Audiopipe fuses

[BradKW]

I recently saw pictures of someone's build and they used Audiopipe fuses for the batteries at least. 

[img=250x250]https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/50...odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF[/img] 
and Audiopipe AFC Fuse 150 Amp  [img=250x250]https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/bf...odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF[/img]

The combined cost of fuse holder + fuses is under $15, which is much less that some of the ones I've looked at. Are there downsides to using these fuses instead of the ones that are 5x to 10x the price?

 

[bcbullet]

Just look up ANL fuses and holders...they are all the same thing.

 

[BradKW]

I know my inverter wants an expensive slow-blow fuse, I guess I got it in my head that good fuses were expensive from that...

 

[Mobilesport]

I'm going to get this one ... $21 free shipping
I'm thinking less connections

 

[Mobilesport]

How its wired up , right to the battery

 

[ccbreder]

Mobilesport; Thanks for finding and posting the photos. These are a good solution and make one less connection. One problem I found is the terminal post of my battery is 5/16 and the hole is 3/8. I made a small spacer from solder but it is not necessary. I am sure to tighten the nuts to proper toque.

 

[ZoNiE]

I have a 100A ANL fuse on my inverter lead. The plastic housing is a bit cheap, and I'm sure someday the little plastic tabs holding the lid will eventually crack and break. The main downside I see is that if you need to pop the fuse quickly, you need a 9/16 or crescent wrench to loosten the stud to pop it off.

I just installed it this last weekend.

 

[MikeRuth]

I recently saw pictures of someone's build and they used Audiopipe fuses for the batteries at least. 

[img=250x250]https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/50...odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF[/img] 
and Audiopipe AFC Fuse 150 Amp  [img=250x250]https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/bf...odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF[/img]

The combined cost of fuse holder + fuses is under $15, which is much less that some of the ones I've looked at. Are there downsides to using these fuses instead of the ones that are 5x to 10x the price?

I have used them and feel comfortable with them. 
For my Main disconnect I switched from a fuse to a re settable 125 Amp Circuit breaker only because getting to the fuse means I have to drop the battery tray from underneath my Van. 
If this trips I can reach up and reset it. So far so good. 
http://www.wiringproducts.com/135-amp-high-amperage-circuit-breaker.html

 

[ccbreder]

Question: "What is AIC?"

I copied this from Maine Sail.
AIC stand for Amperage Interrupt Current and Class T, ANL and MRBF fuses all have AIC suitable for decent sized house banks. If you have a large bank of Odyssey or Lithium batteries then a Class T would be best bet as the AIC rating of Class T fuses is nearly 20,000 amps. ANL fuse AIC is 6000A and MRBF is 10,000A.
The concern with AIC is that some breakers can literally weld shut before tripping, if the bank has enough short circuit behind it. For decent sized battery banks you ideally want an AIC rated fuse or breaker of 5000A AIC or greater. AIC is a greater concern for breakers but fuses are also AIC rated and can fail dangerously when subjected to shorting amperage greater than their AIC rating. The actual ABYC requirement for batteries is that any bank over 1100 CCA needs 5000 AIC rated protection or greater. Even two parallel group 27 batteries can supply more than 1100 cold cranking amps..

 

[Mobilesport]

[quote pid='235254' dateline='1477344687']
[quote pid='235254' dateline='1477344687']
ccbrederAIC Question: "What is AIC?"
[/quote]

I copied this from Maine Sail.
AIC stand for Amperage Interrupt Current and Class T, ANL and MRBF fuses all have AIC suitable for decent sized house banks. If you have a large bank of Odyssey or Lithium batteries then a Class T would be best bet as the AIC rating of Class T fuses is nearly 20,000 amps. ANL fuse AIC is 6000A and MRBF is 10,000A.
The concern with AIC is that some breakers can literally weld shut before tripping, if the bank has enough short circuit behind it. For decent sized battery banks you ideally want an AIC rated fuse or breaker of 5000A AIC or greater. AIC is a greater concern for breakers but fuses are also AIC rated and can fail dangerously when subjected to shorting amperage greater than their AIC rating. The actual ABYC requirement for batteries is that any bank over 1100 CCA needs 5000 AIC rated protection or greater. Even two parallel group 27 batteries can supply more than 1100 cold cranking amps..
[/quote]
So what AIC rating would two golf batteries call for?

 

[BradKW]

I was just browsing fuses trying to find where the AIC rating is shown and couldn't locate it on any retailer like Amazon. Haven't looked for white pages on manufacturer sites...

 

[GotSmart]

I use those as the safety on my main lines.  CYA is my motto when doing electric.

 

[travlinman and wife]

BRADKW    they use those on battery forklifts with 36vt battery and believe it or not they have enough amps to weld with. you  can also get those fuses at advance auto.

 

[ccbreder]

Don't buy cheap fuses. Look for a good manufacture such as Buss. I stay close to the shore, so have access to Marine Supplies. They seem to have quality stuff. Made in China should stay on the shelf. Here is the full Blog that I stole. Page down to 03-Apr-2013 http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/battery_fusing

 

[MikeRuth]

I may be off here and if so speak up but, when using ANL fuses I select the rating based on what I want as max current.
So for example the maximum draw off my batteries would be the the inverter which in my case is about 100 amps. Nothing elese would come close to pulling that on my setup.
Being that ANL fuses for the most part list out at 80A, 100A, 130A and up, I would select the 130A allowing for a bit of surge.
What I'm concerned with is the DEAD SHORT, that's what I want to protect against. So with that 130 in there if a dead short did occur on fully charged batteries, the possible current could be as high as 3000 Amps, so I know that fuse is going to pop pretty damn quick preventing wiring from over heating and or causing a fire.

 

[BradKW]

How did you get the 3000 max number? thanks...

 

[ccbreder]

How many amps would you guesstimate on a dead short 6 volt series battery? That it is high is enough to know. The first fuse near the bank is to protect the wire, not the equipment. I use as large an amp rating as the charts list for a given gauge wire. Where the branch circuits come off the heavier cable, I use a panel with smaller fuses. Again sized according to the gauge of the wire. Any fuse adds resistance to a circuit and I want to keep my voltage drop as low as possible. There is a chart for wire capacity on that link I posted above.

 

[MikeRuth]

How did you get the 3000 max number? thanks...

From Trojans  website and data sheet. 

I believe most manufactures have there data sheets on line. 

Mike R

P.S. I would never want to see that dead short.

 

[MikeRuth]

How many amps would you guesstimate on a dead short 6 volt series battery? That it is high is enough to know. The first fuse near the bank is to protect the wire, not the equipment. I use as large an amp rating as the charts list for a given gauge wire. Where the branch circuits come off the heavier cable, I use a panel with smaller fuses. Again sized according to the gauge of the wire. Any fuse adds resistance to a circuit and I want to keep my voltage drop as low as possible. There is a chart for wire capacity on that link I posted above.

Agreed, My breaker is to protect the supply wire to the Inverter and to the sub panel. sub panel has fuses rated for the various items as needed. 

From the few data sheets I looked at a 6V GC-2 type Wet Lead acid battery is certainly capable of 2000 amps dead short, and some were rated as high as 3200Amps. How long that current would last is anyones guess, certainly it is going to begin dropping right away, but still I would assume long enough to fry wire in 0 gauge. 

I'm extremely confident that if I had a short anywhere along the line of the supply wires that breaker would trip inside of one second. Quick enough to protect them. 

Mike R

here is a T105 AGM data sheet http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/T105-AGM_Reliant_DS_Final.pdf

 

[SternWake]

The short circuit current of some AGM batteries is kind of scary.

A single group31 northstar AGM at 102Ah capacity is rated at 5000 amps short circuit current