Winch electrical spec question
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FTE Legend
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 80,542
Likes: 97
From: Norlina NC
Winch electrical spec question
Not sure if this would be better in the electrical or offroad 4x4 section... but considering alot of you offroaders use winches on your rigs maybe you can help me understand something... I got a winch for my truck and when im reading the manual for it (shocking i know... someone read the instructions.. shame on me..) it said the winch has a 300amp draw under the 12v dc section... but the circuit breaker module that came with the winch has only 3 50A breakers setup in parallel... with the calculation i learned in skool.. this puts the breaker unit rated at only 150A...
if the manual calls for 300 amps to function shouldnt i need 300amp breaker?? or am i completely missing something here...
if the manual calls for 300 amps to function shouldnt i need 300amp breaker?? or am i completely missing something here...
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 5,006
Likes: 72
From: Roseville, MN
Yeah, that seems wrong to me. There are slow-blow breakers that will allow more amperage for a short period of time (like getting a table saw up to speed) but will blow if they are over the trip point for too long. But I don't think that would work for a winch (they don't need a lot of current to start, but the current draw goes up as the load and heat increase).
It seems to me you will be blowing breakers long before the winch motor gets to its rated draw.
It seems to me you will be blowing breakers long before the winch motor gets to its rated draw.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 20,796
Likes: 231
From: Newton America :-P
If you ask me I say bring marshmallows there's gunna be a fire-- That setup seems to be for a smaller ATV sized winch? Larger vehicle sized winches have 4 -5 or even 6 breakers I did find this on a winch website - 120amp for a 0lb pull--- 440 amp for a 10,000 lb pull.
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 5,006
Likes: 72
From: Roseville, MN
Old thread here, but using too small of a breaker isn't going to result in a fire, just in tripping the breaker LONG before the wiring gets hot enough to burn. Fires are a risk when the wiring is too small for the breaker, not the other way around.
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