Overflowing kayatank - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

madscientist · 04-23-2008, 09:57 AM

Hey CJ, what's the fuse actually for? I got sick of corroded fuses and breakers over a year ago and have been running all my stuff without them with no problems. Before I canned the whole thing, I was using 2.5amp circuit breakers instead of fuses and they worked fine until they corroded. Am I at risk of melting a hole in the yak if I get a short somewhere?

Siebler · 04-23-2008, 11:22 AM

As far as I know (I just sell the things

) The fuse is there just to keep the sensitive internal parts from blowing, Same deal as not hooking it up reversed polarity.

To keep the warranty on your tiemr you must use this fuse. However from personal experience I know that these timers can handle more than 5 amps for some time without blowing. I have run one of my hunting decoys on a switch with no fuse all season long. The motor on this thing is a 28lb trolling motor unit. Draws a lot more than 5 amps and It still works.

nmbrinkman · 04-23-2008, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madscientist

Hey CJ, what's the fuse actually for? I got sick of corroded fuses and breakers over a year ago and have been running all my stuff without them with no problems. Before I canned the whole thing, I was using 2.5amp circuit breakers instead of fuses and they worked fine until they corroded. Am I at risk of melting a hole in the yak if I get a short somewhere?

A while back I ruined a timer switch and Mo fixed it for me. He wired in a "prototype" that doesn't get ruined when you "reverse the polarity". Not sure if it made it past the prototype stage or what but I assume it was a good idea. Haven't tested it yet though.

I got tired as well of corrosing in the inline fuse. I went to west marine and wired in a chip style fuse holder. It seems to be a heckuva lot more waterproof than the first one. I also had issues with the cable going to the battery. That wasn't such an easy find for me. I ended up rewiring the whole system from scratch. I also noticed a lot of corrosion in the spade style connectors... even with the plastic shields around them they still corroded. I went with open ended butt connectors with the heatshrink already on it. Then I covered the whole thing in liquid electrical tape. Sure, I can't disconnect the harness to trouble shoot but now, hopefully I won't ever have to. Or I'll just buy a multimeter.

This , by the way, isn't a knock on the Kayatank design. I am hard on my gear and my kayak has leaks topside. Saltwater gets in and inevitably things are going to fail.

buki · 04-23-2008, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madscientist

Hey CJ, what's the fuse actually for? I got sick of corroded fuses and breakers over a year ago and have been running all my stuff without them with no problems. Before I canned the whole thing, I was using 2.5amp circuit breakers instead of fuses and they worked fine until they corroded. Am I at risk of melting a hole in the yak if I get a short somewhere?

I accidentally shorted some components on a circuit board and it caught on fire. The fire wasn't as big as the one in your avatar, but I'm sure my expression was the same. You should use a fuse. Things will get hot if there is a short.

Siebler · 04-23-2008, 08:46 PM

I am pretty sure that due to the potting you would not have a fire if the timer shorted. Im not saying that it will not happen, But I know for a fact that the potting is hard to catch on fire (ive poured molten lead on scrap before and it did little more than smoke and melt slightly.

And Brad, Why are you worried about fire? Cant be any worse than the BBQ right?

Iceman · 04-24-2008, 07:34 AM

As far as why put in a fuse, I don't use a fuse on a $20 pump, but add a $49 timer and I would ,as well as any F/F.

madscientist · 04-24-2008, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iceman

As far as why put in a fuse, I don't use a fuse on a $20 pump, but add a $49 timer and I would ,as well as any F/F.

Andy, I wonder if our batteries can really put out enough juice to fry the circuits of a functioning device. I can see it on a boat but with a simple battery circuit and no potential capacitance elements, I'm not sure where the surge would come from, unless the device itself had already taken a crap. I guess that's my question, is the fuse there to protect the device in case the circuit fails, or is it there to protect the boat in case the device or circuit fails?

scwafish · 04-25-2008, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Andy, I wonder if our batteries can really put out enough juice to fry the circuits of a functioning device

YES. The AGM batteries we use are 12v...the same as a car battery, just less storage. They pack more than enough mojo to ruin your day.

Quote:

I guess that's my question, is the fuse there to protect the device in case the circuit fails, or is it there to protect the boat in case the device or circuit fails?

Both.

JrBasser · 04-25-2008, 01:25 PM

From What I know, the fuse is only a real neccessity if you are running more than one device off a single battery. And mailnly on a boat. for instance, if you turn on your boat and your fish finder and bilge pump turn on simultaniously, all the power drawn can be sent to one unit blowing it. As far as the timer switches catching fire, I have had 1 in my year of working for AYS smoke, and that was it. The circuit boards are very sensitive and the pathway burns very easy. Meaning that if something shorts, the pathway for the electrical current will blow almost immediately losing its ability to conduct the electricity, so no fires can generate.

04-23-2008, 09:57 AM	#1
madscientist Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,906	Hey CJ, what's the fuse actually for? I got sick of corroded fuses and breakers over a year ago and have been running all my stuff without them with no problems. Before I canned the whole thing, I was using 2.5amp circuit breakers instead of fuses and they worked fine until they corroded. Am I at risk of melting a hole in the yak if I get a short somewhere? __________________

04-23-2008, 11:22 AM	#2
Siebler Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Richland Oregon Posts: 1,547	As far as I know (I just sell the things ) The fuse is there just to keep the sensitive internal parts from blowing, Same deal as not hooking it up reversed polarity. To keep the warranty on your tiemr you must use this fuse. However from personal experience I know that these timers can handle more than 5 amps for some time without blowing. I have run one of my hunting decoys on a switch with no fuse all season long. The motor on this thing is a 28lb trolling motor unit. Draws a lot more than 5 amps and It still works. __________________ CJ Siebler

04-23-2008, 08:46 PM	#5
Siebler Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Richland Oregon Posts: 1,547	I am pretty sure that due to the potting you would not have a fire if the timer shorted. Im not saying that it will not happen, But I know for a fact that the potting is hard to catch on fire (ive poured molten lead on scrap before and it did little more than smoke and melt slightly. And Brad, Why are you worried about fire? Cant be any worse than the BBQ right? __________________ CJ Siebler

04-24-2008, 07:34 AM	#6
Iceman Administrator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: 1-2 miles off the point Posts: 6,948	As far as why put in a fuse, I don't use a fuse on a $20 pump, but add a $49 timer and I would ,as well as any F/F. __________________

04-25-2008, 01:25 PM	#9
JrBasser Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 260	From What I know, the fuse is only a real neccessity if you are running more than one device off a single battery. And mailnly on a boat. for instance, if you turn on your boat and your fish finder and bilge pump turn on simultaniously, all the power drawn can be sent to one unit blowing it. As far as the timer switches catching fire, I have had 1 in my year of working for AYS smoke, and that was it. The circuit boards are very sensitive and the pathway burns very easy. Meaning that if something shorts, the pathway for the electrical current will blow almost immediately losing its ability to conduct the electricity, so no fires can generate.