Battery Disconect Switch

Soundguy, Westend, thanks for the feedback on the wiring diagrams I uploaded. I modified them to more accurately reflect that the fuse or circuit breaker were the existing fuse or CB on the trailer.

Disagree all you want [emoticon] ... fact is, resettable CBs are accepted as standard in the industry for good reason and obviously meet regulatory requirements, whether you agree or not. [emoticon] Fuses blow permanently and once they blow are a PITA because the only way to get the circuit to work again is to replace the fuse entirely at the risk that it too may blow if there's a fault still remaining in the circuit, whereas the resettable CB simply won't allow power through until the fault is corrected. Adding an additional fuse to a circuit that is already wired with a resettable CB serves no purpose.

Thanks, I will (just as yourself at the beginning of this thread) :B.

Again, this is all obfuscating the original question by the OP, "How do I install a disconnect switch to my batteries?" but I'll engage.

If there is a shorting event in the circuit between the circuit breaker and the battery, there is no circuit protection. The wire and any devices connected to it, may suffer a catastrophic failure. If the short maintains continuity, with 200AH of batteries, the cable and the switch will melt/burn. If a circuit breaker or catastrophic fuse is installed at the battery, circuit protection is provided for the whole circuit, including the trailer.

SoundGuy wrote:
Manufacturers have for a long time now wired recreational trailers with a suitably sized resettable circuit breaker in the main trailer cable connected to the battery's positive terminal so just because you're adding a battery disconnect switch there's no need to add additional fuses ... nor would one want to when the better choice has already been provided for you in the form of a CB that resets itself.

westend wrote:
Disagree completely......:B

Disagree all you want :B ... fact is, resettable CBs are accepted as standard in the industry for good reason and obviously meet regulatory requirements, whether you agree or not. :R Fuses blow permanently and once they blow are a PITA because the only way to get the circuit to work again is to replace the fuse entirely at the risk that it too may blow if there's a fault still remaining in the circuit, whereas the resettable CB simply won't allow power through until the fault is corrected. Adding an additional fuse to a circuit that is already wired with a resettable CB serves no purpose.

SoundGuy wrote:
Manufacturers have for a long time now wired recreational trailers with a suitably sized resettable circuit breaker in the main trailer cable connected to the battery's positive terminal so just because you're adding a battery disconnect switch there's no need to add additional fuses ... nor would one want to when the better choice has already been provided for you in the form of a CB that resets itself.

Disagree completely......:B
There is no harm in protecting the wire and switch between the circuit breaker and the battery. In fact, it is best practice. Mobile industry standards are to place circuit protection within 18" of the battery and many trailer mfg's fudge this by locating the resettable breaker on the frame, some a few feet from the batteries.

But again, these are small talking points and, like the tangent of dual circuit switches serve to only confuse the OP. He wishes to only disconnect his batteries from the parasitic draws of the trailer while in storage.

Manufacturers have for a long time now wired recreational trailers with a suitably sized resettable circuit breaker in the main trailer cable connected to the battery's positive terminal so just because you're adding a battery disconnect switch there's no need to add additional fuses ... nor would one want to when the better choice has already been provided for you in the form of a CB that resets itself.

.

**** Edited to add the words existing fuse or circuit breaker to be more precise. ****

Here's how I would wire it using the existing fuse or circuit breaker on the trailer.

I guess I did. He did get the answer he needed but it wasn't a video of how to do the job. :R

Must have scared tshirt away.

tshirtman wrote:
... IS THERE A SPECIAL DISCONNECT FOR A DUAL(TRAILER)BATTERY SYSTEM....

NO THERE ISN'T.



:R