Intermatic AG3000 HVAC Surge Protective Device, 120/240 VAC

I am a retired electrical engineer and after a lot of research I found the Intermatic AG300 to be the very best surge protector one can get for their air conditioner system. It is very easy to install and you do not need to hire anyone to do it for you. What prompted me to purchase these was because the new air conditioning systems that were installed on my home comes with free 6 month check-ups. They insisted that surge protection is essential and they are actually correct. But they wanted $3100 to install them on 2 outside 240 volt compressor units and 2 inside120 volts air handlers, for a total of 4 surge protectors. I bought these on Amazon and installed them in about 15 minutes each. Incredibly easy if you have any common sense at all. You don't need to be an electrician. The 2 outside units for the compressors are wired as follows: (1) Turn off the breaker. (2) The side of each A/C disconnect have sectional knock-outs on them. The smallest is 1/2 inch and that is the one to knock out using a screwdriver and a pair plyers lightly tapping on it until it comes out. Move it back and forth and it will break free. (3) Slide the wires through this hole with the rubber grommet and locknut on the OUTSIDE. (4) The remaining locknut gets slipped over the wires inside and tighten down on the stem you stuck through the original 1/2" hole. Now you have a watertight connection. (5) There are 2 black wires and 1 white. Cut the wires shorter so there is not too much wire inside the disconnect and for the surge arrestor to work better as longer cables adversely affect it. The shorter, the better! (6) Using a flat head screwdriver, install the white wire to the bare ground bus bar where either bare wires or green wires are already located. (7) Then install the 2 black wires on the "LINE" side of the disconnect. The LINE side is the power side that comes from the breaker box. The "LOAD" side is the ones that go the the A/C unit. The word "LINE" is usually printed inside the disconnect. There will be 2 "LINES" on each disconnect to match the 2 black wires coming from the surge arrestor. Turn on the breaker and you are done. Check to make sure the green light comes on. If not, you have most likely not connected it properly. Keep an eye on the green light over time. Should it burn out, a very heavy surge has caused it and you will need to replace it. As for the inside 120 volt air handler units, the same exact installation method is used except the wiring. Since the air handler unit is 120 volts, BOTH black wires get twisted together and attached to the power connection inside the unit. Usually this is a wire nut that has the power wire (usually black) and air handler wires together. Take it loose and add the 2 black wires under one connection and make tight. Then the white wire gets connected to the white wire supplying the air handler. This is the neutral wire and NOT the green or bare ground. Once this is complete, turn the power back on and the green light will illuminate. Also, most of the time you do not need to turn off the breaker to the air handler. The USA electrical code requires an ON/OFF switch within 6 ft. of the unit. This will look like a switch you have inside your home. Turning this off is the same as turning off the breaker as there will be no power inside the air handler while you install this.

This surge protector is very nice and straightforward to install. I have it on my quick disconnect for a minisplit and do experience a lot of power loss during certain times of the year. It’s been going for almost a year now with no issues. The status light is very easy to see.

Easy install and the green indicator lamp is lit. I installed this same product 4 years ago at my previous home and never had any issues. Hard to tell if it works or not, but I trust that it is.

Easy to install and gives a little peace of mind knowing another level of protection has been added since my A/C is loaded with electronics.

I installed this on my a/c quick disconnect for added voltage surge protection to help protect the inverter board in the condenser. Easy to install.

This is a terrific product and it should be installed onto all air conditioner compressors and air handlers. Those A/C devices have LONG AGO moved away from simple apply power and the motor runs, w/ the capacitor in those motors eventually drying out, requiring a simple test and easy low-cost replacement. Now these compressors and air handlers have complex / expensive / difficult-to-obtain / long-lead-time electronics within the enclosures and within the motors. These devices are JUST ASKING to fail, causing LONG downtime and EXPENSIVE eventual repairs. Those part availability and high cost difficulties increase as the air conditioner gets older. This Intermatic AG3000 is terrific for many reasons. 1) It is reasonably priced. 2) It is "easy" to install. 3) It provides acceptable surge protection. 4) It has a BRIGHT protection active LED, visible in bright Florida sunshine. 4) It appears to have sufficient water resistance, but is ONLY specified to IP 60529 IP4X, >1mm mechanical ingress and unknown liquid ingress. The AG3000 provides surge (lightning) protection using TPMOV technology. This is rated to: 1,200V L-L and 700V L-N and to 20kA discharge current. As lightning is VERY uncontrolled, that will protect from a nearby area hit, not a direct hit. A MOV device will degrade w/ each hit. The TPMOV monitors itself and toggles the LED from Green to Red when protection is exhausted, providing a visual indicator that replacement is required. The teeny tiny warranty words are written tightly around the devices within the AG3000 and to the specified protection they provide. If the lightning surge exceeds the capability of the part, such as from a direct hit, the surge will pass right through and damage the device that was intended to be protected. The warranty is written to define that event as an excessive surge, beyond the capability of the AG3000 and zero damage coverage is provided. That is, if the device to be protected is damaged, unless the AG3000 was defective somehow, then there is zero damage coverage because the surge was excessive. Warranty NOT insurance! The US 2023 NEC wiring rules prohibit double tapping and double lugging, two wires into a circuit breaker and two wires into a bus or terminal lug, unless those are specified for multiple wires. There are potential problems listed for wiring in that manner. In my case, I examined those potential problems and also examined the potential surge protection benefits from wiring my two 23-year old I-T-E CNFR222 60A / 240VAC service disconnects w/ double lugging on the input wires and decided that the wire routing from double lugging would maximize my surge protection, so I went that route. My implementation that does not follow current NEC code is NOT a recommendation. On one installation, I needed to slightly bend the bottom of the I-T-E external switch lever arc bracket, zero effect on anything. On the other, the house stucco prevented the body from seating exactly properly, also zero effect. Remember to add green electrical tape over the white insulation when connecting it to Ground instead of Neutral. This is recommended.

This was for a mini split system, and if there was a storm and the lightning would hit the electrical line, it would not blow out the Mini Split and not worry about putting a new one in. We bought this for every Mini Split we have put in our house. Would buy again.

Attached below my pole electric meter and now my whole house is protected from power surges. great product.

Este dispositivo cumple satisfactoriamente para protejer los Equipos eléctricos y Electrónicos, de los daños de los Sobrevoltajes que ingresan de la Red Electrica derivado de la presencia de las Tormentas eléctricas, y los sobrevoltajes derivadas de suitcheos en la propia Red Electrica, desde luego que se deje contar con una toma de Tierras de buena Calidad, contrariamente los resultados pueden no ser los esperados.

Worked well for our mini-split install. Recommended. We have two mini-splits and the other has the same unit and has been in service for about 7 years and we average probably 5 power failures per year. That one is still working.

A must if you live in a place where electricity is flickering or goes out constantly. It will protect your investment.

Unit arrived as advertised. Easy to install. Time will tell how it protects my electronics out in the country.

Have installed for a while, still working great.