CIRCUITS BREAKERS/ BOLT ON FUSES (ambiguity)

I am a little confused on sizing the circuit breaker.

question 1: I have a 2000watt (12volt) inverter , I did the math for finding out the amperage of the inverter which is(2000/12v = 166 x 1.25 = 208.
what circuit breaker size should I get for connecting the inverter to the battery?

question 2. should I be using a bolt-on fuse AND a circuit breaker??

thanks

-Winston

200 amp ANL is all you need. 250 amp if you wanna. You split your positive line from battery to inverter and bolt in the ANL case. Easy-peesy and about $20 or so ($50 for the ceramic ones).

@Kcp This is what im looking to run @Will Prowse , is this about right?

Interesting picture..

Didn't watch whatever video you're referencing so don't know what the thing on the right is but you should have a 2/0 line running from inverter positive, straight to battery with the ANL inbetween. Will talks about a bolt on fuse which one is the ANL - here's a 300amp: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Sys...01504&sprefix=anl+fuse,lawngarden,1429&sr=8-9

Then there's T-Fuses for 3000W+ inverters.

ATC fuses even the Maxi ones are too small for a 2000W inverter.

whats ANL mean?

Good question think it just refers to the design but me no know.

ANL is the registered trademark of a type of fuse manufactured under Eaton corp.

winnyjstew said:

whats ANL mean?

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ANL is part of a catalog number for Eaton Bussman fuses. ANL is NOT a trademark. There are a lot of other fuses that are sold as "ANL" and it is not clear what they really are, and most important, what their voltage and interrupting ratings are.

Littelfuse sells similar fuses with CNL (32 Volt) and CNN (48 Volt) catalog numbers. You can find the CNL/CNN spec sheet here:

It is interesting to note that the CNL fuses only have a 2500 Amp interrupting rating. I wonder what the available fault current is from a 100 Amp hour LiFePo4 battery would be.

Mars said:

ANL is part of a catalog number for Eaton Bussman fuses. ANL is NOT a trademark.

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I found a couple of references last night that had a TM symbol next to the ANL indicating it was trademarked. However, I cannot find a single one of those today.

Kcp said:

Will talks about a bolt on fuse which one is the ANL - here's a 300amp: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems-Block-Insulating/dp/B000K2K7TW/ref=sr_1_9?crid=30YD8WZFSNJC4&dchild=1&keywords=anl+fuse+holder&qid=1573101504&sprefix=anl+fuse,lawngarden,1429&sr=8-9

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I've used these fuse holders connected right to the battery terminal in some cases to save space.

Bob142 said:

I've used these fuse holders connected right to the battery terminal in some cases to save space.

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I like these. Marked for future projects....

Rider said:

I like these. Marked for future projects....

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They have been great for more portable applications for me. Good luck.

Bob142 said:

They have been great for more portable applications for me. Good luck.

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I have a portable system, but found it tough to mount the traditional ANL fuse holder. These will work much better. Thanx for the link. I found them on Amazon too, with a little better selection of replacement fuses.

winnyjstew said:

question 1: I have a 2000watt (12volt) inverter , I did the math for finding out the amperage of the inverter which is(2000/12v = 166 x 1.25 = 208.
what circuit breaker size should I get for connecting the inverter to the battery?

question 2. should I be using a bolt-on fuse AND a circuit breaker??

Click to expand...

The overcurrent protection should be based on the amp capacity "Ampacity" of the wire. And you should chose the wire size based on the load, not necessarily on the size of the inverter.

Here is how I would do it.
Assume my peak load is 1200 watts.
Divide by the efficiency of the inverter (assumed 90%) to get the input power to the inverter 1200/0.90 = 1333 watts.
Divide that by 10 volts (10 volts because I want it to work at the low end of the battery discharge cycle) 1333/10 = 133 Amps in to inverter.
Add 25% assuming my load runs at 1200 watts for hours. I would not add 25% if the peak load was only momentary (like less than 15 minutes).
133=1.25 = 166 Amps This is the minimum ampacity that I want.
Looking at NEC table 315.15(B)(17) I would pick #1/0 which has an ampacity of 195 Amps at 60C(140F).
Then I would pick the next larger size standard fuse or circuit breaker so I end up with a 200 Amp fuse or CB.

You can chose either a fuse or CB.

Mars

should I have a bolt on fuse (200A or 250A) AND a CB (200A or 250A)? or either or?
attached is my tentative diagram. (those negative and positive leads running off of the bottom of the ply wood will go to the battery).

would you recommend this ??