Winch Battery Shutoff

Anyone have any idea why this switch has less amperage for intermittent draw vs continuous draw? (455A intermittent vs 600A continuous) Was looking at installing this to my new OpenRoad 13,500k winch that’s has max draw at 320A at full load. Would it be smart to just invest in the Blue Sea switch?

Nilite 600amp Continuous On/off switch

$29 Nilight 600A High Current Battery Switch 12V 24V 48V ON Off Heavy Duty Battery Power Cut Master Switch Disconnect Isolator for Truck Vehicle Trailer RV Marine Boat Yacht

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD6N87M2

 

Ratings like that are very common. It just has a certain duty cycle it can run at without melting down. I went with the blue sea just because you know it is quality and you are dealing with a ton of power.

 

Blue Sea...never skimp on electrical component quality

 

Agreed, I did the same.

 

+1 to this.

 

Agree to all above that recommend the Blue Sea

 

It has nonsensical ratings because they were made up by the cheap chinese products marketing team and do not come from reality. Buy a quality product instead.

 

Here's the package with bracket, etc.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...witch-bracket-protect-your-investment.619464/

 

i swear, a lot of this forum just loves to blow money on the most basic of parts just to brag about installing a given name brand.


no different than basically every other device on the planet. published or not, the blue sea has the same electrical conditions, though they can vary depending on the components used.

just look at the included factory inverter and it's 150w/400w limitations.

it's all got to do with the components used, and their tolerances. more/heavier duty can deal with more amps, but it will also cost more within the same brands lineup. but instantly reaching for the most expensive brands version is a lot like only wearing nike shoes because they cost more. for all brands, there's a cost effectiveness, and eventually, the balance of component quality to price shifts that the component quality can't be improved anymore within reason, and additional cost increases are directly attributed to the brands perception or marketing costs, with no difference to the final product quality.

the majority of winches won't pull more than 400A at full load, with cheaper winches at most risk for exceeding ratings--open road is one of those mystery brands that could fall under that specification.

it should also be said that full load on a winch would really have to be an absolute of impending-lava-flow, life-or-death situation. any standard recovery situation, banging against the full load capacity is a really stupid and bad thing to do for a recovery situation, to be stressing your gear that hard in a single situation, when typically a single use would also mean that it's going to need to be used further down the trail as well..

it also tends to mean that the recovery effort was poorly planned, and needs to be attacked very differently than it currently is. at the very least, a pulley/snatch block would be needed to double the line length for rotational efficiency of the winch, as well as the mechanical advantage.

for the rotational efficiency part, winches are less effective for every wrap on the drum:


or, on page 2 of harbor freights flagship apex 12,000 pound winch, they specify that with 4 wraps on the drum, the winch's max pull capacity is only 6,732 pounds. a snatch block on that winch would decrease the load by 50% on the winch, but also use more cable, getting further into the wraps, which further reduces the overall load on the winch.


all that to say, the nilight product is more than fine, and the appropriate use and kitting of your new toy is far more important in the long run.

 

I agree that there is no need for an overrated product but the one linked needs to be treated as unrated.

From the reviews it sounds like the actual switch is marked as being rated for 350A but people are experiencing it melting at closer to 60A of current. This definitely does not sound like a suitable product for a 320A winch.

 

The Blue Sea m-series 6006, more than sufficient for a winch, is ~$25...kinda negates the "blowing money" argument.