[Rhodes22-list] Appropriate fuse for power lift winch (and Hello!)

[Rosie Krueger]

Thanks, Roger!  Yes, exactly.  It feels a bit silly to use the lift for
such a small outboard, but since it’s there already it seems easier to add
a fuse than switch out the lift for a manual one.  The 12v outlet is
already there and has no labeling whatsoever.  I was thinking about adding
a smaller fuse just after the terminal to protect that one, but maybe I
should just remove it completely.  Trying to avoid doing too much actual
rewiring until we have a chance to sail the boat and see how we use it!

Another question - the terminal in the lazerette is just a couple of bolts
mounted to a plastic block, and doesn’t have any sort of cover.  That seems
like it might have been built that way - if anyone has added a cover, I’d
be interested to hear what worked.  I was thinking about getting some
rubber battery terminal covers and trying to rig them up.  The second
anchor lives down there and I can imagine it sliding over and making some
exciting contact when heeling….but if everyone else’s are that way and have
had no problems then I might leave it.

Best,
Rosie

On Sat, May 25, 2024 at 9:20 AM ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com> wrote:

> Hi Rosie,
>
> Assuming the wire runs, counting both + & - legs, are less than 5 meters
> and the wire runs are not at elevated temperature or thermally insulated,
> 10 AWG wire is rated for up to 30 amps in continuous service.  Your winch
> is capable of drawing much more than that if heavily loaded.  You are
> proposing to use the winch to lift an electric outboard?  Under normal
> service, the current draw should not blow the 30 amp fuse.  But, if
> something were to jam or seize up ... well that's what fuses are for.
> Remember to use 10 AWG wire and a HD 12 VDC receptacle for your cockpit
> power port.  It would actually be better practice to put the power port on
> a smaller, more appropriately sized circuit.
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> 1978  Sanford, MI
> ________________________________
> From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> on behalf of
> Rosie Krueger <rosie.krueger at gmail.com>
> Sent: Saturday, May 25, 2024 8:49 AM
> To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Appropriate fuse for power lift winch (and Hello!)
>
> Hello all,
>
> New owners of a 2007 Rhodes 22 (formerly "Last Mango" - about to be
> renamed) in Vermont.  Thanks to the wonders of the archives and search
> function, I haven't posted yet because all of my questions had already been
> asked and answered sometime in the last 22 years - an amazing resource!
>
> Here's one I couldn't find though:
>
> The TLDR of my long explanation below is that I'm wondering if anyone has
> any input on the appropriate size fuse to use for the wiring leading to
> the power lift winch.  Will 30 Amps be too small?
>
> I am doing some preliminary wiring fixes before we launch.  A prior owner
> made some sloppy electrical additions, including a bunch of wire nut
> connections and other funky things that I want to clean up.  Thanks to a
> recommendation here, I got a copy of "Sailboat Electrics Simplified" and
> have been working my way through understanding everything.  One major issue
> seems to be that only a few of the (many!) wires leading out of the
> positive battery terminals have fuses.  I'm planning to remedy this by
> adding some terminal mount fuse blocks, with a separate fuse for each
> outgoing wire.
>
> One of the wires that is not fuse protected is the one that leads from the
> starter battery to the terminal connection in the lazarette.
> Previously, this terminal connection also powered the electric start
> outboard, but we've removed the gas outboard and switched to a battery
> powered epropulsion spirit - so we no longer need this terminal to do
> anything except power the winch for the lift, and power a separate line to
> an existing 12 v outlet in the cockpit.  I doubt we'll use the 12v outlet
> at the same time as the power lift, but it's possible we could forget
> something is plugged in.
>
> The wire leading from the "starter" battery to this terminal appears to be
> 10 AWG, although it's not actually labeled and is a little larger in
> diameter than the labeled 10 AWG wire that runs from the terminal to the
> winch. The winch is a Bad Land 2500 ATV winch and doesn't appear to have
> any legible labeling about its power draw or fuse size.  The manual for a
> similar winch has a chart showing a huge range in Amp draw from 10 - 132,
> with 10 Amps when pulling 0 kg at 4.1 mph and 55 amps when pulling 1000kg
> at 2.5 mph.  Based on that and the rule about sizing the fuse to save the
> wire, I'm thinking about trying a 30 amp fuse.  The type of battery mount
> terminal blocks available for 30 amps and below and 30 amps and above are
> different, so it wouldn't be a matter of just changing out the fuse if I
> initially go too small  (For those interested, I'm planning to use the Blue
> Sea ST-Blade Battery Terminal Mount Fuse Block - 5023 for everything else.
> For this use, would be choosing between that and Blue Sea Systems Single
> MRBF Terminal Fuse Block - 5191).  The larger MRBF fuses also seem like a
> specialty marine item that has to be special ordered - much less convenient
> for potential future replacement than the blade fuses available at my
> hardware store.
>
> So, any thoughts or input on this?  Do others have fuses on this wire? If
> so, what size?  If not, am I being overly cautious in installing a fuse
> here?
>
> Thanks, all!
> Rosie
>