Ancor In-Line AGC / MDL Fuse Holder 607016

[NICK1951]

I have purchased a lot of products for my 2 sailboats. Typically, they perform extremely well. I consider the help desks at Balmar, Blue Sea, Electro Maax to be exceptional.

Previously, my only complaint was with Globe impellars. 2 failed prematurely.

The performance of Ancor tinned wire, butt connectors etc. have also worked well.

My latest complaint is the Ancor In-Line AGC / MDL Fuse Holder 607016 they stink. I have had 4 fail. All purchased from separate sources on separate dates.

They protected important circuits: Start, solar panel, bilge pump and Blue Seas 7610 battery combine.

I contacted Ancor and they denied there was a problem.

If you are using these fuse holders on an important circuit without exception, make no mistake, I suggest you replace it. My new go to fuse holder is Blue Sea Systems Waterproof In-Line ATO/ATC Fuse Holder.

Nick

 

[ggrizzard]

Good to know.

 

[IStream]

What's the nature of the failures? Any photos?
Ancor generally has decent stuff, so I'm a bit surprised.

 

[Blitz]

I'm curious of the type of failure since I'm using them as well on the bilge pump for about seven years now without an issue. Granted, it is not fully waterproof but mine is installed way above the bilge area.

 

[jviss]

Kind of a thin indictment without any specific claims or evidence. Can you please describe the failures? Pics would help, too.
I have purchased similar fuse holders; some were pure junk, others were beautifully made and engineered. Avoid no-name ones from China, buy brand-name ones from US sources. I'm not sure if Ancor is actually manufacturing these or just packaging them.
Then again, I'm not a big fan of inline fuses on a boat. Tough to find, tough to know what's fused and what's not, and makes debugging a nightmare. However, I guess to keep costs and panel space manageable, they are a necessary evil.

 

[NICK1951]

Attached is a photo.

Nick

 

[LeslieTroyer]

I put one of these BlueSea fuse blocks behind the main panel and one of these BlueSea blocks down by the battery for 27x7 circuits (properly fused at battery with a mrbf fuse). The arc/auto blade fuses are much easier to quickly see amperage rating and easy/cheaper to buy than glass fuses. I’m slowly switching all my fuses to this style.

The independent style behind the main panel allow me to fuse to different circuits. “Electronics “ circuit has a jumper(s) on the input so I can fuse the plotter & NMEA2000 buss separately but still run off on breaker. And also fuse the stereo from a different breaker

The “normal” panel provides easy access to power and ground properly fuses for all those goodies that say connect directly to the battery, like battery monitors, bilge pumps....

 

[jviss]

Very nice, Les, I did the same for a behind-panel fuse block for bilge pumps, as the ON-OFF-AUTO switches occupied he breaker positions.

 

[jviss]

Thanks for the pic, Nick. Looks like the plastic barrel broke? Wow, never saw that before. I just looked on mouser.com, name-brand, inline, waterproof fuse holders can be expensive!

 

[Birdman737]

I've had the exact same issue with the same exact fuse holders, in fuse holders that were about 2-4 years old, for about 3 fuses. Each time the failure occurred during winter storage, so I wonder if cold Wisconsin temperatures had something to do with the plastic getting brittle.

As a countermeasure, two years ago I began the practice of removing the fuses from the fuse holders during out-of-the-water winter storage. When the fuses are removed, the plastic isn't under any spring loaded strain, and may be less likely to break. So far, so good, but it's only been two years so my results aren't scientific. I also have to carefully label or store them so as not to reinstall the wrong amperage fuse in the wrong place.