80VDC 10A fuse?
Thinking of arranging my solar setup "the right way" - add all the recommended fuses, like PV fuse, battery fuse, controller fuse and load fuse. It works as it is, so I'm going against the rule "it wo...
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OK, in this case, an unrated switch is not ideal. You'll get a slight arc any time you open up the switch. I believe every switch will arc to some extent. Arcing is not good. Arcing leads to contact corrosion which results in higher contact resistance and lower solar current. But in reality, you're probably not cycling the switch enough to increase contact resistance. Looking at the other extreme, most people need to replace the battery combiner solenoid because arcing destroys the contacts, resulting in very high contact resistance.
In your case, I don't believe the switch will maintain an arc for more than a fraction of a second.
Reminds me of work I did a long time ago to solve a gun design flaw. A machine gun firing mechanism is activated by a 20A relay. In burst mode, the relay contacts gets so hot from arcing that they melt together. All of a sudden the gun goes from burst mode to continuous fire. The fix was to add a capacitor, diode and resistor network across the relay contacts. As the contacts open, current now goes through the capacitor and there's no arcing.
Sal
In your case, I don't believe the switch will maintain an arc for more than a fraction of a second.
Reminds me of work I did a long time ago to solve a gun design flaw. A machine gun firing mechanism is activated by a 20A relay. In burst mode, the relay contacts gets so hot from arcing that they melt together. All of a sudden the gun goes from burst mode to continuous fire. The fix was to add a capacitor, diode and resistor network across the relay contacts. As the contacts open, current now goes through the capacitor and there's no arcing.
Sal
smkettner wrote:
If panels are putting out max 100v & 8a at the time I flip the switch the arc may not extinguish as it has no real DC rating.
