Fuse didn't Blow! Nearly a Fire!!

[model 10]

If you are actually serious about this, then there is an order to nuts and bolts and washers. Under the head of the bolt goes a flat washer, then your terminal then your fuse spade connector then another flat washer then a lock washer then the nut. Then you can put it in a the pop bottle

[Teknav]

Don't forget to add a dab of marine silicone grease on the exposed metal surface to retard corrosion and to avoid bolt's freezing on you. Ditto for batteries' terminals/cables contacts, after they were cleaned of gunk.

Mauritz

[nimblemotors]

Originally Posted by svlamorocha

You may want to add some (non-conducting but thermostable) piece of something that is stronger than the plastic and will ensure that the two bolts will not touch each other if the fuse heats up and the yellow (thermoplastic?) plastic melts. Just being devil´s advocate!
C

And something that when the wires are pulled, it doesn't just break the fuse in half. so really what you want is some hdpe with holes in them for the bolts,
and the wire eyelets, and between them the fuse metal.

This is something one might need to rig when out at sea, so not so crazy.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by svlamorocha

You may want to add some (non-conducting but thermostable) piece of something that is stronger than the plastic and will ensure that the two bolts will not touch each other if the fuse heats up and the yellow (thermoplastic?) plastic melts.

OK. I have a bit of ceramic wafer.

Originally Posted by Guy

order to nuts and bolts and washers. Under the head of the bolt goes a flat washer, then your terminal then your fuse spade connector then another flat washer then a lock washer then the nut.

Great Thanks

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

And something that when the wires are pulled, it doesn't just break the fuse in half. so really what you want is some hdpe with holes in them for the bolts,

Ahhhh... so mount it on a little piece of old thin kitchen cutting board? solves both problems.

Certainly all stuff I have in my kit. Nice way to save $38....



Mark

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

See muskoka's post re Blue Sea fuse holder (the 30A)

I found one in Budget Marine at USD$38 plus fuse $5.
I pulled the box apart in the shop and found there was F'All inside.

So I comely back homey to the Sea Life of my dreams and made my own.

This photos shows it with the old fuse, but I was thinking of useing the bigger Maxi fuse in it (and 40 amps)

This way I could run the AWG 4 lead into it, and out of it. Thus discarding the 4 inches of AWG 12.

I will put it in a pattress box (i.e. an old Coke bottle)

Whadda ya reckon? Apart from not having a brand name on it whats wrong with it?

Mark,

Brilliant. Truly.

Goprisco (sp?) would be proud.

Put it in the the 500.00 dollar a month thread. The real one - not the fake DOJ one!

The only thing I can say is the contact area of the washer to the spade may be a little small and could "generate heat".

[btrayfors]

Mark,

I can only hope you're joking. Either that, or you're an incredibly slow learner. You almost had a fire aboard due to high circuit resistance in a fuse holder, and now you want to cobble together a less-than-satisfactory solution in order to save a couple of bucks.

Blue Sea Systems ANL fuse blocks are NOT stainless steel. The mounting studs are tin-plated copper. See: ANL Fuse Block with Insulating Cover - 35 to 300A - Blue Sea Systems

There is, indeed, a proper order to putting on lugs, terminals, washers and nuts and such.

You NEVER want to put a stainless steel washer between two conducting surfaces (the holder and the fuse, or the wire lugs/terminals and the fuse block studs in this instance).

Why? Because 304 and 316 stainless steel is a poor conductor of electricity. It has some 44 times the resistance of copper.

It's OK to use stainless steel washers and nuts to hold two or three conducting services together tightly.

Do yourself a favor. In this instance at least. Spend a few bucks and do it right and don't worry about it for the next 10 years.



Bill

[Geoff54]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

OK. I have a bit of ceramic wafer.



Great Thanks



Ahhhh... so mount it on a little piece of old thin kitchen cutting board? solves both problems.

Certainly all stuff I have in my kit. Nice way to save $38....



Mark

Warning: I know just enough about this to be dangerous.

If you are going to mount the bolts to something solid, why not replace the fuse with a length of fuse wire? The bolts could be a safer distance apart and the fuse wire would clamp more securely than the edge of a spade fuse? Just a thought.

[sabray]

Don't you need one of those for each panel and 1 where your battery connects? If you tied fish line around around the fuse part you could make it an emergency disconnect.
I think your onto something though.

[Boracay]

Looks like this has got to jump up and bite you in a very tender spot.

Fine, if that's what you want but I find life is so much more fun when I'm not being bitten in the aforementioned place, and the savings in medical expenses alone generally makes this doubly worthwhile.

Sometimes it's worth taking risks as the rewards justify them. There are many "repairs" one can do on a boat where a bit initiative, some creative thinking and a smidgen of chutzpah is well justified. Maybe not in this case though.

Better to live to fuse another day.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by btrayfors

Mark,

I can only hope you're joking. Either that, or you're an incredibly slow learner. You almost had a fire aboard due to high circuit resistance in a fuse holder, and now you want to cobble together a less-than-satisfactory solution in order to save a couple of bucks.

Blue Sea Systems ANL fuse blocks are NOT stainless steel. The mounting studs are tin-plated copper. See: ANL Fuse Block with Insulating Cover - 35 to 300A - Blue Sea Systems

There is, indeed, a proper order to putting on lugs, terminals, washers and nuts and such.

You NEVER want to put a stainless steel washer between two conducting surfaces (the holder and the fuse, or the wire lugs/terminals and the fuse block studs in this instance).

Why? Because 304 and 316 stainless steel is a poor conductor of electricity. It has some 44 times the resistance of copper.

It's OK to use stainless steel washers and nuts to hold two or three conducting services together tightly.

Do yourself a favor. In this instance at least. Spend a few bucks and do it right and don't worry about it for the next 10 years.

Bill

+ 100 mark , this is on your battery line and your using a getup that would disgrace a 1990s fiat.

Not to mention the fact, that ATC fuses have nowhere near the interrupt rating.

Maybe you'll learn when the wiring burns down your boat , err didnt that happen near you recently !!!
Dave

[sabray]

It makes my old 71 MGB proud

[Mystic38]

pffft, everyone knows the circuit blows to protect the fuse!

[sabray]

Mg thought that if the fuse blew the wires won.The wires are better then the fuse.

[Geoff54]

Hey Mark,

Didn't you start a thread about a boat that burned because of an electrical fault?

[hellosailor]

Mark, if you look at any of the charts for allowable/blow current for the ATO fuses, the problem is that they can take a long time to blow and being plastic, they can also carry a lot of heat and quietly slag down like yours did. All it takes is a little corrosion in the cheapie socket, which is why I've got silicon grease stashed in multiple places so I have no excuse not to use it on any contact like that.

The fact that you got more amperage out of the panels after replacing the fuse would seem to confirm the original holder may have been old junk stock, corroded before you even got it, with enough extra resistance to cause the overheating and the melting.

I'm not sure I'd call an ATO fuse unsuitable for this use, especially when greased, but as others have noted, if you use something like an ANL fuse it just can't fail that way. Now why a "gen-you-whine" marine ANL fuse costs $5-10 when one from a car audio shop costs a buck...ah, the secrets of the universe.