchased a power surge protector? They are a few hundred dollars.
First, a power strip protector does nothing until voltage exceeds 300 volts. View its box. Find the 'Let-through' voltage. Voltages below that are ignored.
Most common voltage problems in a park are voltage variations well below 300 volts. Most electronics are so robust as to make these voltages irrelevant. But motorized appliances are at risk.
Second, another destructive voltage is a surge. A short spike that seeks earth ground. Anything inside an RV that would make that transient irrelevant is already inside electronics. If that surge is so large as to overwhelm internal protection. well, the only solution is to earth that transient before it enters an RV. Destructive surges seek earth ground. Incoming on any hot wire. If not earthed before entering the RV, then it will find earth destructively via appliances.
Either you earth every incoming wire before it enters the RV. Or you have no protection. You cannot earth an AC hot wire directly. So a protector connects from that hot wire, as short as possible, to the common earth ground. Connection must be as short as possible - single digit feet. Often earth ground can be obtained by the power pole. Either a connection to earth via a protector is many times shorter than a connection to the appliance. Or you have no effective protection. Protection is always about the shortest connection to single point earth ground.
Also explains why power strip protectors are useless. Ineffective protectors do not make a single digit foot connection to earth. Ineffective protectors - especially the most expensive power strips - will not discuss earth ground. The so called 'quality' power strips are profit centers. Contain the same circuit that sells in the grocery store for $7. Is promoted mostly by myths.
In every case, an effective protector for voltages exceeding 300 volts is a protector from every wire inside every incoming cable, as short as possible, to a common earth ground. Not safety ground. Earth ground. Where surge energy gets harmlessly dissipated.
Defined are two different problems often solved with different devices. Neither is solved by 'magic box' power strip protectors.
