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Re: 39' sloop conversion

 

Check out this YouTube.?

"Sailing uma". I think you might be interested.?

On Sun, May 17, 2020, 7:36 AM MATT <msteverson@...> wrote:
Hello all, I'm a longtime lurker, this is my first post, so please, be gentle.

We have lived on our 39' sloop for about 5 years now and are ready to convert to hybrid...this is the plan I've come up with and am looking for your critical analysis.

The boat is a custom build. It displaces about 18000 lbs all full, has a 3/4 length "scheel" keel, and only draws about 50".? We currently have a very good running yanmar 3gm30f that turns a 17" 2 blade max prop.? We've put in about 20k nm over the past few years and she solidly averages 6kts.? The engine is in the middle of the boat under the galley sink and makes A LOT of noise and stink and we're sick of it.? We've got a little extra time and money so we think this project could go a long way.

The plan
- 48V 12KW Thunderstuck ME1616 kit - currently its on backorder - with a 3:1 gear reduction
- About 15kw lithium battery bank (right now Thunderstruck has Valence 1.6kw batteries used for $350 each, so 8 of these, and the VC1 BMS they sell, I think would be easy to install and work well.)
- A 3.5-4kw diesel generator that is PURELY for recharging batteries using the thunderstruck TSM2500 kit with 2 chargers.? This should get me 70amps at 48volts running from 240VAC.? This is important because we live at anchor in the PNW year round.? We often have a long way to go with no wind, or sun and generally avoid marinas.? I will buy this used or rebuilt to save dollars.
- Run existing loads off of a DC-DC converter

- We have 500W of PV installed with 12V Victron charge controllers?that keeps up with our daily usage.? I would like to get them putting electrons into the 48v bank and?am wondering if there is a work-around with DC to DC converters or something so I don't have to buy all new CCs.??

I will be doing this install myself.? I'm confident with basic stuff like solar installs and alternators but this project will be a little out of my comfort range, I'm very much looking forward to it.? What is most important to me is to keep the system as simple and user friendly as possible mostly for resale purposes.??

Any advice/comments/questions/trashtalk would be appreciated.??

Matt


Re: 39' sloop conversion

 

I just finished building a 48Vdc diesel generator using a salvaged Farymann diesel from a Westerbeke 4.2kW generator. For $350 I purchased ?a 3,5kW permanent magnet generator on eBay. It is putting out 3.6kW charging my 50 kWh LFP 48v pack.?


I¡¯d suggest building your battery using prismatic cells rather than used drop ins. ?


39' sloop conversion

 

Hello all, I'm a longtime lurker, this is my first post, so please, be gentle.

We have lived on our 39' sloop for about 5 years now and are ready to convert to hybrid...this is the plan I've come up with and am looking for your critical analysis.

The boat is a custom build. It displaces about 18000 lbs all full, has a 3/4 length "scheel" keel, and only draws about 50".? We currently have a very good running yanmar 3gm30f that turns a 17" 2 blade max prop.? We've put in about 20k nm over the past few years and she solidly averages 6kts.? The engine is in the middle of the boat under the galley sink and makes A LOT of noise and stink and we're sick of it.? We've got a little extra time and money so we think this project could go a long way.

The plan
- 48V 12KW Thunderstuck ME1616 kit - currently its on backorder - with a 3:1 gear reduction
- About 15kw lithium battery bank (right now Thunderstruck has Valence 1.6kw batteries used for $350 each, so 8 of these, and the VC1 BMS they sell, I think would be easy to install and work well.)
- A 3.5-4kw diesel generator that is PURELY for recharging batteries using the thunderstruck TSM2500 kit with 2 chargers.? This should get me 70amps at 48volts running from 240VAC.? This is important because we live at anchor in the PNW year round.? We often have a long way to go with no wind, or sun and generally avoid marinas.? I will buy this used or rebuilt to save dollars.
- Run existing loads off of a DC-DC converter

- We have 500W of PV installed with 12V Victron charge controllers?that keeps up with our daily usage.? I would like to get them putting electrons into the 48v bank and?am wondering if there is a work-around with DC to DC converters or something so I don't have to buy all new CCs.??

I will be doing this install myself.? I'm confident with basic stuff like solar installs and alternators but this project will be a little out of my comfort range, I'm very much looking forward to it.? What is most important to me is to keep the system as simple and user friendly as possible mostly for resale purposes.??

Any advice/comments/questions/trashtalk would be appreciated.??

Matt


Heavy Weather Strategies When Sailing A Catamaran

Faith Banini
 

By their nature, larger catamarans are exceptionally safe offshore. It is not unusual to sail through mildly uncomfortable conditions, such as a gale, only to arrive in port and hear sailors on keelboats talk of ¡°surviving¡± horrendous weather. A large modern catamaran has plenty of buoyancy and exceptional roll inertia. Together these make a capsize, or inversion, highly unlikely. A 30-foot breaking wave hitting a cat abeam will simply make the boat surf sideways.


Regardless, anyone venturing offshore in a multihull should be prepared to handle the worst.


Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý


On May 6, 2020, at 6:25 PM, john via <oak_box@...> wrote:

Matt,
Thanks for the response - that's very encouraging to hear!

The battery I ordered is the 20Ah version of this one from BTRPower:


From what I've seen so far - it seems pretty good.? I just haven't had a chance to test it under load yet.

I agree with you that I really don't want to run it for more than a burst at 50Ah!
From data I collected with the AGM batteries, the boat moves about as fast as it's going to go (under batteries) at roughly 1000W or less (~20A).? ?Running at 12A should be about the sweet spot near 4mph, and should give me reasonable run time, even with just a 20Ah battery (at least for a short putter around trip...).

John

On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 04:28:23 PM CDT, Matt Foley <matt@...> wrote:


Hi John,

I'm betting I have the same one, just the 30AH version. Typically I'm not a fan of pre-packaged "black box" but this one has served me well. It capacity tested to exactly 30AH. While I don't recommend doing it often, if pushed to the limit, the BMS cuts power for a few seconds and automatically comes back on. Being its only a 20AH battery, for maximum cycle life of the battery I wouldn't push the 50 amp continuous limit for too long. That's a 2.5 C rate.?

Personally, I wouldn't worry about a fuse for testing.?


Matt Foley?
Sunlight Conversions
Perpetual Energy, LLC
201-914-0466





On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 04:37:36 PM EDT, john via <oak_box@...> wrote:


Thomas,
Below are some details of the application:

Boat:? ?The test platform is a home build plywood boat.
Length:? 13'
Beam:? 5'8"
Weight:? ?(guess)? under 400 pounds

<1588795948729blob.jpg>

The boat has been re-powered with a Torqeedo Cruise 4R outboard.? 48V, max input 4KW.

The first experiment was to power the Torqeedo with a bank of four Group 31 Deka AGM 12V batteries.
It worked, but the batteries were excessively heavy, took up a LOT of space, and provided no backup in the event that the primary bank died or suffered any kind of technical failure.

For the next experiment, I'd like to try running the boat on a lithium battery bank, for improved power density, depth of discharge, and overall weight/space.

Since I have zero prior experience with lithium batteries - the first step will be to use an Ebike battery from Amazon.? This is a bundled system:
48V Nominal
20AH rating
Sustained current drain:? 50A
Peak current:? 100A

The battery pack has a built in BMS.? However, there are no details about what happens if the BMS trips.? It may permanently disable the battery to prevent a catastrophic failure.

In this setup - the motor can pull up to 4KW, but the battery can only provide half that on a sustained basis.? If the operator accidentally or carelessly pushes the throttle to full speed, I would expect the battery BMS would trip - possibly permanently "bricking" the battery.

Therefore, I would like to put a fuse or breaker after the battery to gate the max drain of the battery to no more than about 40A.? The thought was that if I used a fuse or breaker of about 30A, it would blow before the battery BMS kicked in - giving me the opportunity to either replace the fuse or reset the breaker, and move on.

Protecting the battery with a 30A fuse or breaker should be a very conservative step.? All other wiring is being sized to support the current drain potential of the motor - which far exceeds what the battery can supply at this time.

From other responses - it sounds like the fuse/breaker must be rated for DC usage, and that the voltage rating should comfortably exceed the 48V system (with a max charging voltage of about 55V).

John


On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 09:32:53 AM CDT, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@...> wrote:


John,

Can you clarify what your application is please?? You mention an electric motor that "can pull up to 100A" to be used "in a proof of concept type experiment".
Are you putting the motor aboard a vessel or testing on the bench?? [More specifically, what's the potential degree of loss in the event of a fire?? If you're running your system on a bench in a controlled environment where the loss might be a burnt wire, that's one thing.? But taking people aboard a vessel on the water requires an entirely different standard of care!]?
Do you know what motor (nominal rating in watts) the battery pack was intended to power? And what concepts are you looking to prove?
Ampacity of a wire is a function both of diameter/gauge *and* length.? In some situations, a 12 awg wire might safely carry 50 amps for brief periods, but it would not be prudent to create such a situation where there's meaningful risk of property or life.
I'm not an engineer or expert by any definition, but I would take the cautious approach, and size my load wires for the maximum expected load and required length of wire.? For 100 amps, over a few feet or so, that would mean 8 awg to me.? [I'm using 150 amp ANL type fuses and 7 awg wire to my motor that could pull 150 amps.]
Will there be any other loads on your battery?? Ideally, each load would have its own fuse, and your battery fuse sized to allow for the entire system.
Take a look at <
Good luck, and have fun!
[-tv]
Tom VanderMeulen
"Grace O'Malley"
Cape Dory 27
Monroe, MI
<1588795948729blob.jpg>


Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

Matt,
Thanks for the response - that's very encouraging to hear!

The battery I ordered is the 20Ah version of this one from BTRPower:


From what I've seen so far - it seems pretty good.? I just haven't had a chance to test it under load yet.

I agree with you that I really don't want to run it for more than a burst at 50Ah!
From data I collected with the AGM batteries, the boat moves about as fast as it's going to go (under batteries) at roughly 1000W or less (~20A).? ?Running at 12A should be about the sweet spot near 4mph, and should give me reasonable run time, even with just a 20Ah battery (at least for a short putter around trip...).

John

On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 04:28:23 PM CDT, Matt Foley <matt@...> wrote:


Hi John,

I'm betting I have the same one, just the 30AH version. Typically I'm not a fan of pre-packaged "black box" but this one has served me well. It capacity tested to exactly 30AH. While I don't recommend doing it often, if pushed to the limit, the BMS cuts power for a few seconds and automatically comes back on. Being its only a 20AH battery, for maximum cycle life of the battery I wouldn't push the 50 amp continuous limit for too long. That's a 2.5 C rate.?

Personally, I wouldn't worry about a fuse for testing.?


Matt Foley?
Sunlight Conversions
Perpetual Energy, LLC
201-914-0466





On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 04:37:36 PM EDT, john via groups.io <oak_box@...> wrote:


Thomas,
Below are some details of the application:

Boat:? ?The test platform is a home build plywood boat.
Length:? 13'
Beam:? 5'8"
Weight:? ?(guess)? under 400 pounds



The boat has been re-powered with a Torqeedo Cruise 4R outboard.? 48V, max input 4KW.

The first experiment was to power the Torqeedo with a bank of four Group 31 Deka AGM 12V batteries.
It worked, but the batteries were excessively heavy, took up a LOT of space, and provided no backup in the event that the primary bank died or suffered any kind of technical failure.

For the next experiment, I'd like to try running the boat on a lithium battery bank, for improved power density, depth of discharge, and overall weight/space.

Since I have zero prior experience with lithium batteries - the first step will be to use an Ebike battery from Amazon.? This is a bundled system:
48V Nominal
20AH rating
Sustained current drain:? 50A
Peak current:? 100A

The battery pack has a built in BMS.? However, there are no details about what happens if the BMS trips.? It may permanently disable the battery to prevent a catastrophic failure.

In this setup - the motor can pull up to 4KW, but the battery can only provide half that on a sustained basis.? If the operator accidentally or carelessly pushes the throttle to full speed, I would expect the battery BMS would trip - possibly permanently "bricking" the battery.

Therefore, I would like to put a fuse or breaker after the battery to gate the max drain of the battery to no more than about 40A.? The thought was that if I used a fuse or breaker of about 30A, it would blow before the battery BMS kicked in - giving me the opportunity to either replace the fuse or reset the breaker, and move on.

Protecting the battery with a 30A fuse or breaker should be a very conservative step.? All other wiring is being sized to support the current drain potential of the motor - which far exceeds what the battery can supply at this time.

From other responses - it sounds like the fuse/breaker must be rated for DC usage, and that the voltage rating should comfortably exceed the 48V system (with a max charging voltage of about 55V).

John


On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 09:32:53 AM CDT, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@...> wrote:


John,

Can you clarify what your application is please?? You mention an electric motor that "can pull up to 100A" to be used "in a proof of concept type experiment".
Are you putting the motor aboard a vessel or testing on the bench?? [More specifically, what's the potential degree of loss in the event of a fire?? If you're running your system on a bench in a controlled environment where the loss might be a burnt wire, that's one thing.? But taking people aboard a vessel on the water requires an entirely different standard of care!]?
Do you know what motor (nominal rating in watts) the battery pack was intended to power? And what concepts are you looking to prove?
Ampacity of a wire is a function both of diameter/gauge *and* length.? In some situations, a 12 awg wire might safely carry 50 amps for brief periods, but it would not be prudent to create such a situation where there's meaningful risk of property or life.
I'm not an engineer or expert by any definition, but I would take the cautious approach, and size my load wires for the maximum expected load and required length of wire.? For 100 amps, over a few feet or so, that would mean 8 awg to me.? [I'm using 150 amp ANL type fuses and 7 awg wire to my motor that could pull 150 amps.]
Will there be any other loads on your battery?? Ideally, each load would have its own fuse, and your battery fuse sized to allow for the entire system.
Take a look at <
Good luck, and have fun!
[-tv]
Tom VanderMeulen
"Grace O'Malley"
Cape Dory 27
Monroe, MI


Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

John,
My limited experience with the type of battery protection circuits you're dealing with in that bike battery is consistent with Matt's.? Calling it a BMS is overly generous, in my view, since it really only provides the functionality of an auto-resetting circuit protector.? When you're charging, it cuts off the charger flow when one of the cells reaching High Voltage Cutoff, and when you're discharging, it cuts off the flow when it reaches Low Voltage Cutoff or Maximum Current.? Depending on the design the over-current reset may indeed be quick as Matt describes.
Given your application, I'm inclined to agree with Matt on skipping the fuse or breaker at this point in your system development.? As you continue to develop your configuration, you might also want to track down the ABYC standards for electrical work, storage batteries, and electric propulsion just to stay on the safe side.? Just a thought.
[-tv]
Tom VanderMeulen
"Grace O'Malley"
Cape Dory 27
Monroe, Michigan


Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

Hi John,

I'm betting I have the same one, just the 30AH version. Typically I'm not a fan of pre-packaged "black box" but this one has served me well. It capacity tested to exactly 30AH. While I don't recommend doing it often, if pushed to the limit, the BMS cuts power for a few seconds and automatically comes back on. Being its only a 20AH battery, for maximum cycle life of the battery I wouldn't push the 50 amp continuous limit for too long. That's a 2.5 C rate.?

Personally, I wouldn't worry about a fuse for testing.?


Matt Foley?
Sunlight Conversions
Perpetual Energy, LLC
201-914-0466





On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 04:37:36 PM EDT, john via groups.io <oak_box@...> wrote:


Thomas,
Below are some details of the application:

Boat:? ?The test platform is a home build plywood boat.
Length:? 13'
Beam:? 5'8"
Weight:? ?(guess)? under 400 pounds



The boat has been re-powered with a Torqeedo Cruise 4R outboard.? 48V, max input 4KW.

The first experiment was to power the Torqeedo with a bank of four Group 31 Deka AGM 12V batteries.
It worked, but the batteries were excessively heavy, took up a LOT of space, and provided no backup in the event that the primary bank died or suffered any kind of technical failure.

For the next experiment, I'd like to try running the boat on a lithium battery bank, for improved power density, depth of discharge, and overall weight/space.

Since I have zero prior experience with lithium batteries - the first step will be to use an Ebike battery from Amazon.? This is a bundled system:
48V Nominal
20AH rating
Sustained current drain:? 50A
Peak current:? 100A

The battery pack has a built in BMS.? However, there are no details about what happens if the BMS trips.? It may permanently disable the battery to prevent a catastrophic failure.

In this setup - the motor can pull up to 4KW, but the battery can only provide half that on a sustained basis.? If the operator accidentally or carelessly pushes the throttle to full speed, I would expect the battery BMS would trip - possibly permanently "bricking" the battery.

Therefore, I would like to put a fuse or breaker after the battery to gate the max drain of the battery to no more than about 40A.? The thought was that if I used a fuse or breaker of about 30A, it would blow before the battery BMS kicked in - giving me the opportunity to either replace the fuse or reset the breaker, and move on.

Protecting the battery with a 30A fuse or breaker should be a very conservative step.? All other wiring is being sized to support the current drain potential of the motor - which far exceeds what the battery can supply at this time.

From other responses - it sounds like the fuse/breaker must be rated for DC usage, and that the voltage rating should comfortably exceed the 48V system (with a max charging voltage of about 55V).

John


On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 09:32:53 AM CDT, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@...> wrote:


John,

Can you clarify what your application is please?? You mention an electric motor that "can pull up to 100A" to be used "in a proof of concept type experiment".
Are you putting the motor aboard a vessel or testing on the bench?? [More specifically, what's the potential degree of loss in the event of a fire?? If you're running your system on a bench in a controlled environment where the loss might be a burnt wire, that's one thing.? But taking people aboard a vessel on the water requires an entirely different standard of care!]?
Do you know what motor (nominal rating in watts) the battery pack was intended to power? And what concepts are you looking to prove?
Ampacity of a wire is a function both of diameter/gauge *and* length.? In some situations, a 12 awg wire might safely carry 50 amps for brief periods, but it would not be prudent to create such a situation where there's meaningful risk of property or life.
I'm not an engineer or expert by any definition, but I would take the cautious approach, and size my load wires for the maximum expected load and required length of wire.? For 100 amps, over a few feet or so, that would mean 8 awg to me.? [I'm using 150 amp ANL type fuses and 7 awg wire to my motor that could pull 150 amps.]
Will there be any other loads on your battery?? Ideally, each load would have its own fuse, and your battery fuse sized to allow for the entire system.
Take a look at <
Good luck, and have fun!
[-tv]
Tom VanderMeulen
"Grace O'Malley"
Cape Dory 27
Monroe, MI


Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

Thomas,
Below are some details of the application:

Boat:? ?The test platform is a home build plywood boat.
Length:? 13'
Beam:? 5'8"
Weight:? ?(guess)? under 400 pounds



The boat has been re-powered with a Torqeedo Cruise 4R outboard.? 48V, max input 4KW.

The first experiment was to power the Torqeedo with a bank of four Group 31 Deka AGM 12V batteries.
It worked, but the batteries were excessively heavy, took up a LOT of space, and provided no backup in the event that the primary bank died or suffered any kind of technical failure.

For the next experiment, I'd like to try running the boat on a lithium battery bank, for improved power density, depth of discharge, and overall weight/space.

Since I have zero prior experience with lithium batteries - the first step will be to use an Ebike battery from Amazon.? This is a bundled system:
48V Nominal
20AH rating
Sustained current drain:? 50A
Peak current:? 100A

The battery pack has a built in BMS.? However, there are no details about what happens if the BMS trips.? It may permanently disable the battery to prevent a catastrophic failure.

In this setup - the motor can pull up to 4KW, but the battery can only provide half that on a sustained basis.? If the operator accidentally or carelessly pushes the throttle to full speed, I would expect the battery BMS would trip - possibly permanently "bricking" the battery.

Therefore, I would like to put a fuse or breaker after the battery to gate the max drain of the battery to no more than about 40A.? The thought was that if I used a fuse or breaker of about 30A, it would blow before the battery BMS kicked in - giving me the opportunity to either replace the fuse or reset the breaker, and move on.

Protecting the battery with a 30A fuse or breaker should be a very conservative step.? All other wiring is being sized to support the current drain potential of the motor - which far exceeds what the battery can supply at this time.

From other responses - it sounds like the fuse/breaker must be rated for DC usage, and that the voltage rating should comfortably exceed the 48V system (with a max charging voltage of about 55V).

John


On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 09:32:53 AM CDT, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@...> wrote:


John,

Can you clarify what your application is please?? You mention an electric motor that "can pull up to 100A" to be used "in a proof of concept type experiment".
Are you putting the motor aboard a vessel or testing on the bench?? [More specifically, what's the potential degree of loss in the event of a fire?? If you're running your system on a bench in a controlled environment where the loss might be a burnt wire, that's one thing.? But taking people aboard a vessel on the water requires an entirely different standard of care!]?
Do you know what motor (nominal rating in watts) the battery pack was intended to power? And what concepts are you looking to prove?
Ampacity of a wire is a function both of diameter/gauge *and* length.? In some situations, a 12 awg wire might safely carry 50 amps for brief periods, but it would not be prudent to create such a situation where there's meaningful risk of property or life.
I'm not an engineer or expert by any definition, but I would take the cautious approach, and size my load wires for the maximum expected load and required length of wire.? For 100 amps, over a few feet or so, that would mean 8 awg to me.? [I'm using 150 amp ANL type fuses and 7 awg wire to my motor that could pull 150 amps.]
Will there be any other loads on your battery?? Ideally, each load would have its own fuse, and your battery fuse sized to allow for the entire system.
Take a look at <
Good luck, and have fun!
[-tv]
Tom VanderMeulen
"Grace O'Malley"
Cape Dory 27
Monroe, MI


Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

Lots of solar energy systems are 48 volts. The solar, golf cart, and fork lift companies have DC fuses and DC breakers. Or electronics companies such as Mouser might have something:
?





On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, 8:55 PM, Matthew Geier <matthew@...> wrote:


On 6/5/20 1:41 pm, john via groups.io wrote:
I don't think that would be a good idea.? There would be no way to guarantee that the current was split evenly between the two wires.

And I'd still have the same concern about the voltage rating.
I'm not having much luck finding fuses rated for 48VDC systems.

Look for Telco surplus. Telco systems are traditionally 48v DC.



Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

Tom,
That is a great resource!
Thank you so much for posting it.
Cheers,
Ric

Ric Sanders
Rsandersemail@...


Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

John,
Can you clarify what your application is please?? You mention an electric motor that "can pull up to 100A" to be used "in a proof of concept type experiment".
Are you putting the motor aboard a vessel or testing on the bench?? [More specifically, what's the potential degree of loss in the event of a fire?? If you're running your system on a bench in a controlled environment where the loss might be a burnt wire, that's one thing.? But taking people aboard a vessel on the water requires an entirely different standard of care!]?
Do you know what motor (nominal rating in watts) the battery pack was intended to power? And what concepts are you looking to prove?
Ampacity of a wire is a function both of diameter/gauge *and* length.? In some situations, a 12 awg wire might safely carry 50 amps for brief periods, but it would not be prudent to create such a situation where there's meaningful risk of property or life.
I'm not an engineer or expert by any definition, but I would take the cautious approach, and size my load wires for the maximum expected load and required length of wire.? For 100 amps, over a few feet or so, that would mean 8 awg to me.? [I'm using 150 amp ANL type fuses and 7 awg wire to my motor that could pull 150 amps.]
Will there be any other loads on your battery?? Ideally, each load would have its own fuse, and your battery fuse sized to allow for the entire system.
Take a look at <
Good luck, and have fun!
[-tv]
Tom VanderMeulen
"Grace O'Malley"
Cape Dory 27
Monroe, MI


Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

Any fuse rated over the voltage of the system will work.?
Any fuse rated under the system voltage will arc and should not be used.?

Example would be a 230 fuse would work. It's about the gap or length of fuse wire.? You are protecting amp with fuse not volts.?

You could put 500 volts to that fuse and nothing would happen till you exceeded the amp rating, then you would have a fireball because the gap would be to small to break the circuit.?

On Tue, May 5, 2020, 9:33 PM john via <oak_box=[email protected]> wrote:
Ric,

I've been thinking about your response.

The original plan is to put a fuse or breaker near the battery that would blow or trip at about 30 amps - well below the rated current drain of the battery of 50A, and far below the peak battery current of 100A.? The intention of this was to make sure the BMS of the battery never tripped (as I don't know what the BMS will do - if it has an internal fuse, will self reset, or will blow FETs and "brick" the battery).

I had found an inline fuse holder on Amazon that came with a 30A fuse.? But the wire on the fuse holder is only 12AWG.? I found one online reference that said 12AWG wire could handle up to 41A for "chassis wiring", but it wasn't clear that this was for STRANDED wire, and not SOLID wire.

Makes me wonder if the wire on the fuse holder might get rather warm if I ran at 20A for an extended period of time.

The other BIG concern that I have is whether a 30A blade fuse can be used for a 48V system.? ?Most seem to be rated for automotive use, generally 12V systems, with some fuses marked at 32V.

John

On Monday, May 4, 2020, 09:06:01 AM CDT, Ric Sanders <rsandersemail@...> wrote:


Hi John,
Unless the device has a specific fuse called for, the main purpose for the fuse or breaker is to protect the wire. You do not want to use a device that calls for a fuse or breaker of 25 or 30 amps If using 14 ga wire as the wire max is 15 amps or thereabouts. A device wired with that same wire however may call for an in line 5 amp fuse at the specific device, and there may be multiple devices connected to the same wire and breaker but the fuse or breaker at the start of the run must be sized for the wire. Look at your device maximum draw in amps and size the wire and matching breaker/fuse size for that amperage. There are many charts available on the internet that specify wire size for various amperage.
Cheers,
Ric Sanders

Ric Sanders




Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

Higher amps but 48v



On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, 08:41:39 PM PDT, john via groups.io <oak_box@...> wrote:


I don't think that would be a good idea.? There would be no way to guarantee that the current was split evenly between the two wires.

And I'd still have the same concern about the voltage rating.
I'm not having much luck finding fuses rated for 48VDC systems.

John

On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, 10:37:42 PM CDT, sw via groups.io <v1opps@...> wrote:


Maybe u can use two parallel fuses?

On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, 08:34:04 PM PDT, john via groups.io <oak_box@...> wrote:


Ric,

I've been thinking about your response.

The original plan is to put a fuse or breaker near the battery that would blow or trip at about 30 amps - well below the rated current drain of the battery of 50A, and far below the peak battery current of 100A.? The intention of this was to make sure the BMS of the battery never tripped (as I don't know what the BMS will do - if it has an internal fuse, will self reset, or will blow FETs and "brick" the battery).

I had found an inline fuse holder on Amazon that came with a 30A fuse.? But the wire on the fuse holder is only 12AWG.? I found one online reference that said 12AWG wire could handle up to 41A for "chassis wiring", but it wasn't clear that this was for STRANDED wire, and not SOLID wire.

Makes me wonder if the wire on the fuse holder might get rather warm if I ran at 20A for an extended period of time.

The other BIG concern that I have is whether a 30A blade fuse can be used for a 48V system.? ?Most seem to be rated for automotive use, generally 12V systems, with some fuses marked at 32V.

John

On Monday, May 4, 2020, 09:06:01 AM CDT, Ric Sanders <rsandersemail@...> wrote:


Hi John,
Unless the device has a specific fuse called for, the main purpose for the fuse or breaker is to protect the wire. You do not want to use a device that calls for a fuse or breaker of 25 or 30 amps If using 14 ga wire as the wire max is 15 amps or thereabouts. A device wired with that same wire however may call for an in line 5 amp fuse at the specific device, and there may be multiple devices connected to the same wire and breaker but the fuse or breaker at the start of the run must be sized for the wire. Look at your device maximum draw in amps and size the wire and matching breaker/fuse size for that amperage. There are many charts available on the internet that specify wire size for various amperage.
Cheers,
Ric Sanders

Ric Sanders




Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

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On 6/5/20 1:41 pm, john via groups.io wrote:
I don't think that would be a good idea.? There would be no way to guarantee that the current was split evenly between the two wires.

And I'd still have the same concern about the voltage rating.
I'm not having much luck finding fuses rated for 48VDC systems.

Look for Telco surplus. Telco systems are traditionally 48v DC.



Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

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For voltage issues you put the fuses in series, not parallel.

I've actually seen DC circuits with the fuses in series to get the isolating voltage required.

Fuses (and circuit breakers) have a break voltage rating (and fault current interruption ratings) that are sometimes a little difficult to find. Every one thinks about the trip current and forgets the rest.

The voltage and fault current ratings are rather important for DC. Probably not so much an issue with 48v, but once to get into the 100v plus region you have to pay attention.

DC arcs will not self extinguish and resulting plasma conduit can have a very low resistance and sustain quite a significant current flow indefinitely.

I recently took apart a 750v volt 400amp fuse that had blown. It was full of sand. The idea being when the fuse element burns through the sand fills the gap and stops the current flowing across the gap in a plasma tunnel.

The DC circuit breakers in the same machine have magnetic quench / arch chute mechanisms to quench the arc. (The magnetic field pushes the arc up the chute). A breaker designed for AC of the same rating would probably self-destruct (and take much other equipment with it) if mistakenly used the same location.


On 6/5/20 1:37 pm, sw via groups.io wrote:

Maybe u can use two parallel fuses?

On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, 08:34:04 PM PDT, john via groups.io <oak_box@...> wrote:


Ric,

I've been thinking about your response.

The original plan is to put a fuse or breaker near the battery that would blow or trip at about 30 amps - well below the rated current drain of the battery of 50A, and far below the peak battery current of 100A.? The intention of this was to make sure the BMS of the battery never tripped (as I don't know what the BMS will do - if it has an internal fuse, will self reset, or will blow FETs and "brick" the battery).

I had found an inline fuse holder on Amazon that came with a 30A fuse.? But the wire on the fuse holder is only 12AWG.? I found one online reference that said 12AWG wire could handle up to 41A for "chassis wiring", but it wasn't clear that this was for STRANDED wire, and not SOLID wire.

Makes me wonder if the wire on the fuse holder might get rather warm if I ran at 20A for an extended period of time.

The other BIG concern that I have is whether a 30A blade fuse can be used for a 48V system.? ?Most seem to be rated for automotive use, generally 12V systems, with some fuses marked at 32V.

John

On Monday, May 4, 2020, 09:06:01 AM CDT, Ric Sanders <rsandersemail@...> wrote:


Hi John,
Unless the device has a specific fuse called for, the main purpose for the fuse or breaker is to protect the wire. You do not want to use a device that calls for a fuse or breaker of 25 or 30 amps If using 14 ga wire as the wire max is 15 amps or thereabouts. A device wired with that same wire however may call for an in line 5 amp fuse at the specific device, and there may be multiple devices connected to the same wire and breaker but the fuse or breaker at the start of the run must be sized for the wire. Look at your device maximum draw in amps and size the wire and matching breaker/fuse size for that amperage. There are many charts available on the internet that specify wire size for various amperage.
Cheers,
Ric Sanders

Ric Sanders




Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

I don't think that would be a good idea.? There would be no way to guarantee that the current was split evenly between the two wires.

And I'd still have the same concern about the voltage rating.
I'm not having much luck finding fuses rated for 48VDC systems.

John

On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, 10:37:42 PM CDT, sw via groups.io <v1opps@...> wrote:


Maybe u can use two parallel fuses?

On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, 08:34:04 PM PDT, john via groups.io <oak_box@...> wrote:


Ric,

I've been thinking about your response.

The original plan is to put a fuse or breaker near the battery that would blow or trip at about 30 amps - well below the rated current drain of the battery of 50A, and far below the peak battery current of 100A.? The intention of this was to make sure the BMS of the battery never tripped (as I don't know what the BMS will do - if it has an internal fuse, will self reset, or will blow FETs and "brick" the battery).

I had found an inline fuse holder on Amazon that came with a 30A fuse.? But the wire on the fuse holder is only 12AWG.? I found one online reference that said 12AWG wire could handle up to 41A for "chassis wiring", but it wasn't clear that this was for STRANDED wire, and not SOLID wire.

Makes me wonder if the wire on the fuse holder might get rather warm if I ran at 20A for an extended period of time.

The other BIG concern that I have is whether a 30A blade fuse can be used for a 48V system.? ?Most seem to be rated for automotive use, generally 12V systems, with some fuses marked at 32V.

John

On Monday, May 4, 2020, 09:06:01 AM CDT, Ric Sanders <rsandersemail@...> wrote:


Hi John,
Unless the device has a specific fuse called for, the main purpose for the fuse or breaker is to protect the wire. You do not want to use a device that calls for a fuse or breaker of 25 or 30 amps If using 14 ga wire as the wire max is 15 amps or thereabouts. A device wired with that same wire however may call for an in line 5 amp fuse at the specific device, and there may be multiple devices connected to the same wire and breaker but the fuse or breaker at the start of the run must be sized for the wire. Look at your device maximum draw in amps and size the wire and matching breaker/fuse size for that amperage. There are many charts available on the internet that specify wire size for various amperage.
Cheers,
Ric Sanders

Ric Sanders




Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

Maybe u can use two parallel fuses?

On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, 08:34:04 PM PDT, john via groups.io <oak_box@...> wrote:


Ric,

I've been thinking about your response.

The original plan is to put a fuse or breaker near the battery that would blow or trip at about 30 amps - well below the rated current drain of the battery of 50A, and far below the peak battery current of 100A.? The intention of this was to make sure the BMS of the battery never tripped (as I don't know what the BMS will do - if it has an internal fuse, will self reset, or will blow FETs and "brick" the battery).

I had found an inline fuse holder on Amazon that came with a 30A fuse.? But the wire on the fuse holder is only 12AWG.? I found one online reference that said 12AWG wire could handle up to 41A for "chassis wiring", but it wasn't clear that this was for STRANDED wire, and not SOLID wire.

Makes me wonder if the wire on the fuse holder might get rather warm if I ran at 20A for an extended period of time.

The other BIG concern that I have is whether a 30A blade fuse can be used for a 48V system.? ?Most seem to be rated for automotive use, generally 12V systems, with some fuses marked at 32V.

John

On Monday, May 4, 2020, 09:06:01 AM CDT, Ric Sanders <rsandersemail@...> wrote:


Hi John,
Unless the device has a specific fuse called for, the main purpose for the fuse or breaker is to protect the wire. You do not want to use a device that calls for a fuse or breaker of 25 or 30 amps If using 14 ga wire as the wire max is 15 amps or thereabouts. A device wired with that same wire however may call for an in line 5 amp fuse at the specific device, and there may be multiple devices connected to the same wire and breaker but the fuse or breaker at the start of the run must be sized for the wire. Look at your device maximum draw in amps and size the wire and matching breaker/fuse size for that amperage. There are many charts available on the internet that specify wire size for various amperage.
Cheers,
Ric Sanders

Ric Sanders




Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

Ric,

I've been thinking about your response.

The original plan is to put a fuse or breaker near the battery that would blow or trip at about 30 amps - well below the rated current drain of the battery of 50A, and far below the peak battery current of 100A.? The intention of this was to make sure the BMS of the battery never tripped (as I don't know what the BMS will do - if it has an internal fuse, will self reset, or will blow FETs and "brick" the battery).

I had found an inline fuse holder on Amazon that came with a 30A fuse.? But the wire on the fuse holder is only 12AWG.? I found one online reference that said 12AWG wire could handle up to 41A for "chassis wiring", but it wasn't clear that this was for STRANDED wire, and not SOLID wire.

Makes me wonder if the wire on the fuse holder might get rather warm if I ran at 20A for an extended period of time.

The other BIG concern that I have is whether a 30A blade fuse can be used for a 48V system.? ?Most seem to be rated for automotive use, generally 12V systems, with some fuses marked at 32V.

John

On Monday, May 4, 2020, 09:06:01 AM CDT, Ric Sanders <rsandersemail@...> wrote:


Hi John,
Unless the device has a specific fuse called for, the main purpose for the fuse or breaker is to protect the wire. You do not want to use a device that calls for a fuse or breaker of 25 or 30 amps If using 14 ga wire as the wire max is 15 amps or thereabouts. A device wired with that same wire however may call for an in line 5 amp fuse at the specific device, and there may be multiple devices connected to the same wire and breaker but the fuse or breaker at the start of the run must be sized for the wire. Look at your device maximum draw in amps and size the wire and matching breaker/fuse size for that amperage. There are many charts available on the internet that specify wire size for various amperage.
Cheers,
Ric Sanders

Ric Sanders




Re: 48V system cirucuit breakers? Vs. Fuses?

 

Hi John,
Unless the device has a specific fuse called for, the main purpose for the fuse or breaker is to protect the wire. You do not want to use a device that calls for a fuse or breaker of 25 or 30 amps If using 14 ga wire as the wire max is 15 amps or thereabouts. A device wired with that same wire however may call for an in line 5 amp fuse at the specific device, and there may be multiple devices connected to the same wire and breaker but the fuse or breaker at the start of the run must be sized for the wire. Look at your device maximum draw in amps and size the wire and matching breaker/fuse size for that amperage. There are many charts available on the internet that specify wire size for various amperage.
Cheers,
Ric Sanders

Ric Sanders
Rsandersemail@...