Portable EMS, 50 A, LCD
Southwire Surge Guard 34950 50 Amp Portable RV Surge Protector with LCD
Southwire's full-protection 50 A portable: 4,200 J across five surge modes, over/under-voltage shutoff, open-ground, open-neutral, reverse-polarity, high-neutral-current and overheating-plug protection, with a two-line LCD that shows volts and amps on both legs.
We earn a commission if you buy through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It does not change what we recommend — see our affiliate disclosure. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Best for
50 A rigs whose owners want a plain-English LCD readout and a lock ring on the cord, with a 30 A sibling (34930) for the smaller coach
Specifications
| Service | 50 A, 120/240 V, 12,000 W (34930: 30 A, 120 V, 3,600 W) |
|---|---|
| Surge protection | Multi-mode (L-N, L-N, L-G, N-G, L-L); 4,200 J; clamping < 300 VAC; 6,500 A per MOV (34930: 3-mode, 2,450 J) |
| Over/under voltage | Shuts off below 102 V or above 132 V (product page; manual table: 136 V); 7 s trip time |
| Wiring faults | Open ground, open neutral, reverse polarity, miswired pedestal, elevated ground-line current |
| Current protection | High neutral current trip at 130% (50 A model); receptacle temperature trip for an overheating plug/receptacle |
| Reconnect delay | 128 s reset delay to protect the A/C compressor; 10 s start-up sequence; automatic reset on power restoration |
| Display | LCD: L1/L2 voltage and amp draw (RMS), RV ON/OFF, fault messages such as OPEN GROUND, REVERSE POLARITY, L1 LOW |
| Security | Anti-theft lock ring on cord |
| Receptacle | Commercial-grade brass; Easy-T-Pull handles |
| Size | 4.68 × 22.00 × 3.86 in (34930: 4.68 × 21.50 × 3.86 in) |
| Warranty | Limited Lifetime plus Connected Equipment Coverage (Southwire warranty terms) |
Specifications as published by Southwire. Confirm against the current spec sheet before buying — manufacturers revise models without renaming them.
What's good
- The widest documented fault list of the four: adds high-neutral-current and receptacle-overheat trips to the usual voltage, ground, neutral and polarity checks
- Fault messages in words on the LCD — 'OPEN GROUND', 'L1 LOW WAS 99V' — with the value that caused the trip
- Connected-equipment coverage in the warranty, with Southwire's conditions
- Lock ring on the cord, so the unit can be cabled to the pedestal without an add-on bracket
What's not
- Southwire's product page and brochure give the high-voltage cut-off as >132 V while the printed manual's spec table says 136 V — we show the page figure; expect the unit to behave within that range
- The lower cut-off is 102 V, two volts below the 104 V the Progressive and Hughes units use — a touch more tolerant of brownout
- No amazon.com listing for the 50 A unit at the time of writing; the 30 A 34930 is on Amazon
- No IP rating or weight published
Our verdict
Pick this over the Progressive 50 A when you want the readout in words rather than codes, and when the lock ring and the connected-equipment warranty matter to you. It protects against everything a bad pedestal does, including the overheated plug the others don't watch. Buy the 34930 for a 30 A coach — same design, three surge modes, 2,450 J.
Compare with the alternatives
- Progressive Industries EMS-PT30X — any 30 a rv that moves between campgrounds — the one unit to own if you buy only one
- Progressive Industries EMS-PT50X — 50 a rvs with two air conditioners, where a dropped leg or a low leg is the common campground problem
- Hughes Autoformers Power Watchdog Gen I – 30 Amp Surge Protector with Emergency Power Off – Portable (PWD30-EPO) — 30 a owners who want the pedestal readings on a phone inside the rv, and a surge module they can replace instead of the whole unit