Circuit breaker or fuse?

[dodge_guy]

So. I’ll be installing a 3000W inverter and with that, what is better? A 300A circuit breaker or an ANL fuse? I like the circuit breaker so I don’t have to keep spare fuses and a circuit breaker will be easier to just reset.

[dodge_guy]

It’s an off brand from Amazon, but the reviews were good. 3000W with a wireless display with on/off control $315, And it can be hardwired which I’m going to semi do. I’m going to run the inverter to a 50A outlet in the electrical compartment and install a relay that will turn off the charger when the inverter is on and plugged in. I’ll just plug the RV cord into the outlet. When I need the generator, turn off the inverter and turn on the generator.

[TechWriter]

dodge guy wrote:

TechWriter wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
So. I’ll be installing a 3000W inverter and with that, what is better? A 300A circuit breaker or an ANL fuse? I like the circuit breaker so I don’t have to keep spare fuses and a circuit breaker will be easier to just reset.

Are you talking about the fusing between the battery bank and the inverter?

If so, then I suggest a 300A Class T fuse followed by a battery disconnect switch.

Like in this schematic.

Yes that is the plan. I will have a shut off switch as well. And I plan on a fuse.

What inverter are you using?

[Veebyes]

I wish all RVs had a circuit breaker panel for their 12V circuits like boats of any size larger than a simple trailer boat.

When chasing down a problem once you have blown your last spare fuse, that is it. You are stuck. With the circuit breaker you keep going till you find what is causing the problem.

There is nothing stopping us from converting to DC breakers however they are not cheap

Defender Marine

[dodge_guy]

TechWriter wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
So. I’ll be installing a 3000W inverter and with that, what is better? A 300A circuit breaker or an ANL fuse? I like the circuit breaker so I don’t have to keep spare fuses and a circuit breaker will be easier to just reset.

Are you talking about the fusing between the battery bank and the inverter?

If so, then I suggest a 300A Class T fuse followed by a battery disconnect switch.

Like in this schematic.

Yes that is the plan. I will have a shut off switch as well. And I plan on a fuse.

[TechWriter]

dodge guy wrote:
So. I’ll be installing a 3000W inverter and with that, what is better? A 300A circuit breaker or an ANL fuse? I like the circuit breaker so I don’t have to keep spare fuses and a circuit breaker will be easier to just reset.

Are you talking about the fusing between the battery bank and the inverter?

If so, then I suggest a 300A Class T fuse followed by a battery disconnect switch.

Like in this schematic.

[Bobbo]

StirCrazy wrote:
breakers are the better choice, but like nentions cost a bit more. I use them on my wires two and from my solar panels and on the charge side as I can use them as a disconect also.

Steve

I put a Blue Sea Disconnect switch between my solar panels and the solar controller. It is good up to 300 amps and 48v DC, so I can put 2 panels in series, and multiples of that pair in parallel. I also have fuses between the panels and controller, as well as between the controller and battery.

[StirCrazy]

breakers are the better choice, but like nentions cost a bit more. I use them on my wires two and from my solar panels and on the charge side as I can use them as a disconect also.

Steve

[ajriding]

Houses used to use fuses, but now circuit breakers, obviously, you can just reset them when they trip instead of buying a new fuse each time. Breakers also work as an on/off switch.

I have one of these in a 100amp and it works just fine, $15 or so, though I havent tested it or made it trip.
ebay link to 300 amp breaker ebay 300 amp breaker
I actually have 4 total of different amp ratings for my solar and battery and vehicle connections.

There are also breakers that will reset themselves after they trip after they cool down, so are kind-of an automatic resetting breaker, kind-of.
Of course you will probably never trip a fuse anyway, so not a big deal to have two spare fuses on hand either.

* I dont get why you would want to buy an expensive shut-off switch, then put in a fuse when a breaker is bother a switch and a "fuse" in application.

[larry_cad]

dodge guy wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
I would want a way to disconnect power to the inverter quickly in an emergency. A breaker allows for that. I'm not sure why you think you wouldn't need a spare fuse. I would think a spare would be a good idea. Sometimes inverter go a little crazy and power cycling them will reboot the processor and make it work again. It's a lot easier to power cycle with a breaker as well.

I just seen that. I missed typed. I like the circuit breaker because I don’t need fuses. But the fuses seem to be cheaper. And for as often as it sounds like they fail ( almost never) I would only need to keep a couple of extras.

Now that is good logic!

[dodge_guy]

KD4UPL wrote:
I would want a way to disconnect power to the inverter quickly in an emergency. A breaker allows for that. I'm not sure why you think you wouldn't need a spare fuse. I would think a spare would be a good idea. Sometimes inverter go a little crazy and power cycling them will reboot the processor and make it work again. It's a lot easier to power cycle with a breaker as well.

I just seen that. I missed typed. I like the circuit breaker because I don’t need fuses. But the fuses seem to be cheaper. And for as often as it sounds like they fail ( almost never) I would only need to keep a couple of extras.

[dodge_guy]

Ok. I’m OK with fuses, I’ll just have to carry a couple of spares just in case.
I will have A high amp shut off switch. And will be using 4/0 welding cable for power.
I will get the fuse instead.

[BurbMan]

Size the fuse or breaker to protect the wire connecting the battery to the inverter. For example, I am using #4 wire to connect my 600W inverter, so a 60a breaker is installed. The larger the wire, the bigger the fuser/breaker capacity you can have.

[Skibane]

time2roll wrote:
Fuse. Quality DC breakers in the 300+ amp range seem to be expensive.

Yep, there are a lot of cheap Chinese breakers out there on the market that I wouldn't trust.

A decent-quality one isn't cheap.

[time2roll]

Fuse. Quality DC breakers in the 300+ amp range seem to be expensive. Never opened the fuse on mine.