battery switch

Re: battery switch

philter wrote: »

Well I went ahead and got the bluesea selector switch (for a 48v 440hr) but with the heavy duty and the others the max V is 48v . when I hit them with the equalize 60v+-
what do you guys think. Just melt down,, short, just smoke, or are my nerves a little nervous

If the switch is just steady, left alone, it's fine, till you get enough amps past it rated current, and it starts heating up.

If you see smoke, and are tempted to use the switch, and you are over 50V, then you risk a sustained arc inside the switch.

You will likely be able to switch it a couple of times under load, but maybe start burning the contacts, and have to replace it. If your only load is a LED light, your 300A switch should manage just fine. It's sort of a function of how much power you are trying to interrupt. up to half the rated amps, you should be fine for lots of actuations. Approaching it's full load of permitted amps, you will not get many actuations.

And pay attention to the type of switch, does it MAKE to the spare contacts before BREAK from the main contact ? For boat use, they usually MAKE contact to the battery bank #2 before breaking contact form bank 1. Keeps the voltage regulators in the alternators happy, but in a crisis, you may be paralleling 2 400A battery banks (800A total) before you reach OFF.