Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The Rain In May...

...is much appreciated in the desert. It isn't enough to fill up my water tanks but it is enough to wet the ground and get my car dirty. At least the temperature has cooled off to 78 for the moment.

One of my commenters suggested the use of a surge protector for my electronics. The surges from lightening are very common in the summer. I do have a surge suppressor for my computer and modem. But my computer is not the most expensive electric item in my RV. The air conditioner and the fridge are much, much, much more expensive to replace. I don't even want to think about replacing those things.

Every year I look in to surge guards for my RV. And every year I decide they are too expensive. The 30amp surge guard is $250! Ok, that would protect my entire RV but I just can't seem to convince myself to buy it. One reason is that this RV should be on 50 amps not 30 and I would love to find someone to change it over. But then the 50 amp surge guard costs $350 so the chances of me buying it are still slim. The other reason is that so far I have managed to make it through without anything blowing up although the fridge problems may have been caused by a power surge and last year the AC motor really struggled after a close lightening strike. Maybe I just like living on the edge! Or maybe I hope that I can move out of this RV before anything bad happens. Maybe I should put a little bit of money aside every month so that it doesn't seem like such a large amount. Or maybe I can find one on craig's list. Maybe I think that wishing the power surges away will protect me again this year. :)

11 comments:

Over the Cubicle Wall said...

Nice on the rain!

Your electric meter should have a ground rod (it is code over here), so you get some limited protection that way. Also, if your RV and contents are insured, it would be worth checking to see if lightening damage is covered.

Daizy said...

Oops, the lights just dimmed again. If I turn the lights off then I can pretend there are no surges right? I should just buy one. Filing a claim and waiting for a replacement could take a while and kitty wouldn't like the heat. But will I do it?

Over the Cubicle Wall said...

If you include kitty in the equation, it is a no-brainer.

KoBold said...

Wishful thinking is a powerful weapon, no doubt.

moocifer said...

My advice--go buy a surge protector. It can easily save you its cost within 2 or 3 years--which is a great payback period.

ps.lightening is actually spelled "lightning"--I've seen you spell it the first way a few times so thought I'd let you know.

Daizy said...

Ha, KoBold, maybe I should write a book, but someone beat me to it with 'The Power Of Positive Thinking'. Then when things still go wrong they wrote 'Why Bad Things Happen To Good People'. Maybe what I really need is a Harry Potter wand. :P

Daizy said...

Hi bugbear, I hope I am out of this RV in under 2 years! The other annoying thing is that whomever I sell this RV to is almost certainly going to hook it up to 50 amps. I suppose I could sell a 30 amp surge guard on craig's list or something.

Spell check catches most of my mistakes but since there isn't a spell check for comments some sneak through. Glad you enjoy catching them though! :)

moocifer said...

Spell check won't catch "lightening" because it's a homonym of lightning--it's a real english word one of whose meanings is "the process of making something lighter".

It's not just in the comments, it's in your main posts.

I guess if you're leaving the RV in two years you could just cross your fingers.

Daizy said...

Ah, homonyms, they'll get me every time. What do I pay Blogger for if they let them slip through! Oh wait...I don't pay Blogger. :)

judilyn said...

Check with your electric company. Down here in Sierra Vista we can rent a surge protector for $6. a month. So far we haven't lost any equipment. You can buy a lot of months for the $350. purchase price.

Virtual hugs,

Judie

Daizy said...

judilyn, good tip. You are very lucky to be with SSVEC. They have a great web page. I talked with TEP last year and they weren't any help. I looked at their site again today and the only advice they gave was to unplug anything electric during a storm. Ha! I don't think I can be home to unplug the RV every time I think it's going to rain.