Has anyone used a getwiredusa 500a circuit breaker on winch (1 Viewer)

[R0bl]

Hi
Has anyone used one of these circuit breakers to isolate and protect their winch ? If yes, do they work OK and what is the quality like ? (I have seen some reviews stating they always trip lower than the rated load)

12-24 Volt DC 500 Amp Circuit Breaker Trolling Motor Auto Car Marine Stereo Audio Inline Fuse Holders Inverter

12-24 Volt DC 500A Circuit Breaker Trolling Motor Auto Car Marine Stereo Audio Inline Fuse Holders Inverter Accepts direct connection of 0/2/4/8 gauge power wire with included adapters with all 12, 24 Volt Systems Use as an alternative to fuse holders and fuses, High-tech water resistant housing...

getwiredusa.com

This is another one from them

500-AMP 0-GAUGE AWG WIRE CIRCUIT BREAKER HEAVY DUTY INDUSTRIAL CAR AUDIO MARINE | eBay

WILL FIT 0 1 & 2 GAUGE WIRE. SIZE / LENGTH - WILL FIT 0 1 & 2 GAUGE WIRE. PART NUMBER - FX313. Simply Send The Item Back. MANUFACTURER -GETWIREDUSA. TUCSON AZ, 85705.

www.ebay.com.au

Thanks !

Rob

 

[george_tlc]

Generic China 'stuff'. I wouldn't trust it with winching loads. Can find the same product on aliexpress - so doesn't instill faith. Obviously targets the big audio type nuts.

You're not likely to find a (reputable brand) breaker that can deal with 500A on a 12V circuit. Some folk just use a megafuse. I don't bother with any breaker/fuse, I just have a high current bluesea marine switch that is set to normally NOT provide any power to the winch. Then if I need to winch I rotate the marine switch to on, do the winching and then rotate it back off. Doubles up as an emergency off if something goes awry with the winch controller.

cheers,
george.

 

[Corbet]

I have a smaller get wired breaker on my house power circuit. The build quality does not instill much faith for winching. I‘m direct wired on my winch but always have planned to do the same as above with a marine switch.

 

[ducktapeguy]

I also added a high current switch like george_tlc. I'd rather not rely on a fuse or breaker, it just seemed too unpredictable and unreliable. Even if it did work at the rated current, you've probably already fried the wiring at that point so it's not really doing anything useful. Or, if it doesn't work at it's rated current, then your stuck without a winch and you probably won't find out until the worst possible time.

With the switch I can disconnect power to the winch until it's needed, and the only thing I have to worry about is the short length of wire connecting the switch to the battery.

 

[80t0ylc]

Generic China 'stuff'. I wouldn't trust it with winching loads. Can find the same product on aliexpress - so doesn't instill faith. Obviously targets the big audio type nuts.

You're not likely to find a (reputable brand) breaker that can deal with 500A on a 12V circuit. Some folk just use a megafuse. I don't bother with any breaker/fuse, I just have a high current bluesea marine switch that is set to normally NOT provide any power to the winch. Then if I need to winch I rotate the marine switch to on, do the winching and then rotate it back off. Doubles up as an emergency off if something goes awry with the winch controller.

cheers,
george.

Speaking of "Generic China 'stuff'", I meant to to do what you mentioned when I got a "round tuit". Your post reminded me, so I got on Amazon to do just that. Found the Blue Sea switches and was pleased at the price quoted $26.99. Just ready to punch the order key and thought, what the hell, I'll look at the reviews. I always check the 1 star 1st and wow! Was I surprized!

Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Blue Sea Systems 6006 m-Series Battery Switch ON/OFF with Knob, Red

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Blue Sea Systems 6006 m-Series Battery Switch ON/OFF with Knob, Red at Amazon.com. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users.

smile.amazon.com

Blue Seas terminal strips and circuit breakers may be excellent quality, but I'm really hesitant to trust these switches. I also checked another brand, same rating - Wenrich, that looks identical and the only One 1 star comment said "Chinese garbage". Just an FYI for those thinking of doing this.

 

[george_tlc]

^ pretty interesting damage (in one of the amazon pics).

I can imagine that since the cables mount to the studs and that whole back section with the studs (let's call it the stud plate) is held as in my pic below with 5 tapped stainless screws, having the cables unsupported and stresses on the cable -> the screws/posts could be stressed till they break. Definitely the design has pressure trying to push the back section away from the rotary selector since the selector has spring pressure to keep good contact to the stud plate. Add unsupported/unrestrained cables and it could fail.

^ the picture a bluesea (new) opened up many years ago (~2004) before I installed in my oz patrol.

Now, the same style bluesea has been in my 80 at least as long and also never had an issue with winch loads...

Just confirms that running big cables (I use 1/0) means you do have to be careful to support and clamp them down properly. They can easily apply torque/twisting forces coupled with vibration.

cheers,
george.

 

[george_tlc]

Oh, checked mine and they are Made in the US. So, the amazon reviews saying 'cheap china junk' etc.... well, unless the new ones are made in china, then I guess it's cheap US junk...

And yes, I DO like my bluesea switches, fuse distribution boxes etc.

cheers,
george.

 

[80t0ylc]

Oh, checked mine and they are Made in the US. So, the amazon reviews saying 'cheap china junk' etc.... well, unless the new ones are made in china, then I guess it's cheap US junk...

And yes, I DO like my bluesea switches, fuse distribution boxes etc.

cheers,
george.

Yep, I do too. I've got 2 Blue Seas fuse distribution boxes in my '94 TLC, one in engine compartment and one in rear. Also a Blue Seas 80 amp CB that protects my rear fuse panel. They're top quality, but after checking out the two 300 amp rated switches on Amazon, my confidence in the switches is really low. If you look at the pics of the 2 brands I linked in my previous post, the only difference is The Blue Seas switch has "Blue Sea Systems" & "Single Circuit 6006" on the switch dial. And they both have an 'M' logo in the middle, whatever that stands for, I have no idea.

 

[george_tlc]

The worry with Amazon is that there's often 'reviews' for different products 'mixed' into the blend. Amazon really is quite an awful place as a seller and can be quite frustrating as a buyer (their search sucks hugely and they love to push the 'sponsored' stuff since they charge quite a bit per click to the seller for that listing pleasure).

If you look at the specific bad review link you posted (I looked closer), the broken unit has 3 posts and the folk specifically state Battery position 1 etc. The actual product in the listing for sale is a on/off switch, it only has 2 posts. So, the review is for some other product with 3 posts and there's no concrete evidence that is is an actual Blue Sea product - there's tons of clones out there and Amazon is happy to host any of those sellers.

Anyhow, there's a LOT of good reviews for the product. A lot of the poor reviews complain about no mounting hardware (really?) or no instructions (Blue Sea has amazing documentation on their website with mechanical drawings, dimensions, certifications, etc., or issues with how the cabling comes out - one picture shows both heavy gauge wires coming out the same side and then complaining the back cover wont fit - well, it's simple, rotate the cables so they come out at 90Deg or some other orientation, the dimensions are on the Blue Sea website - you can determine if your giant fat cables can come out any way you want or not. Too many 1/2 star reviews that are just from idiots

With 85% as 5 Star ratings and about 2500 reviews, I'd more likely focus on the 5 star and 4 star ratings.

Not trying to be a Blue Sea fanboy - if they made garbage and I saw that, then I'd certainly not be saying their products are decent, just commenting that not all (negative or positive) reviews are so cut & dry as what a reviewer has written...

cheers,
george.

 

[80t0ylc]

I'm not jazzed with Amazon either, I just consider it a possible source. And if used with common sense, it can be useful. I did find, after perusing several pages, in the questions posed on the Blue Seas switch that it is U.S. built, which boosts my confidence somewhat. But still no explanation for the 'M' logo in the middle of the switch, though.

 

[george_tlc]

It's their M series, whatever that means
Cheers,
George.