Winches and pumps

I don't have a 250A Fuse (or a winch). I'm just an electrician.

250A does sound a little underrated? What is the specification's read on your winch?

EDIT: Also, just FYI, the Fault Current Rating of a fuse isn't the same as the Over Load Protection rating of a fuse.

 

Seeing shit like this makes me think a bicycle would be a better idea sometimes. Then I remember how much I love my truck.

I just checked and at a full 10K pull my winch draws 380A which is honestly way less than I thought it would.

 

Do a little research on "Arc Flash Training" and you will get a brief view of my life.

A 400A would be great.

 

Does such a fuse exist? Would it be one of those round marine style breakers? Blue Seas makes one I think.

 

I believe that @daks quoted a breaker above. While it may be more expensive than a fuse, it would be easily resettable. Just don't be tempted to use a breaker like a disconnect switch.

 

Gotcha. I recognize that style now. Why do you caution against using it as a disconnect switch? My dad has one of that style for the anchor on his boat and always trips it “off” when not in use.

 

Being an electrician, I'm a little OCD about some things.

It's in the breaker specifications. Besides - If the breaker malfunctions when you need it?

 

Got it. Thank you for all the schooling. Amazing how this place is full of experts of all kinds, in addition to all the “experts.”

 

A fusible link would be the standard automotive design for a high current load direct wired to the battery. SAE has a standard for fusible links, the starter cable has one for example.

 

Agreed - standard and possibly cheaper. A breaker is more convenient incase of nuisance tripping.

 

To test it, I pulled the truck up a 20deg hill on pavement with the parking brakes set and front wheel chocked for two 1 minute pulls with a 10 second break in between while I was feeling around all the wires winch and connections looking for hot spots.

Breaker, winch and wire were all hot to the touch (winch being the hottest) , and the aluminum I beam post for the guardrail I tied of to was bowed (post not the rail).
But it didn't trip. Stock battery is NOT rated for heavy winching and it showed so I stopped there.

Don't have a DC amp meter rated that high so no idea what the actual amp loading was.

That's the hardest thing it's been through,
Only other times I've used it it was just pulling out pickups or jeeps out of mud at construction sites or a VW bug out of the ditch.
Not real heavy loading scenarios.

I made a little 2" jumper for across the breaker and tossed it in my recovery bag if I'm ever in the "I don't care that I'm burning up my winch, it needs to run till it, or the battery fails"

 

The link above was just to show that they are available in 400A (what a 10k winch will need)

The better DC breakers are switch rated, like you will be familiar with SWD rated AC breakers.
Cheap breakers can be a hazard. (Like Zinsco or F/p Stablock residential electrical panels and breakers)

Marine, Aviation and industrial supply places will have the better breakers than what you will find on Amazon. (ashamed I got lazy and used amazon links but they came up first in google)
Ignition and weatherproof too.

I know you'll agree that we recommend that if they use fuses, that they must also have a shutoff switch rated higher than the fuse.
I bet you cringe too when you see peeps running one without the other. (but it's generally Jeeps that do this and when they burst into flames everyone just says "another Fiat product")

Lol should we talk to these guys about voltage drop and conductor insulation ratings ... I used 2/0 125c wire with the 250A thermal breaker. (using the trip curve for sizing)

Figured that if I used #2 like is commonly used, or #4 high temp like I see supplied with some winches I may at minimum melt the zip ties and retaining clips and cable split loom I put on it if I had a really fun day winching myself out of trails I should not be in the winter. Lol not to mention how low the voltage is at the winch with those size wires at high amps. Their 10k winch can only pull 7k now. (guesstamate too lazy to math it out)

 

I deal a lot with breakers of various manufacturers from industrial to commercial to light residential. Most of the breakers that I see aren't switch rated. You usually have to spend the little bit extra $$$ to get the better rated gear. And since the average person will probably buy the cheaper gear (and not spend any time reading the specification sheet), I prefer to tell everyone to not use the breakers as a switch. Just leave them alone and let them do their job. I've seen high quality gear that specify a maximum number of throws before the warranty is void and requires that they be replaced after a single trip. Since their warranty is: guarantee not to kill you or burn your place down, I take it very seriously. (I gotta stop reading this stuff)

I agree that a switch / fuse combination is the preferred circuit design. However, considering the added cost of these devices and the limited locations for mounting, I believe that it's best to simple recommend a good overload device. Most people will simply place their installation into service and will not think anything else about it again anyway. I'm going with the KISS method here.

To be honest, the DC charts kinda freak me out. I would never bring myself to reducing conductor size due to shorter distances. And I personally think that distances within a vehicle will be short enough to NOT consider voltage drop as long as they use a conductor sized appropriately for a reasonable current rating. Once again - KISS

People think "it's just battery power 12 volts DC". I know that lots of people just "wire these things up" without regard for proper circuit design. And many of them run flawlessly for years. Those people don't understand the nature of what they are doing and what risk they actually are taking. Sure I have good insurance. I also have a good record on my insurance and would prefer to keep it that way.

 

I giggle a little everytime I hear someone say "it's just 12v"....

 

Yea, it can still burn your truck to the ground.

 

I went with a blue sea switch. Only have it on when I am wheeling and anticipate needing the winch. Ordered the switch and a bracket from a user on here, link below.

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

My setup: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-your-investment.619464/page-16#post-24477405

 

People tell me they can "do" electric.... My next question to them is.... "Do you know enough to be dangerous or do you actually know what your doing??"

Okay, sorry.. back on topic...lol

 

I don't think it has been mentioned yet, but a switch is also beneficial if your winch has a malfunction and the solenoid gets stuck in the closed position, so you can cut the power before you pull your hook through your front bumper/fairlead.

I'm not an electrical expert, but I do get paid to mess around with it. I am conducting research all next week on the ejection of conductor material in 120V residential systems in the event of a short circuit arc.