Breaker Test - Is a cheap Chinese low voltage disconnect/breaker any good ?
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- Опубліковано 21 чер 2020
- I bought a cheap low voltage breaker - disconnect from eBay. It was rated for 200Amps. Will it carry 200A ? - find out by watching this.
If you want to buy one - here is a link to the suppliers eBay page.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1641178944...
findyourself666
Business seller information
深圳市欧菲德贸易有限公司
潘 丽媚
深圳市龙岗区坂田街道永香路6巷8号1201
518100 深圳市, 广东省
中國 - Наука та технологія
The breaker you installed 2nd is made by Blue Sea Systems. They are highly rated and reliable. IF you are someone on a tight budget and shopping on Amazon , the Chinese breakers with YELLOW buttons/switch are generally the Type3 and quite accurate and reliable. It is the cheapo Red units that cannot trusted for accuracy. But I assure you the cheapos are always rated 50% higher than their actual trip rating. So not dangerous really , but the Unknown is not something to roll the dice on either.
$15 vs $50 is the price difference.
How valuable is the equipment you wish to protect ?
Personally I prefer MEGA Fuse over breakers and on a Lithium Battery install w/ a large ( 3000w ) inverter. A Class T Fuse is the way to go , Always.
Thanks.
Better to trip at 100A than not to trip at 3000A
Why would I install a breaker that cuts off lower than the current draw I need ? I think you may be confusing current with power. 3000A is 41.5kW and its only a 3kW inverter and my load requirement is 1.5kW peak.
It needs to trip at exactly 201A
@@janco333 that isn't the way breakers work - they are designed to protect the wiring. They normally have a magnetic trip which typically operates immediately at 5 to 10 times overload and a thermal trip which should operate within an hour at about a 50% overload. Look up "curve C circuit breakers" if you want to know more about them.
@@janco333that is not how breakers work…
Has that cable on the left terminal on the batteryprotect discoloured?
One of these Chinese breakers came with my boat's electric anchor winch. Its mounted near the up and down toggle. I have never had it disconnect due to load but appreciate its intermittent duty. Its right there at the helm to be reset if needed. I see them advertised as for use in powerful audio automotive stereo systems. The fact that the threaded posts are tiny and there is no room for a decent sized lug shows that they are a poor design. I use simple 300 Amp ANL fuses on each of my battery terminals on the 200AH lifep04 cells as a precaution against dead shorts in addition to the internal BMS .
Good demo. I have purchase a few of these cheap china breakers myself but, tbh I have not put them in place yet. Was skeptical to begin with now thinking just use them more for battery disconnects vs breakers in low amp needs circuits.
You made my day to decide that to buy
Thank you I have the same problem with one of these, going to get a better replacement
Very helpful !
Interesting video, like yourself I've got a cheap 200amp £12 circuit breaker on a 1500watt inverter. I've pushed it upto 1300 Watts with no problems. My only concern would be that it wouldn't trip if shorted / overloaded.
It may be you where just unluck and had a faulty one. Most of them are made in the same factory. Sadly their are no guarantees that more expensive always means better. Though if I had the money I would spend more.
Good useful information 👍
going to purchase one right now 👍🏾
Thank you very much sir
I was refunded via eBay. This seller recognised it was not working (it was fake in fact) however would not replace for a working part - they wanted to refund me (they knew they could not provide a working breaker at that price point). The offer for a refund all rested on me removing my feedback. Its my duty as a human to warn other humans that this company is not honest, will not do the right thing, and will try to use the possibility of a refund to 'blackmail' you in to removing any negative feedback you leave them. Not to fret though - eBay is your knight in shining armour and will step in and rescue you :)
@Berrnie Mccannaster No I have not.
@Berrnie Mccannaster I threw it in the bin, this video was more about what not to buy, rather than finding out what's wrong with it.
I have the same first one shown, black with red switch circuit breaker, @ 100amp, between battery and inverter. Runs my kettle fine without tripping. However I bought it for AU$50 from Jaycar a local eltrical store, which is circa 25 quid. Works fine. No problems. Going well 3yrs now. Beware it is a circuit breaker for over amps to avoid frying your wire and thus fire safety... Not a 'Low Voltage Disconnect' which is different and used to protect over discharging the batteries.
@@Raj-yy7xx Dude ive just brought a renogy 3000watt invertor for my Dc solar setup, would I need a 300Amp breaker ?!? Seems like a bloody nightmare finding something trustworthy going through youtube..
was the charge controller positive lead connected to the "load" terminal on your new Bussman circuit breaker? if so, where did you find to instructions to do this? the contacts on my Bussman circuit breaker (150 amp) welded together (which was determined through disassembly). i connected the "load" terminal to the inverter and am not sure this was correct. I'm troubleshooting my failed system and am being told that these Bussman breakers are not the type of breaker to use on solar. Thanks for your videos!
right is battery IN with breaker and on the left is OUT to the inverter ?
You should have tested the new breaker up to 200 amps. Just putting 100 amps through it doesn't show whether it works fully or not. i.e. what if it blows at 150 or 160, then its not good for a start up power draw if it trips.
I have 2000w inverter what is better way install fuse or bushman expensive circuit breaker ? ,, and what( amp) size of circuit breaker for 2000w inverter ?
Have you a link to your ammeter? I want to test these cheers
These small breakers have another big issue in that their maximum interruption current isn't stated and they will probably weld their contacts in the event of a short circuit. This is a serious issue with LiFePO4 cells which can deliver approaching 10KA before something breaks.
I use large DC rated MCCBs on 48V battery systems with a selected maximum current rating below that of the cables. The maximum repeated breaking current of these units is around 35KA (Ics) and ultimate breaking current is about 50KA (Icu). These figures are at their maximum operating voltage and will be even higher at 48V :)
Always check your supplier is sending you good product - I've seen some very poor MCCBs which cannot handle their rated load.
I would have liked to see what the 'better' breaker would do if you had connected a second load, such as a space heater. Tripping early (like the cheap breaker did) is an inconvenience but tripping late (or not at all) can be disastrous.
seen victron fuses trip very late at 2x the rated amps
I recently had two breakers that looked on the outside case to be the same manufactured parts not work for me. There is a different style of breaker sold that says waterproof and ignition protected that so far has worked for me. I have like a dozen of those and they all work. The pretty plain no writing other than the rating number ones like in this video don't seem to work.
I'd have to ask if the math was done on this test, breaker should be amps from inverter+amps from charger=amps for circuit breaker. Is there any charging amps you forgot to account for?
The problem with these things is that there's no definition of what the rating means. Is it the continuous current (3 hour rating), or is it something to do with the over current trip. I'm having similar issues with my breakers - the thermal part of the breaker kicks in after about 5 minutes, with a current at about 80% of the indicated rating, so in my case, I think the rating is to do with over current trip (not continuous running)
hows that inverter going? i just bought one and im testing it at the moment. it seems really good so far!
The irony is that when you open all those components that you have, they will have "Made in China" in them.
The breaker is made in USA, but yeah all the other equipment from the solar panels to the inverter and everything in between is made in China for sure. China is good at electronics, and crap at breakers.
@@3dmotormaker I did test all breakers and fuses I accumulated over the years, Chinese ones trip earlier than it’s designated trip amp but interestingly Expensive ones like Victron doesn’t trip at all, I can send you similar link if you’re interested.
@@3dmotormaker is it the Chinese fault they only making it to sell to greedy business who are to lazy to ask for quatily.
BUSS and BlueSea are not made in China. Unless they say it is...As the Marine Grade Rating goes out the Window...
@@WizzRacing Bluesea I agree is made in Australia which are built to last.
Could the different voltage readings be because that's what it is at that point in the circuit? That would make sense that your panels are providing a voltage of 13.1V, by the time it reaches the meter, cable resistance has reduced it to 12.6V into the batteries, out of the shunt of the battery it drops to 11.8V and by the time it's reached the inverter it's down to 11.3V. Does that seem feasible?
You see a voltage drop when the current begins to draw because of battery makeup. You see it on lifepo4, lead acid, etc that the battery voltage falls as the current pulls but settles back up once the current stops.
Thanks for the video. Obviously better quality but does it break at 200A? The Chinese one is more like a 100A breaker - may be if their datasheet was more detailed it may indicate this fact - may be the Chinese one is only designed for 200A 2second cranking currents? The Buss one may take 600A cranking currents. Definately a quality item and your connections are good if it does not get warm at 100A.
Yep I can concur with this. These cheap and nasty things are useless. In my case I've just returned from a callout to a caravan which I fitted out with off grid equipment in October and the circuit breaker has totally failed, doesn't even close the circuit - so that's going in the bin and it's going to cost me to fit a new one for the client! Oh well, lesson learned. Thanks for the video :-)
They're not even cheap!
indeed
As long as it is technically tested, certified and approved for use. Cheap is not one of the criteria. I find that it fits the purpose too. So why not.
Wait a second… at 6:30 you said the battery was low because you’ve been mowing at 1400W. And you only recently dropped in the more expensive breaker.
Did the cheap breaker hold up well enough for you to do the mowing at higher draw than the kettle?
I have the same cheap breaker in a few systems… and I’m not a fan of them either.
Skip these 12V systems and go 48V so you don't need only 1/4 of amperes to handle.
As you said, at least it did trip instead of catching on fire😂. Hense very impressing £ to A
True, but to be honest by the time I had bought 5 of the cheap Chinese nock offs starting at 100A going all the way to over 200A, I was at the end of my wits, I did flinch at the price and the shipping - but that is all a distant memory now. Not had a problem since. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against China - most of my electronics are made there - it's just that when it comes to breakers they don't seem to be able to tell the truth.
Maybe it will work better if you don't use a made in china kettle?
lol probably
Sometimes the lower price is OK, and sometimes it isn't.
Getting what one pays for, wonderful concept.
Sorry it was so much to ship from America. That shouldn't have cost more than 60 GBP.
I subscribed Ur channel 👍💐
LOL so much excitement for a FUSE , loved the video.
It's not a fuse. It's a Circuit Breaker..
DaierTek 50A (12V) . If you connect it to 24 volts - it will be stable up to 35A. (test in another video) . If you connect it to 48V, I think it will be up to 17,5A ))). 50A * 0.7 * 0.7 * 0.7 = 17,5A. (12V.. 24V ..36V .. 48V). The point - DaierTek think in classification at 12 volts. Anything above that is the heating modes of the automaton at steady load + ambient temperature. == So from tests and my guesses, your DaierTek 200A ( video - 1:49 ) will be stable at 48V up to 68.6A (and anything above that is time to shutdown).
- 20:21 == I liked your second option - BUSS (MRCB) at 200A at 48V DC (rated).
other video 12V 100A = 70A... ((( China
The breaker is for 48v, your system is 12v?
maximum
Better triggering at 100A than not triggering at 400A. But I wouldn’t give safety stuff into Chinese hands
Bought some name brand versions of the same thing, and 2 melted after it kept tripping.
yeah, I guess you need to be careful of badge engineering. Since replacing the breaker with a none nock off I have had zero issues. I thought it expensive at first, but now I see the true value of getting the right equipment for the job.
I just choose normal fuses because they are pretty cheap and rated correctly. and if you electric system is made an wired well I dont think you blow fuses.
These are actually DC disconnects with over current protection. These are much better in my opinion.
Is your kettle voltage meter made in china ?
It's all made in china. Even the device you are using right now.
I need you to do another test between circuit breaker in and out ,, is there any drop of Amp ??
No, the breaker is good, and because my cable runs are short I have got away with slightly undersized DC cables. If there were to be a voltage drop it would be a result of the DC cables. These cables are OFC (Oxygen Free Copper) and not CCA ( Copper Clad Aluminium) which is the poor mans version. They have a higher resistance and so you would need thicker cables.
@@3dmotormaker what size cable are you using battery to inverter??
Cheers
Thats why my tarp stopped working 😂😂😂 .. n i was like wtf why...now i know
btw, victron fuse 100 a dont go off at 200 amp, victron labeled stuff don't make it good ...
Circuit breakers are extremely expensive considering what they are made of. We really shouldn't have to pay more than $20 for a good quality unit. Consumers are being ripped off left, right and centre
sory to say it no need to test cheap chinese low voltage they all have a voltage
and amp load only test that i think you can jump from 1 meter high
are you also going to look if you can do that from 10 meter?
What are you using that batteryprotect for?
For low voltage disconnect to inverter but he does not know that the BP will fry itself upon reconnect because of the inverter spark. Victron BP is junk!!!
@@StarJackerSRL thats what I expected, thank you.
...and do that break at 200A?
Yes although there is not a load big enough in the shed to trip it. It is mainly used as a DC isolator and to protect the wiring in case of an internal inverter failure shorting out the DC cables. In normal operation that breaker should never trip, only in the most dire of fault conditions.
I believe if you calculate the wattage demand of the kettle 1130 W with the 11.3 A the fuse amp rating will be 100A. (to trip)The experts recommend 1.5 x the max fuse rating. So this means a 150A fuse would be recommended. That's probably why the 100 A fuse tripped. But hey, what do I know.
Nice try, but Its 200A breaker, so its well above your 150 needs
As in my inverter 150A is correct but how did you reach the 100A number
I worked for a US gas plant and they use a lot of Chinese parts. From speaking to our QI guy who is from China. You ask for cheap you get cheap you ask for quality you get quality but pay more.
So is it the Chinese fault or our greedy business asking for cheap and selling to you??
Just a quick tip, when using these breakers, you need to use chinese water for it to work correctly. LOL
😂😂😂😁😁😁
Well it was certainly Chinese water torture...
Its a 70 amp breaker.
Made in the U.K❤
as it should?
To be honest, I did not really mind who made it or where it came from. It's just that it was recommended to me, and I was getting desperate for something that would actually work as advertised without it burning the bank.
Most people try the cheap stuff. As they don't like the $100.00 Price for the real deal....
If you do it again, just keep the camera still on the amp meter and stop waving it in all directions unfocused.
Give me the cheap 12 pound breaker at100a.... rather than $100 pound 200a breaker lol. I mean I would rarely use more than 100a anyway.
The problem with the chinese one is that it may not break all the way and may be partially connected still. This is a risk of causing fire.
One says 12V other says 48V breaker?
Yes the 48v breaker is an up to - not a required or working voltage.
Voltage rating is for its insulation value. Amps are amps reguardless of voltage.
@@69nites Absolutely..
the main function of a breaker is to brake. Not to son and not to late. You prove the first one was bad .. but you did not prove the second one is good. I would ratter have a brakes that breaks early that not at ALL . better to lose power then to start a FIRE !!!
What the English won't do for tea.
that new one is also a cheap chinese one that you gladly overpaid for, but of a better chinese sort!
No it is not - it is made in the USA......
I had 2 out of 2 fail so never again, big waste of money & time
And another thing is, when ordinary Joe public start talking about saving planet and going solar, that they don't even know that you can manage just about one cattle to work in the household before you max out.
Amount of ignorance is eppic
To be fair, this is only a shed project and was designed and put together by me. Now my house has 6kWp and 17.5kWh of LifPo4 batteries and it can more than boil a kettle. Naturally it was very expensive and I will more than likely never get my money back - but with the built in EPS (emergency power supply) when the grid goes down - I still have usable power. I find that solar works - but only in summer depending on your loads.
these are still dodgy as F. just put a fuse in and buy a half dozen spares ! Miles cheaper and safer
Dont use china product,go to ABB or etc in western all right because not save for your system..
That is the crapiest looking breaker I have ever seen
Pretty sure your voltage is dropping below the disconnect voltage. The problem is your batteries can not handle the load without temporarily dropping below the cutoff voltage. The switch is working as intended. Before you start putting clickbait racist innuendos in your video title, maybe you should dot all your i's and cross all you t's or else risk making yourself look like an idiot. Unless of course the intention of this video is amass clicks with racist innuendo clickbait titles, in which case it's working as intended and I'm the one who is an idiot for wasting my time on it. Thanks.
What did he do that was racist?