Primary circuit breaker

oilybilge

oilybilge

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Evening all. Could anyone point me towards a reliable 25 or 30 amp circuit breaker to go after the battery switch and before the switchboard? I'm after the sort you can switch manually. It's for a 24-foot yacht running the usual lights, bilge pump, VHF, and 12v vacuum cleaner. Thanks!
 
I do like Blue Seas kit. Problem is none of the usual UK places seem to stock the circuit breakers in the amp range I'm looking at, so it might be a case of getting them from the states. In about a month.

Superheat -- actually those are the ones I'm using for the switch panel. I hear good things about ETA. For the primary circuit breaker though I'm a bit put off by the fact that they have push-on spade connections rather than ring connectors. I'm sure it'd be fine in practice, it just seems a bit light-weight.
 
oilybilge said:
I do like Blue Seas kit. Problem is none of the usual UK places seem to stock the circuit breakers in the amp range I'm looking at, so it might be a case of getting them from the states. In about a month.

Superheat -- actually those are the ones I'm using for the switch panel. I hear good things about ETA. For the primary circuit breaker though I'm a bit put off by the fact that they have push-on spade connections rather than ring connectors. I'm sure it'd be fine in practice, it just seems a bit light-weight.
Click to expand...

At 25a they are fine.
 
oilybilge said:
For the primary circuit breaker though I'm a bit put off by the fact that they have push-on spade connections rather than ring connectors. I'm sure it'd be fine in practice, it just seems a bit light-weight.
Click to expand...

Blade fuses are essentially a pair of spade connectors, and they go up to 40 amps as standard.

(If I only needed to break 25a personally I’d just use a blade fuse, but I appreciate a resettable circuit breaker is slightly more convenient.)

Pete
 
oilybilge said:
I do like Blue Seas kit. Problem is none of the usual UK places seem to stock the circuit breakers in the amp range I'm looking at, so it might be a case of getting them from the states. In about a month.

Superheat -- actually those are the ones I'm using for the switch panel. I hear good things about ETA. For the primary circuit breaker though I'm a bit put off by the fact that they have push-on spade connections rather than ring connectors. I'm sure it'd be fine in practice, it just seems a bit light-weight.
Click to expand...

There are high performance versions of the ETA circuit breakers ( types 412 and 413 ) which have screw terminals if screw terminals is really what you want.
 
oilybilge said:
Evening all. Could anyone point me towards a reliable 25 or 30 amp circuit breaker to go after the battery switch and before the switchboard? I'm after the sort you can switch manually. It's for a 24-foot yacht running the usual lights, bilge pump, VHF, and 12v vacuum cleaner. Thanks!
Click to expand...

What size is the cable from the switch to the switchboard ?
 
oilybilge said:
6mm2
Click to expand...

The breaker will only be there to protect that length of 6mm cable, so i'd fit a 40-50a one. That is well under the max cable rating and gives you some capacity to spare, should you ever add anything. You could use a thermal breaker, or just simply fit a 40a blade fuse.
 
pvb said:
Look for a Blue Sea breaker - good quality, reasonable prices. But I'd just fit a MegaFuse close to the battery.
Click to expand...

Not many installations where that works well Pete. If there is a 1-2-B switch or any system where the domestic battery/s can be used to start the engine, the cable to the switch has to be starter rated. In almost all installations the breaker or fuse has to be close to the output of the domestic isolator, rated for whatever cable is supply the domestic loads.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Not many installations where that works well Pete. If there is a 1-2-B switch or any system where the domestic battery/s can be used to start the engine, the cable to the switch has to be starter rated. In almost all installations the breaker or fuse has to be close to the output of the domestic isolator, rated for whatever cable is supply the domestic loads.
Click to expand...

OK, but I still like to have a fuse close to the battery, higher rated if it might have to take starter loads, then a lower-rated fuse to protect the cable to the domestic switch panel.

By the way, what's this 1-2-B switch you referred to?:rolleyes:
 
pvb said:
OK, but I still like to have a fuse close to the battery, higher rated if it might have to take starter loads, then a lower-rated fuse to protect the cable to the domestic switch panel.
Click to expand...

That works OK. Did your boat come with fuses at the domestic battery as standard ? Just fitting uprated domestic batteries to a 5yr old Bavaria and that doesn't have battery fuses.

By the way, what's this 1-2-B switch you referred to?:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Something i saw on the History channel a few days ago :)
 
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