I'm still a month from picking up the new trailer... it's in.. but with the poor weather we're putting it off. Why bother picking up a trailer early we are not going to use when the warranty starts immediately. That said, we have been collecting lots of stuff for the new trailer that is starting to fill up the garage. This includes a 340W solar set up with a 2000W inverter/charger and 3 Battleborn batteries. Also on the list a new Dirt devil central vac, water pump accumulator and tons of other knickknacks.

On the "would like to have list" was the HW50C EMS. I consider this more of a luxury item as we've been trailering for over 14 years and have never had any power problems, I'm just a gadget person and like the ability to see the current flowing and know there is surge protection just in case. I've been monitoring the EMS on eBay for a few months and there of been lots of "for parts" models anywhere from $75 to $125 USD. Proper new in box items are usually over the $300 USD mark.

That said I did set up a search parameter on eBay for the HW50C for "new" or "new other" under $300. The other week a "new other" popped up for $105.50 USD. This was a typical "for parts" price so I was a bit cynical of the ad saying it was new, just an open box. The seller was a typical eBay reseller with a myriad of different items for sale. I considered this risky and really pondered this purchase for over an hour before committing to the $105.50 buy it now price. I figured if it was a dud eBay would cover me with the buyer protection.

I picked up the HW50C from my parcel place over the border yesterday and decided I needed to test it ASAP... just in case. I converted my garage car charger plug from a dryer to a range plug. I rigged up the HW50C with two outlets and plugged in two 1500W heaters as a test (one for each phase on a split plug). It was immediate disappointment when the unit went straight to error E-2 (open ground). I knew my outlet ground was good as I tested it beforehand. Withdrawn I sat on the garage floor staring at the unit... then I saw it... a loose green wire with a terminal ring not connected in the bottom of the housing. Hooked it up and success... fully operational. The unit was complete with remote/cable/terminals. The only thing I found missing was one of the 6 screws to hold the lid on. If only every deal in life was this good! I wonder if it got to the reseller due to being non-functional with the disconnected ground?

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