What rating for the Fuse is needed for the accessory 12v?

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abk

.
Aug 9, 2007
203
Hunter H 26 Somers Point, NJ
I'm in the manual and really can't find what size fuse I need for the accessory 12 volt outlet switch on the switch panel? Thanks...
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,373
-na -NA Anywhere USA
Re: What rating for the Fuse is needed for the accessory 12v

It will depend on what it is going to. Please advise.
 

abk

.
Aug 9, 2007
203
Hunter H 26 Somers Point, NJ
12 volt accessory...

It will depend on what it is going to. Please advise.
Hi Dave, the 12 volt will power a light, phone charger, maybe a 12v small fan, etc...

Dave, where can I mount a shoot thru the hull transponder on a 1996 H 26?

I did post the question by itself on the forum...

ABK
 
Sep 25, 2008
7,334
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
Re: What rating for the Fuse is needed for the accessory 12v

It also more critically depends on the rating of the plug/outlet. Most are not built to carry more than a few amps and easily subject to corrosion making them prone to overheating so be careful what you plug in to it
 

abk

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Aug 9, 2007
203
Hunter H 26 Somers Point, NJ
Re: What rating for the Fuse is needed for the accessory 12v

Thanks for your reply... right now it really doesn't matter what I plug into it... It has no fuse!
 

MrUnix

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Mar 24, 2010
626
Hunter 23 Gainesville, FL
The fuse is there to protect the wiring (not the device running on it), so to correctly size a fuse, you really need to know the rating of the socket, the size of the wire feeding it, and how long that wire is.

Cheers,
Brad
 

abk

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Aug 9, 2007
203
Hunter H 26 Somers Point, NJ
Re: What rating for the Fuse is needed for the accessory 12v

As appears above in my response to Dave's question:

the 12 volt will power a light, phone charger, maybe a 12v small fan, etc...
It is a cigarette style 12 volt outlet... It is the one that came with the boat...
I do know all about electricity, fuses, wiring protection, electrical formulas, resistance, etc.

If there were a fuse in there presently I would know what I should try to replace it with. I could base it on what I was using the outlet for but I thought I would inquire here for an answer.

There is also a reason it is the fuse is missing and possibly there is a problem with the outlet... I will know that when I screw in a new fuse...

Until then I was just looking for a response as to what you may have in there...

I really can't measure the length of the wire feeding it or it's actual length as it is in the bulkhead.

Thanks for your reply...
 
Dec 11, 2008
1,338
catalina C27 stillwater
Re: What rating for the Fuse is needed for the accessory 12v

Length of wire will drive the voltage drop but max fusing will be determined by the gage of the wire and its insulation's thermal capacity, not its length. Length matters when considering what NEW wire to run for a circuit's load but since the wire is already there we just need to know what gage it is.

Can you get behind the switch panel to see how large the wire is? Maybe it is printed on there? My hunch is that is is #10 or #12 AWG wire gage. What about the wire going into the socket? Same deal, lets see if we can figure out what size it is.

From there we can recommend a proper fuse sized either to the wire using U.S.C.G. guidelines from table 5 in their CFR33 Subpart I electrical guidelines OR we can add up a potential total load based on your devices you intend to run.

The fuse will be no larger than 40 amps, and probably more like only 15 or 20.

Barring any ability to see the wire and determine how large it is, I would probably pop in a 5A fuse and see what happens. It may pop the fuse with heavier loads but the wiring should be more than protected unless it is really small wire.

Even 18 gage with the lowerst thermal rating in the charts should handle more than 5 amps, so a 5A fuse is very conservatively safe.

EDIT:

After posting this I see Maine Sail's reply below. I agree with him and his is a more thorough answer....
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,701
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
It is for a 12v cigarette style receptacle.

Thnks
I would limit this fuse to 10 amps. These 12V sockets are notoriously lame at pushing much more than 10A safely. All it takes is a little corrosion/high resistance and they can easily begin to melt down.

Most are only rated for 10A though some are rated for as much as 15A, and that gets scary. I have seen more than a few plastic ones literally melted and deformed.

There are some circuits on a boat that you fuse to protect the device, motor or socket and 12V outlets are one of them.... Yes the wire can handle a LOT more but please be safe and fuse this at 10A..

Here's a prime example of overloading a socket. The socket looked worse than the inverter... The socket end of this inverter used to be straight....;)
 

weinie

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Sep 6, 2010
1,297
Jeanneau 349 port washington, ny
Re: What rating for the Fuse is needed for the accessory 12v

I agree with Maine (as if I am even 1/100th as knowledgeable about this stuff as he is).

I bought a cheapo 12 volt cigarette lighter socket to hook up to an extra car battery in order to charge cell phones and what not after hurricane sandy.

The thing fried itself pretty quickly. Luckily, the nearby westmarine had a higher quality marine grade one in stock.
 
May 24, 2004
7,164
CC 30 South Florida
Re: What rating for the Fuse is needed for the accessory 12v

Take a hint from your automobile. Fuses mostly range from 5A to 20A. I would take a SWG (scientific wild guess) and say a 10A would work just fine.
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,373
-na -NA Anywhere USA
Re: What rating for the Fuse is needed for the accessory 12v

ABK;

If you are talking about a thru hull transducer, the only area is under the rear berth behind the water ballast tank sometimes adjacent to the bilge pump. If you are planning a non thru hull type advice, the same area will do likewise.

Some have suggested cutting into the ballast tank and I have always said that is not a good idea. Forward under the V Berth there are several issues there too for not installing either. The only other is on the end of the transom if using the style for that style application
 
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