How many have an in-line fuse for your winch?
#61
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Couple other items worth mentioning:
There was an interesting point made by an earlier poster who said he'd been told that a 200 or 250 amp fuse, which would protect 1ga cable against a catastrophic short circuit, takes 5 minutes to blow with a 500 amp load. Well, even a dual battery won't supply 500 amps for 5 minutes so maybe the simple approach of a fuse sized for the factory winch cable would do the trick here without re-cabling.
On a related topic - in an exchange with JK-Ford it was mentioned that a chaffed wire can act like a high-resistance load such as a light bulb. True, but there can be a 20 amp high-resistance insulation breach that will produce enough heat to start a fire before it would ever pop a 250 to 500 amp fuse. That's why I don't support a fuse as protection for this kind of fault. This was drilled into my head many times over the years by those wiser than me.
Anyway, I think a lot of good valid points have been made here. Been a good discussion despite taking a turn into the ditch a couple times
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#62
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Originally Posted by ShakyJake
Warn makes a power interrupt kit with a switch and solenoid for those wanting easy disconnect.
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A better solution to me is to run a switch solenoid for the winch. This will allow you to cut on or off the power to the winch. The power switch itself is fused and the solenoid provides protection between your battery and winch. This is a very handy feature to have if you forge any water and don't want power on your winch while you do it. Plus it keeps someone from operating your winch when you park your Jeep. Just my 2 cents.
#65
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On a related topic - in an exchange with JK-Ford it was mentioned that a chaffed wire can act like a high-resistance load such as a light bulb. True, but there can be a 20 amp high-resistance insulation breach that will produce enough heat to start a fire before it would ever pop a 250 to 500 amp fuse. That's why I don't support a fuse as protection for this kind of fault. This was drilled into my head many times over the years by those wiser than me.
That's why I don't support a fuse as protection for this kind of fault.
#66
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it's implied - no fuse means? that's right no fuse.
If you buy an electric pool pump motor, does it come with directions that tell you how to install it?. If you purchase an electric stove, does it come with a fuse. If you burn down you your house installing an electric water heater. Do you think the manufacturer of the water heater will buy you a new one. But all these devices give the installer the information required ( on the nameplate ). So that he can properly design and install a matched circuit to support that piece of equipment.
#67
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I respect my elders also. Especialy since I have very little formal training. Most of my education has been passed down the old-school method. But I still need a little convincing on how a 20 amp load can destroy a circuit rated at 250 amps or more. I've had my share of experience with chafing faults. Usually they start small. But the rubbing and arcking whill eventualy open up the fault wide enough to creat a dead short. I have never seen a fire as a result of chafing.
Besides visual inspection, a fuse is the only protection for this type of fault.
Besides visual inspection, a fuse is the only protection for this type of fault.
Anyway, this thing with chafing and hot spots is an odd concept. The danger is because a 20 amp load CAN'T destroy a 250 amp circuit. If the 20 (or whatever) amp fault is the result of a pinched or chafed spot that maybe gets a little wet, it starts producing heat. The 250 amp fuse won't blow yet so the chafed spot just keeps producing heat. By the time the fault gets bad enough to pop the big fuse there will already be a lot of heat, so if something flamable is nearby then hello fire! Like a sudden catastrophic circuit failure, these slow burns don't happen very often but they do happen.
This is similar to someone in their house plugging an 18ga extension cord into a 20 amp branch circuit and then plugging a big electric heater into the extension cord. The extension cord can get hot enough to start a fire before the insulation melts through and creates a short that pops the breaker. The heat is from undersized conductors rather than chafing, but the fire starts before the fuse/breaker pops in both cases. They rarely include these details in the newspaper.
If both a fuse and disconnect is used, there will be some protection from both slow and catastrophic short circuits. Hmm. "Fused Disconnect". Has a nice ring to it - almost like something we've heard before
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But, again, nothing is foolproof. Folks, inspect your wiring in your rig, your house, your shop. If it looks bad it probably is. Fire sux!
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Thanks for the link, 250 Continuous Amps 24V, 500 continuous Amps 12V. It should be able to handle the current load.
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