question

gavcol avatar image
gavcol asked

Smart Battery Protect Amp Rating

Hi,
What happens when the 12/24v-100a battery protect load is over 100a ?
(just out of curiosity, say between 110-130 amps ?)

I'm trying to decide between the 100/220 amp smart battery protect for a new car (2023 Isuzu Mux)
I want to run two andersons, one in the boot for multiple options (incl a portable battery box) and an anderson near tow hitch for camper trailer (30a DCDC in the camper).

I will have fuses for both Andersons but because there'll be two Andersons in use at the same time, I want to ensure the battery protect can handle the potential load of 50a per Anderson.

I'm assuming it's safer to go with the 220a battery protect or will the 100a disconnect the load in the same way as the low voltage disconnect ?

Cheers

Gav

Battery Protectamps
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2 Answers
mvas avatar image
mvas answered ·

Design your system with a 20% Safety Margin.
So, if you have a device rated at 100 Amps, then do not ever exceed 80 amps..

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gavcol avatar image gavcol commented ·

Thanks @mvas

Yes, I was assuming it's safer to go with the 220a battery protect but just wondered what the 100a version would do if the 100a was exceeded. Would it disconnect or just overheat and fail ?

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gavcol avatar image gavcol gavcol commented ·
Anyone know the answer to this ?
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wkirby avatar image wkirby ♦♦ gavcol commented ·

You might get error E1 for short circuit protection or overload.
There is no sense in designing a system to use a 100A component if you suspect that the current may be more than this.
Always design to the highest foreseeable current. If you think that your system might see 130A then design for that and use a 220A version to avoid disappointment.

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gavcol avatar image gavcol wkirby ♦♦ commented ·

I'm not designing for 130a. That was just an example scenario as a precursor to asking the question of how the battery protect reacts to overcurrent.

Even though there'll be two andersons I expect no more than 90a BUT, as with any system, you design for the possibility of failure. That's why there are fuses to protect if something goes wrong.

I know how a fuse works and can rely on them (hence using two as mentioned in the OP) but I don't know how the battery protect works in an overload scenario and cannot get a definitive answer of what happens if there's an overload over the 100a rating of the battery protect.

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kevin-c avatar image
kevin-c answered ·

Back to the original question- what happens when the current is exceeded? Does it generate an error? Does it cut off output? Does it clip the current????

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Justin Cook avatar image Justin Cook ♦♦ commented ·
As mentioned in the original thread, the unit will likely shut down on an overload error in the best case, and may suffer damage in the worst case. Bottom line, do not over-current the device.
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Related Resources

Victron BatteryProtect product page

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