ANL fuses? Low quality?

[ericfx1984]

So I'm curious about low quality a&l fuses especially the ones that were designed for audio equipment

I've been having issues using them when I attempt to start my RV air conditioner all that being said the RV air conditioner is fairly old and that may be part of the problem

I've touched based on this issue in another thread but I noticed that on cheaper quality ANL fuses they seem to have a rivet that goes through either end but on higher quality a&l fuses such as Blue Sea which is like $30 a fuse they seem to go through the outside

Based on that I'm wondering if there is more internal surface area to handle higher loads on higher quality fuses

 

[Browneye]

"Load carrying" is the amp rating. The bussman ones are the shiznit - copper blade, tin or silver coated.
They blow on direct short or severe over-amp.

The fuse shop has the good busman ones for $9 - I just got a handful.

BlueSea, Spartan, and Littelfuse make some nice holders.

We were discussing this at length on the 'burning fuse' thread. And yeah, the cheapo ones sometimes don't hold up, are subject to corrosion, are not ignition proof if that's an issue, but are cheap as dirt. I just replaced all mine with the bussman ones. LOL

It's ANL - they're fine for controllers and smaller inverters - any main feed or bus with lifepo should have a class-T.

What kind of AC? An RV roof air is gonna pull mega serious amps thru a very large inverter. I use a 4kW Onan. [shrug]

 

[ericfx1984]

It's ANL - they're fine for controllers and smaller inverters - any main feed or bus with lifepo should have a class-T.

What kind of AC? An RV roof air is gonna pull mega serious amps thru a very large inverter. I use a 4kW Onan. [shrug]

It should, but it doesnt...

As for the A/C, yep, its a roof mount RV, installed in 2009, 13,5 iirc

 

[ericfx1984]

"Load carrying" is the amp rating.

Right I understand this.. I'm just saying a 300 amp fuse should handle 300 amps... But if it's improperly designed and creates too much of a choke point this increases the overall amperage due to voltage drop under load at least that's how I understand it... Which would effectively lead to a 300 amp fuse not actually handling a 300 amp load... Or even a 500 amp fuse that's improperly designed not being able to carry a 300 amp load

We were discussing this at length on the 'burning fuse' thread. And yeah, the cheapo ones sometimes don't hold up, are subject to corrosion, are not ignition proof if that's an issue, but are cheap as dirt. I just replaced all mine with the bussman ones. LOL

I'm going to have to look this thread up it seems like it would be right down my alley right now but yes I know that I should probably consider going to a class t fuse and I most likely will once I've ironed out all this BS

 

[Browneye]

It should, but it doesnt...

As for the A/C, yep, its a roof mount RV, installed in 2009, 13,5 iirc

I see you're moving to a 48V system - that may well be a solution for you.
Running RV AC with a 12V battery system is a considerable challenge (or effort in futility). Those things are energy hogs and just not very efficient. The guys running AC off battery are generally upgrading to a scroll-compressor type air unit, window air or mini split - something with much higher efficiency and lower amp draw. IIRC that 13.5K btu pulls some 10-15A @120VAC running, considerably more to start. I have one 15K btu unit on a smaller coach, hence the smaller genset. You've probly got the 5.5kW one and two AC's. Anyway, do you have a soft-start installed? Seems those help a lot.

And yes, a 250 or 300A ANL should carry that current, but it may well be a choke point as you say. When we get to huge draws like this I defer to the experts and back away - just not my cup of tea. That much current scares the bejesus out of me. The largest ANL fuse I have in my system is 80A for the 600W inverter and another for the 55A charger.

To run AC off battery, my idea was to install a window air unit somehow in the coach - a possibility that might work in the back stateroom as the back cap sits nearly a foot away from the back wall - Winnebago class-A. A 5 or 6K btu unit only draws about 4amps running, so much easier to setup inverter and battery power to run it.

And then there's the issue of recharging - if you do get your roof air to run on battery you'll need a way to put that much wattage back in - means lots and lots of solar paneling.

 

[Browneye]

As an aside, I have a 2-ton mini-split at the house - 24,000btu's, and I think it pulls about 9A running. And it's a heatpump, so it cools/heats the whole main floor of the house. It does call for a 25A fused disconnect switch though, so same deal, lots of amps starting, not so much running. And it's 240VAC.

 

[mapguy525]

OP - Class T characteristics are a better fit for this application. Also, consider a hard start device addition for your AC to slow the amp rush at start up. Many types of hard start devices are available from a simple capacitator to a logic driven product like the Micro-air products.
https://www.microair.net/collection...ters?msclkid=e9e534a4c1d311ecbc4bb07b418d0cf6

 

[seiran5x5]

So I'm curious about low quality a&l fuses especially the ones that were designed for audio equipment

I've been having issues using them when I attempt to start my RV air conditioner all that being said the RV air conditioner is fairly old and that may be part of the problem

I've touched based on this issue in another thread but I noticed that on cheaper quality ANL fuses they seem to have a rivet that goes through either end but on higher quality a&l fuses such as Blue Sea which is like $30 a fuse they seem to go through the outside

Based on that I'm wondering if there is more internal surface area to handle higher loads on higher quality fusesView attachment 85863View attachment 85864View attachment 85865View attachment 85866

I can't help with the fuse question but as someone who had a horrible time with my RV ac until I found another option, I just want to share this in case the unit in your RV is toast. If you have a decent-sized window and a few hours this could easily allow you to run a window ac on a small inverter.

 

[Browneye]

Those little units cool better and use half the power.
They’re just not very handy driving down the road!