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High cost vs low cost fuses

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NikR

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Does anyone know what the differences are between high quality fuses (like ANL or MEGA fuses from Blue Sea Systems) that sell for over 40 CA$ a pop, and low cost ANL fuses (from Amazon, 17 CA$ for 6)?
I tend not to save money on this end, and I totally get why cheap circuit breakers are a no-go, but these are complicated devices. ANL-fuses are a punched piece of sheet metal in a certain form. If it burns out, it burns out.
Where is the difference in quality?
  • Precision at which amperage they blow?
  • Corrosion resistance?
  • Electrical resistance?
  • Certifications?
  • Just the name?
 
Lack of a proper data sheet for the cheap ones to be able to answer your questions above.

Littelfuse, bussmann, sticking to brand names with actual data sheets.
Alternatively, buy the cheap one and see how it blows. If it met your expectation, buy more.

For me, I need 58V or 70V rated fuses for a 48V system.
Haven’t seen any el-cheapos that claim it.
 
NikR said:
Where is the difference in quality?
Click to expand...
Quality may just be one part of it. I think the biggest part is it rated to fail safely in the application.

EG: Class T fuses are so expensive because of thier high AIC rating. A lesser rated fuse my fail in such a way that it creates a dangerous situation with fire and shrapnel while also not opening the circuit.
 
Depends on the risk you want to take if your battery bank is inside a shed outside take little more risk on a cheaper fuse. If it's inside your home, or in an expensive RV last thing you want is to a fire because you wanted to save $40.

I try to go with everything that is UL listed then I know it's had some kind of testing done. I originally bought a lower cost non UL listed inverter after seeing a few posts in the "Up in smoke" section of this forum I sold it bought a eg4-6000xp it has UL listing. Follow that same standard with fuses also. I thought about what if I'm not home and something goes wrong house catches fire my pets are inside not likely they survive by the time I get home feel bad that I went with a cheap inverter to save few hundred bux. I have extra smoke detectors if someone is home we can get everyone out.
 
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You kinda answered your own question. You get what you pay for….typically. The vendors who have done and post test results will often cost more than those vendors who claim their products are rated/spec’ed.

Makes me think about those airplane parts that came from a vendor who falsified the testing/certification records for the parts they were selling. The parts tend to work, well most of the time. Would you want to fly on those planes? Oh how about those remanufactured / like new auto parts that kinda sort of fit but not too well. They work, pretty well.

Those fuses are your first line of safety. Don’t scrimp on your safety.
 
NikR said:
Does anyone know what the differences are between high quality fuses (like ANL or MEGA fuses from Blue Sea Systems) that sell for over 40 CA$ a pop, and low cost ANL fuses (from Amazon, 17 CA$ for 6)?
I tend not to save money on this end, and I totally get why cheap circuit breakers are a no-go, but these are complicated devices. ANL-fuses are a punched piece of sheet metal in a certain form. If it burns out, it burns out.
Where is the difference in quality?
Click to expand...

A fuse is more complicated than you're giving it credit for.

That stamped sheet metal strip has to burn out under exactly the right conditions, and not at any other time. That means that sheet metal strip has to be *exactly* the right shape, thickness, and metallurgy. It has to be all of those things for every every single fuse that comes off the assembly line. The first piece, the tenth piece, the 1,000,000th piece. Then there's the connection points for that strip of metal, how the bit of glowing molten metal is handled in case the fuse blows, the fuse holder, the testing and certification.

I happily went with class T fuses from a reputable manufacturer. If funds are a concern, find somewhere else in the build to scrimp on.
 
My experience is mostly with ANL fuses. The cheap plastic bodied ones are trash, they almost always blow prematurely and the material seems to vary. The cheap plastic also does not contain the burned fuse pieces, then the plastic itself burns, so i dont know how they classified any of them as ignition protected.

I now strictly use Eaton/ Bussman and theres a noticeable difference in quality just picking one up. They dont distort when tightening and dont blow unless theres an actual problem. The phenolic material used to cover them doesn't burn and all peices are contained during a blow.

Victron seems to favor mega fuses for some reason. Maybe just because they are faster acting? I prefer the opposite 🤷‍♂️

Edit: These were all 12v or 24v systems and even the cheap ones did indeed open the circuit.
 
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Blue sea systems tends to buy bussman, eaton, and littlefuse and just put their own label on the package. So, generally much cheaper to buy the real brand instead of blue sea.
 
Rednecktek said:
yet you'll see so many Victron fanboys regularly telling people you have to use Class-T fuses... :unsure:
Click to expand...
There's a blue solution for that now (be aware this uses m10 bolts and not M8 like a regular power in. Will need to widen the holes on an M8 lynx to fit, or get m10 distributor).

invertersrus.com

Victron Energy Lynx Class-T Power In

The Lynx Class-T Power In connects and fuses up to two strings of Lithium batteries, featuring a positive and negative busbar.
invertersrus.com invertersrus.com
 
The real differences between the fuse are the AIC (amp interupt current) and the time verse current curves.

Class T and MRBF both have similar time curves. The class T typically has 50kamp interupt and the MRBF is 10kamps ... both of those are quoted at 12v. At 48v they are roughly 1/4th that rating.

The ANN, ANL, Mega, and most other fuses have time curves that are a good bit slower than the class T or MRBF. Meaning it takes a short to blow them in any reasonable time. Note slower in some cases means 1 second verse 0.01 or 0.1 seconds. This time can make the difference between hot wires or a melted sheath and flames in the case of parallel batteries.

Note - with parallel batteries it makes a huge difference where the fuses are placed (the battery end or the bus bar end or both ideally)
 
I used ANL in my last travel trailer. Good fuses but they take up so much room.
For the new Travel Trailer, I am using MIDI for branch circuits, like solar controllers and DC frig. ANL for connection to converter/main fuse box. Class T for the battery cables. Each DIY has an ANL in the battery box.
"Only MIDI®/AMI® fuses from Blue Sea Systems are assured to have a 5000A @ 12V DC Ampere Interrupting Capacity (AIC)"
 
You can look through the selection on Digikey or Mouser and trust that anything you find on there even at the lowest price is from a legit supplier.
 
NikR said:
Does anyone know what the differences are between high quality fuses (like ANL or MEGA fuses from Blue Sea Systems) that sell for over 40 CA$ a pop, and low cost ANL fuses (from Amazon, 17 CA$ for 6)?
I tend not to save money on this end, and I totally get why cheap circuit breakers are a no-go, but these are complicated devices. ANL-fuses are a punched piece of sheet metal in a certain form. If it burns out, it burns out.
Where is the difference in quality?
  • Precision at which amperage they blow?
  • Corrosion resistance?
  • Electrical resistance?
  • Certifications?
  • Just the name?
Click to expand...

Those certs are pretty meaningful. It means that company and the institution that certified it are extremely vulnerable to legal action if their fuses don't do what they say they do. So their survival as a company makes it more likely that their products will work as intended.

Those companies on Amazon where it looks like someone mashed the keyboard for a name, not so much. Good luck seeking any recourse if one of their products fail catastrophically. They've probably already mashed the keyboard again and formed a new company.
 
Osmethne said:
Those companies on Amazon where it looks like someone mashed the keyboard for a name, not so much. Good luck seeking any recourse if one of their products fail catastrophically. They've probably already mashed the keyboard again and formed a new company.
Click to expand...
This!!!!

It applies to half of threads on this forum with a failed part
 
Osmethne said:
Those companies on Amazon where it looks like someone mashed the keyboard for a name, not so much. Good luck seeking any recourse if one of their products fail catastrophically. They've probably already mashed the keyboard again and formed a new company.
Click to expand...
Wwwhhhaaaa?? Are you telling me that dfgfforgeomg isn't going to honor their 10 year battery warranty and 'ewpiriwmirngfi flexible solar panels aren't going to put out 800w in a panel smaller than my dog? You're joking, right? 😇
 
Rednecktek said:
Wwwhhhaaaa?? Are you telling me that dfgfforgeomg isn't going to honor their 10 year battery warranty and 'ewpiriwmirngfi flexible solar panels aren't going to put out 800w in a panel smaller than my dog? You're joking, right? 😇
Click to expand...

Well ewpiriwmirngfi is a fine upstanding brand. But definitely stay away from asdlkfjds;l.
 
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