Yes but the fuses all vary...should I put 10s on them all? On Feb 20, 2016 2:33 PM, "John Schinnerer" <john@eco-living.net> wrote:
Isn't your power panel one with breakers or fuses already included for each circuit? In that case each circuit is covered, for wire safety anyhow.
cheers, John S.
On 02/20/2016 01:56 PM, Jazzy wrote:
So, talk to me about fuses on the switches versus the one on the positive wire...
Jazz On Feb 20, 2016 1:54 PM, "Keith R. Martin" < keith.richard.martin@gmail.com> wrote:
My experience with low cost power electronics is that the maximum
marketing ratings rarely if ever hold up under sustained maximum loads, and when they fail they often don't do so in a safe manner hence my suggestion to fuse it at a level lower than the max rating.
If you think your going to use it to monitor loads drawn by an inverter it would be have to be one of the smaller ones... As an example 150Watt inverter delivering full load to the AC is going to draw on the order of about 14-16 Amps, which is close to the power monitor's max rating... That said if charging a typical laptop (70W) via the inverter would probably draw 6-7 Amps DC well within range, similarly an 12V air pumps I have seen are on the order of 4-7 amps, so both of those are within the range ...
All that said if it were me I would want some head room between the the fuse rating and the units max rating given it's cost base..
The great thing is your power monitor will tell you whats happening and frankly help you settle in on a fuse rating that works for you, a simple check would be to check how warm the power unit gets under a sustained load...
Messing with boats... Tons of fun...
*Keith R. Martin, P.Eng.*
*Burnaby, B.C. CanadaSerenity,** M17 Hull #353*
On 20 February 2016 at 12:36, Jazzy <jazzydaze@gmail.com> wrote:
I'm thinking the biggest things that may ever go in the lighter plug is a
little inverter or a pump to blow up an inflatable. Maybe I should fuse that switch a little higher? On Feb 20, 2016 12:34 PM, "Keith R. Martin" < keith.richard.martin@gmail.com> wrote:
Yup sounds like you are okay depending on what you plug into the
cigarette
lighter plug...
I would be surprised if the gps plotter and a couple of usb devices combined exceeded 3-4 A, the lighter plug however is often used to
power
devices that draw a little more current, but 6-7 amps of a lighter plug
is
a pretty good load..
The good think is your meter will tell you..... The worst that can
happen
if it's properly fused is it blows with too large a load drawn from the
lighter plug...
Keith
*Keith R. Martin, P.Eng.*
*Burnaby, B.C. CanadaSerenity,** M17 Hull #353*
On 20 February 2016 at 12:21, Jazzy <jazzydaze@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi all,
Keith, never too late for a party! With led lighting and an older
small
grayscale gps/plotter, 1 cigarette lighter plug, one dual usb plug
I'm
thinking I can't really draw enough to cause an issue. Is this a
correct
assumption? I don't have official specs on what the items draw, just
seems
minimal to me even with everything on On Feb 20, 2016 12:16 PM, "Keith R. Martin" < keith.richard.martin@gmail.com> wrote:
Late to the party but I concur with Mitch and John's last post... > > > *1. Power supply (battery) to “+” and “-“. Disconnect the battery > from
everything else. 2. Connect “+ load” and “- load” where the battery
> used
to
> connect.* > > Attached I think is the picture John was talking about showing a > practical
> wiring connection for the device in lab bench setting. > > I would definitely put an inline fuse on this, and given the low > cost
of
the device if it were me I would limit the fuse to 10A .. > Given the low cost of the device, if you think you need more than > 10A
on
the boat I would have a hard look at the device to make sure it > could
safely sustain the higher currents.
> > Keith > > *Keith R. Martin, P.Eng.* > > *Burnaby, B.C. CanadaSerenity,** M17 Hull #353* > > > > On 20 February 2016 at 11:46, John Schinnerer <john@eco-living.net >
wrote:
> > Ditto that... >> >> Note that the diagram says "built in shunt" - this means that the >> > device
> itself contains a thingamajig doohickey (sorry for all the >> > technical
terms
> >> :-) called a "shunt" that all DC power passes through on its way >> > to
the
loads (and is what enables the measurement of the current). >> >> So just connect as the pictures show, battery + and - to battery, >> > and
then
> >> you need to substitute your panel + and busbar - for the + and - >> > of
the
big > >> wire-wound resistor DC load shown in the pictures. >> >> Absolutely fuse it, between battery + and meter +. A regular ATO >> > or
Mini
> auto fuse inline holder will do. As someone already said, fuses >> > are
to
prevent fires mainly, protect the wiring from getting hot and/or >> > melting.
> >> Also, if you're in saltwater environment mostly, don't expect >> > this
cheap
> of a meter to last long. >> >> cheers, >> John S. >> >> On 02/20/2016 09:00 AM, David Rifkind wrote: >> >> >>> On Feb 20, 2016, at 9:24 AM, Mitch Carnes < >>> >> mitch_carnes@sbcglobal.net
> wrote: >>>> >>>> + to positive side of battery, - to negative side of >>>> >>> battery.
This
> will power unit AND monitor battery voltage.+load to positive >>>> >>> side
of
> battery - load goes to positive side of device being powered. >>>> >>> (AMP/Current > >> meters are typically wired "in line" or "in series" of device >>>> >>> being
monitored) The negative, or - side of the device being
>>>> >>> monitored
still
> goes > >> to the negative side of the battery. >>>> >>>> >>> I don’t think this is right. Look at the photos in the eBay >>> >> listing
and
> you can see they have hooked up: >>> >>> 1. Power supply (battery) to “+” and “-“. Disconnect the battery >>> >> from
everything else. >>> 2. Connect “+ load” and “- load” where the battery used to >>> >> connect.
>>> It might not hurt to put an inline 20A fuse in the + line >>> >> between
battery
> >> and meter. Just in case. >>> >>> >>> -- >> John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design >> -------------------------------------------- >> - Eco-Living - >> Whole Systems Design Services >> People - Place - Learning - Integration >> john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 >> http://eco-living.net >> http://sociocracyconsulting.com >> >> >> >
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design
- Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com