Fusing a winch

[brushogger]

When I purchased my Superwinch 9.5 Talon, I connected it directly to the battery per the instructions. I have never been comfortable with this. Since my winch is enclosed and locked in an Aluminess bumper, I don't worry about the hooligans messing with it and "paper clipping" the control plug, and switches rated at 400+amps are pretty expensive. The other day I finally found a solution. A Mega Fuse holder. They make an assortment of fuses for this rated at 32v up to 500amps. The design of the holder would allow it to be easily bypassed in an emergency. According to Superwinch, mine draws 430 amps at full load. I ordered 3- 450A and 2- 500A fuses for just in case spares. I'm in the process of installing this and plan to load up the winch pretty good to trial it. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm not affiliated with the supplier, but I do order quite a few wiring supplies from them.

http://m.delcity.net/store/MEGA-Fuses/p_800374
http://m.delcity.net/store/MEGA-Fuse-Holder/p_795652



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[expomazda]

That's awesome! I need to order one of those.

 

[rayra]

Holy Bus Bars, Batman!

Nice. What gauge wire you putting on that thing?

 

[brushogger]

Holy Bus Bars, Batman!

Nice. What gauge wire you putting on that thing?

#2. That's what came on the winch and I'm only adding one foot of additional cable.

 

[brushogger]

Installed! Getting ready to try it.

I forgot to mention this earlier. I always clean all the connections well and use plenty of this on them. Great stuff.

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[brushogger]

I respooled my winch line and actually dragged the truck with the brakes locked for about 2 feet across wet concrete. The fuse didn't blow, but I had no way to measure the current draw while testing it.

 

[1911]

Good find. Make sure the maximum amperage draw for your winch is measured at start-up, as most winches draw more at start-up than they do even under full load. In the Overland Journal winch shoot-out article they did a few years ago, they measured both and the start-up amperage was always the highest. In fact, all but one of the tested winches had start-up spikes of more than 500 amps: http://expeditionportal.com/tug-of-war-the-ultimate-12v-winch-test/

And +1 on the NO-OX-ID, I discovered that stuff from my ham radio hobby and put it on every kind of terminal and connector. Always have a couple of tubes on hand.

 

[brushogger]

I don't know what my amp draw is on start up. I had. 500A fuse in while testing and it was fine. When I have a chance in the daylight, I'll try the 450A fuse and see how it does under start up and load. I wish I had a way of measuring that much momentary current.

 

[BlindingWhiteTaco]

Some fuses open immediately at their rated amperage. Others will have a time delay to allow for motor starting. I'm not familiar with what type you're using so it's hard to say, but both kinds exist. Usually the time delay fuses will delay less the higher the amperage is above their rating.

Installing a winch cut off switch may also be a good idea.

 

[brushogger]

i did some more research and found out these are Slo-Blo fuses.
http://www.littelfuse.com/products/fuses/automotive-passenger-car/high-current-fuses.aspx

 

[rayra]

I don't know what my amp draw is on start up. I had. 500A fuse in while testing and it was fine. When I have a chance in the daylight, I'll try the 450A fuse and see how it does under start up and load. I wish I had a way of measuring that much momentary current.

You seem to have it. Keep lowering the fuse rating until it fails. Then you'll know your draw / margin. Crude, but you'll know how close you are riding to whatever rating you decide to run with. Or just contact the winch manufacturer, they ought to know.

 

[1911]

i did some more research and found out these are Slo-Blo fuses.
http://www.littelfuse.com/products/fuses/automotive-passenger-car/high-current-fuses.aspx

You're probably fine with the 500-amp one then. The start-up current spike is momentary. I went through the same process when I replaced the solenoids on one of my winches with a contactor - they're current capacity depends on how long the high current lasts, and they can handle a much greater amperage for a short time than they can on average continuously.

 

[brushogger]

You seem to have it. Keep lowering the fuse rating until it fails. Then you'll know your draw / margin. Crude, but you'll know how close you are riding to whatever rating you decide to run with. Or just contact the winch manufacturer, they ought to know.

I know it's not a very efficient way to test, but I'd rather do my stress testing in front of my garage than on the trail. Fortunately, I live at the end of a cul de sac where I can string out all my line, have a 20" diameter tree to connect to, and have neighbors that tolerate my weirdness. I just have to medicate them with some Fat Tire occasionally.

 

[dwh]

What's the wire rated at?

For instance, wire rated at 300a should do a fine job of melting to protect a 500a fuse.

 

[Rogue]

2 AWG wire is good for 450A max for 48" runs