Fuse Block Upgrade

[DrJimmy]

Greetings all;

I am considering upgrading the fuse panel of my 78 Sovereign 31 Ft from the glass tube type fuses to the spade type automotive fuses. Of course the whole block would need to be replaced.

Has anyone done this before? What products do you recommend? What pitfalls did you run into? What changes did you make?

If figure it is better to learn from those who have walked this path before!

Thanks for the input.

Jim G

[AtomicNo13]

Personally, I like the cartridge types as you can tell at a glance if the fuse is blown. My second choice would be non resetting thermal breakers.

[Paprika]

I don't like fuses, so I went with Blue Sea marine breaker panels.



It's easy to see when a breaker has tripped (each one has a pilot light), I don't have to worry about spare fuses, and a flip of the fingers turns off a circuit for troubleshooting or upgrade work.

Also, all connections to these panels are made with ring terminals (secured with lockwashers), rather than the setscrew terminals found in most RV electrical gear. Ring terminals are much less likely to loosen up during travel. A loose setscrew terminal can cause a literal meltdown or even a fire--I've seen it happen.

As you can see, I also replaced all the AC breakers, and replaced the converter's failure-prone automatic transfer switch (ATS) with a dual-breaker lockout pair. Yes, it's manual... but it's much less likely to fail than an ATS relay. Again, I've seen those go bad more than once.

These are not the cheapest ways to do things, but they are arguably the most reliable.

[Sneakinup]

I used standard automotive fuse blocks for the interior 12v circuits, and also bought high end car audio ANL fuse blocks as well. It was pretty simple to rewire. 5 years of use, and everything still works perfectly.

[DrJimmy]

Originally Posted by Paprika

I don't like fuses, so I went with Blue Sea marine breaker panels.



It's easy to see when a breaker has tripped (each one has a pilot light), I don't have to worry about spare fuses, and a flip of the fingers turns off a circuit for troubleshooting or upgrade work.

Also, all connections to these panels are made with ring terminals (secured with lockwashers), rather than the setscrew terminals found in most RV electrical gear. Ring terminals are much less likely to loosen up during travel. A loose setscrew terminal can cause a literal meltdown or even a fire--I've seen it happen.

As you can see, I also replaced all the AC breakers, and replaced the converter's failure-prone automatic transfer switch (ATS) with a dual-breaker lockout pair. Yes, it's manual... but it's much less likely to fail than an ATS relay. Again, I've seen those go bad more than once.

These are not the cheapest ways to do things, but they are arguably the most reliable.

From DrJ--I like that set up! Neat and tiddy."

[pdavitt]

I'm with Paprika on this one. Marine panels aren't cheap, but IMO are the best way to go. Below are my Blue Seas AC and DC panels.


Pat

[DrJimmy]

I found some single breakers (stand alone units) on Amazon from MonkeyJack and from Kumeed. They are inline units, and I figure those would work great for the running light circuits. The ad says they are used for car stereos, but I figure a 15 amp breaker is a 15 amp breaker, as long as it is for 12 VDC.

I am planning to make a panel with all the needed breakers (15 amp, 20 amp, and 50 amp) and mount it in the Dinette base next to the door. This will make it much more accessible.