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Date:         Thu, 2 Jul 2015 08:55:36 -0400
Reply-To:     Steven Shelton <shelton4@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Steven Shelton <shelton4@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: 12V Circuit Breaker
In-Reply-To:  <vanagon%2015070123011121@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Point taken, David, perhaps I need to learn a bit more about electricity. I've learned quite a bit just from these comments. For instance, I learned not to try to run a HVAC blower on the bench through a 10 amp fuse. I never knew what a power probe was; here's a good description of what they do: http://deloreantech.wikia.com/wiki/Tool:Power_Probe. I'll have to spend more time thinking through how I use this setup in the future.

On Wed, Jul 1, 2015 at 11:01 PM, David Beierl <dbeierl@attglobal.net> wrote:

> At 10:26 AM 7/1/2015, Steven Shelton wrote: > >> I test my electrical work and 12V devices using a jump starter battery and >> a cigarette lighter plug with two alligator clips attached. The plug has >> a >> Buss 10 amp fuse in it. My limited electrical knowledge results in a lot >> of blown fuses. Is there a 10 amp breaker that I could wire into the >> tester so I won't have to keep buying boxes of Buss fuses? >> > > I hate being Debbie Downer, but possibly you should read up on > electricity a little? From your description I can't really tell what > you're doing, but fuses are normally sized to prevent overheating and > possible fires in wiring. Ten amps is normally considered about the > limit that a lighter plug/socket can handle safely and in my > experience it's marginal for that, plugs tend to melt. It's a > terrible connector for any power use anyway, it was built very > cleverly to supply cigarette lighters and automatically release them > when they get hot enough. The latch/release mechanism isn't even > touched by a power plug, which makes contact on the rivet holding the > latching contact onto the rest of the assembly. > > Fuses are designed to blow maybe in an hour or two with a 30% > overload and in a few milliseconds with a short circuit. If you plug > in and the fuse instantly blows with a pop, that just saved you from > some melted wires. > > You can get self-resetting breakers that are used on things like > power window circuits in case someone holds the switch too long, but > that can present a safety risk. Button-reset breakers are also > available. With any breaker read the specs carefully. Many small > breakers have a rated life of fifty operations, for example. > > Yours, > David >


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