Fuses!! Help!

[Bilbo]

"the loads on our little boats are so mild that it's hard to overload a circuit."

This is true as default curcuits go but in this day, we have power inverters and much heavier 12V add-ons that we should watch out for. Another primary reason for these fuses is that we can have a "short" in the wiring for some reason. In this case, the fuse is acting to prevent a "possible situation" with the battery(or batteries) by removing the fuse's circuit from the grid.
In some situations, we can have a fuse simply go bad without any issue of overload. I just had this happen with the starting system fuse on my outboard. It looked perfectly fine visually but internally, it was defective. That being said, I don't think that it's necessary to replace fuses on a regular basis as the can last for decades without issue. It is good to have replacement fuses in case one does go bad though. Even then, one can change an unnecessary fuse for an important one after determining the cause of failure ....if necessary.
Regarding wiring, one of the issues with wire size is also length. With 12V systems (Actually D.C. systems, there is a greater voltage decline in electricity as the wiring gets longer. (It acts as a resistor..I believe) This is a major reason why our common household electricity has been 120V A.C.in the U.S.

 

[drock10]

Dang all this helps a ton the guy before had his wiring really sloppy so I kind of want to trace each on and make sure they are still in good condition and the zip tie or get some wire tubes and clean them up a bit I am going to through in 15 amps and if one blows I know I need to go higher right? Sorry if I sound dumb but I really want to do this on my boat and lean everything about it u guys help a ton

 

[Bilbo]

"15 amps and if one blows I know I need to go higher right?"
I'd say that if you blow a 15 A fuse then there is some sort of problem with your wiring like a short. .....a frayed wire, or two wires touching somewhere....

OR that you have too much on that circuit....... Like a TV, the wife's hair dryer and a microwave that are all working at once.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

"15 amps and if one blows I know I need to go higher right?"
I'd say that if you blow a 15 A fuse then there is some sort of problem with your wiring like a short. .....a frayed wire, or two wires touching somewhere....

OR that you have too much on that circuit....... Like a TV, the wife's hair dryer and a microwave that are all working at once.

No.No,No,No!!!
Fuses protect the wiring - that's their primary purpose. It is the wiring that determines the load you can put on a circuit AND the size fuse required to protect it.

IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW ANY LOADS YOU PUT ON IT. IT IS HOW MANY YOU CAN SAFELY PUT ON IT. NOTE THE DIFFERENCE. Determine the wiring size and select a fuse appropriate for that size wire. Only then can you determine what load(s) the circuit will safely take.

 

[Bilbo]

Dang all this helps a ton the guy before had his wiring really sloppy so I kind of want to trace each on and make sure they are still in good condition and the zip tie or get some wire tubes and clean them up a bit I am going to through in 15 amps and if one blows I know I need to go higher right? Sorry if I sound dumb but I really want to do this on my boat and lean everything about it u guys help a ton

Drock, I'm goingg to excuse this Don S/V from his misunderstanding of my words.
Let me make this clear.
IF you blow a 15A fuse, Do NOT go to a higher Amp fuse for any reason.

Find the reason why the fuse went bad, fix this and then replace the fuse with the same amperage (15A).

The 15A fuse is more than adequate for our circuitry and one could go with a somewhat lower amp fuse but because of the wire size and the fact that they build in a bit of leeway, it is best to use what's recommended by the company.
It should be clear that if you go to a higher amp fuse then you are risking a potentially dangerous situation.

 

[drock10]

Yes thanks again I put in 15 amps and it works perfect had it on for a while just to make sure so I just had the radio on and the lights and drank some beer to make sure everything was sound so thanks for the info again

 

[Bilbo]

Yes thanks again I put in 15 amps and it works perfect had it on for a while just to make sure so I just had the radio on and the lights and drank some beer to make sure everything was sound so thanks for the info again

Cool, I just bought a nifty little trickle charger yesterday. It's good for the battery to keep the battery up throughout the winter.

 

[Ken]

moving the panel

Having also suffered broken switches on the original panel being stepped on, the electrical panel was moved to the port side on my old style boat. A second battery was added, a selector switch installed where the old panel once resided.
Here's a few pictures from the installation.

 

[drock10]

Hey that switch u use for your batteries
Was that easy to install cuz the last guy had 3 batteries and he just had them all hooked up I just have one now but is it bad to hook up all 3 at once?

 

[Ken]

I'd guess the PO had two batteries as house batteries and one starting battery..

The switch only works for two batteries, was very easy to install. There was a repair to be made where the old panel was removed. It too was very easy to repair.

 

[Bilbo]

Hey that switch u use for your batteries
Was that easy to install cuz the last guy had 3 batteries and he just had them all hooked up I just have one now but is it bad to hook up all 3 at once?

When you hook them up together like that, you have to do it correctly.
I would go with the one unless you are planning on a lot of use. We often have some ideas on what we could do on these boats but in reality, we end up with more than what we really need.

 

[Ken]

Are you saying having house batteries is a BAD thing? I MIGHT agree if one only DAY sails the boat one battery would be enough.

HOWEVER if one stays out for a week or more that quickly changes. Might you next say my having a 33 watt solar panel useless too?

 

[Bilbo]

Are you saying having house batteries is a BAD thing? I MIGHT agree if one only DAY sails the boat one battery would be enough.

HOWEVER if one stays out for a week or more that quickly changes. Might you next say my having a 33 watt solar panel useless too?

No Ken, What I'm saying is that each person has to decide what they want and need in their sailing experience. if you don't need them then why have them? If you do use them then they are great choices to own. I'm sure that they aren't at all useless for you. I guess that I'm kinda thinking about this like a backpacker.

 

[Ken]

I'd sure like to get my wife to think of her cloths like that!!!! My gawd, but then I suppose there all like that...hehe While enjoying sundowners one evening the two other guys and I talked and laughed at this very thing.......While they were away enjoying showers of course.....hehe

 

[Bilbo]

and that's the issue. I love camping out and all that but my wife enjoys her amenities. Hot and comfortable showers ....and her clothes collection.

 

[Ken]

There is sure a HUGE difference when I go and when we go.... and that bag........ how can so much fit into such a bag.... When I ask "what's in there" she says "Oh, that's what I need for my hair" I just shake my head then stow it ..... Seems no matter what that bag always comes along..... I once suggested to her a shorter hair cut :cussing::cussing::cussing: Yikes!! That wasn't a good conversation....

 

[Bilbo]

Out on a windy sail boat and worried about her hair..???? I get "hat head" when I'm wearing my baseball cap.
Fortunately, my wife doesn't have very long hair but I can relate. Discussing my wife's haircut is like discussing female fashion. The only corrrect answer to any question that my wife has about her clothes is, "Looks great". Of course there is no correct answer if the female mentions their weight relative to their clothes. "Does this dress make me look______???" Don't even try. No matter how sweet the tone of voice. It's their way of trapping and controlling us. And we wouldn't want to blow any fuses in that circuit.

Our boat is out on a dock about 40yds from the parking lot. I end up carrying to the boat my backpack with my camera, GPS, fishfinder. A second bag with a few sweatshirts, towels, and a canister of LP gas for the Coleman grill that I carry out. Also a cooler and two jugs of cold liquids(One for the dogs) She carries her two or three bags. We really can't leave anything of value on the boat. I'd bet that we have about a 90-100% chance of a break-in where we are sooner or later. The location is unsupervised and just too remote for the State Park to maintain. There is no elec. at the docks nor lighting of any kind at night other than the moon, flashlights and head lights.

 

[jfrench]

The correct answer is: "No it's not the dress honey, you already were: (fill in the blank)."

 

[Bilbo]

The correct answer is: "No it's not the dress honey, you already were: (fill in the blank)."

Aha! A man of my liking with a sense of terminal sarcasm.