RV Camping; Tips, tricks & repairs

[prae]

https://www.amazon.ca/Circuit-Breake.../dp/B07KF2PV6V

[ExtraSlow]

I enjoy Cunningham's law.

[ExtraSlow]

While I'm asking stupid questions, how come you can buy a 40 amp ATC fuse block that has 10 or even 12 AWG wiring, but anyone who actually suggest wire sizes would want 8 or 6 gauge wiring for that amperage? Just because all this shit is built for lowest cost so they put too small wiring on it?

[ExtraSlow]

And while I'm being really smart, why didn't I look at a circuit breaker that I could surface mount on the outside of the battery box so I could use that as my cutoff switch? Hah, now that's real big brain time. Oh well.

I have a plan. sometimes I just post shit to rustle jimmies. Sometimes they are my own jimmies, not sure if that's a win.

[Tik-Tok]

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While I'm asking stupid questions, how come you can buy a 40 amp ATC fuse block that has 10 or even 12 AWG wiring, but anyone who actually suggest wire sizes would want 8 or 6 gauge wiring for that amperage? Just because all this shit is built for lowest cost so they put too small wiring on it?

No matter what the ladies say, length and girth both matter for how amped they get.

[ExtraSlow]

Yeah but when connecting a short bit of wire to a long bit of wire, you'd like to match wire gauges because it's really the total length.

It makes me itch to have 12 awg 30 amp fuse holders. That was kind of a joke.

[ExtraSlow]

Fine, here's a 40 Amp fuse on 8AWG wire. Connected to trailer power supply wire with crimped eye terminals and a stainless bolt, because it's different wire and I don't have butt connectors I trust for that. Plus I love stainless bolts. I wrapped it all in electrical tape after the photo.



The other fuse is the tongue jack power.

[ercchry]

I’d personally fuse the wire between battery and cutoff switch… I don’t trust those to not short out

[BerserkerCatSplat]

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Yea, i would definitely not do that. That is not how fuses work. It would blow somewhere unpredictably between 30-60a. Also the two what look to be 12ga wires over the half meter are likely undersized for 40a and certainly for 60a. Its janky and you are better off removing it for now until you can get a suitable fuse holder and appropriate wire size.

Twinned parallel fuses of the same amperage in place of a single larger one is very commonly done in OEM 12v applications and there's no reason it would be cause for concern here. Any variation from 60A in total rated amperage would be minute.

[spike98]

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Twinned parallel fuses of the same amperage in place of a single larger one is very commonly done in OEM 12v applications and there's no reason it would be cause for concern here. Any variation from 60A in total rated amperage would be minute.

I disagree that its common. I have yet to see it once, ever, in my 25 years in the hobby. I have certainly seen fuse disto blocks that protect individual equipment but never 2 or more into one. Wafer fuses go up to crazy amperage so there isn't a need to so so. I guess it could be applied in crazy amperage applications but personally i haven't seen it.

Ohms law also disagrees. Each fuse will receive the same voltage and 1/X the amperage where X is the number of resistors (or in our case, fuses). So you COULD use 2x 15a to protect a 30a circuit but by the math, 30a x 2 = 60a.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

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I disagree that its common. I have yet to see it once, ever, in my 25 years in the hobby. I have certainly seen fuse disto blocks that protect individual equipment but never 2 or more into one. Wafer fuses go up to crazy amperage so there isn't a need to so so. I guess it could be applied in crazy amperage applications but personally i haven't seen it.

I've seen paralleled fuses commonly used in car audio amplifiers on primary power (not the offboard wiring, the onboard protection circuit) and even my SUV has twinned 60A fuses to act as a 120A fuse on the main alternator feed from the factory instead of a fusible link. The advantage over a single fuse is that even though it's a cascade failure, two smaller fuses will actually blow faster than a big single in an overcurrent situation.

Ohms law also disagrees. Each fuse will receive the same voltage and 1/X the amperage where X is the number of resistors (or in our case, fuses). So you COULD use 2x 15a to protect a 30a circuit but by the math, 30a x 2 = 60a.

I'm not sure what you're trying to demonstrate here. If you have two 15A fuses in parallel to protect a 30A circuit, your current for each branch is 1/X where X=2, so 15A per branch (30A x 1/2) just like you'd expect. Where are you getting 60A from?

[ExtraSlow]

I think my original post with that configuration may have confused him about my goals and intent.

It was a temporary solution to a problem that wasn't critical.
The circuit was already protected by a 40 Amp fuse at the main power distribution panel. The fuse I added was a backup in case the wiring between the battery and that power distribution panel got damaged, which in an older trailer, is unlikely but not impossible.

[The_Penguin]

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I enjoy Cunningham's law.

Had to look that up. Thought I was forgetting some of my ancient electronics. Ohm, Joule, Kirchhoff, who the hell is Cunningham?

[ExtraSlow]

@spike98 you talked me into it. I bought a clearance Napoleon Travel Q240 for my upcoming fire ban tour of BC.
Adapter for the 30lb tank too. Can't afford not to, that's what my triangle select membership says.

[ExtraSlow]

Also, remember when I had a truck with an 8 foot box? Man that was great. 5.5 feet is so small once I start loading everything my family wants.

[Tik-Tok]

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Also, remember when I had a truck with an 8 foot box? Man that was great. 5.5 feet is so small once I start loading everything my family wants.

I'd love to get a single cab 8' box for towing. Wife could follow me in the car everywhere with all the noise in hers.

[ExtraSlow]

Any thoughts on what could be making my tongue jack blow the fuse? Never been as issue before. I mean, I did just re-wire everything, but not sure how that could have caused this problem.

[ThePenIsMightier]

You sharted something when you farted with the wiring...

[redline]

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Any thoughts on what could be making my tongue jack blow the fuse? Never been as issue before. I mean, I did just re-wire everything, but not sure how that could have caused this problem.

I got half way from revy to sicamous and the truck started to complain about no left turn signal after I replaced the trailer 7 pin connector … I got some parts at the Napa and repair in the d Dutchman parking lot and back on the road.

I say same issue …

[haggis88]

Has anyone ever removed the tongue jack/jockey from their conventional tow trailer?

Is it as easy as I think it should be? There's 3 visible hex-heads that look about 1/2 or 9/16, should it then just lift out?

My trailer is from the 70s fwiw, we went the resto-mod route and just upgrade stuff as it breaks :lol: