battery circuit breaker

[FoxRiver]

I've got an R-pod 171 - 2012 does anyone know the amp rating on the battery circuit breaker ?

I also installed a 2nd battery in parallel (both same mfg and model 85ah ) Can I up the amp rating on the circuit breaker? if so what new amp rating can I use ?

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by FoxRiver

I've got an R-pod 171 - 2012 does anyone know the amp rating on the battery circuit breaker ?

I also installed a 2nd battery in parallel (both same mfg and model 85ah ) Can I up the amp rating on the circuit breaker? if so what new amp rating can I use ?

I'm not familiar with what you mean by battery circuit breaker. I'm assuming that it's the breaker closest to the battery, and that all battery loads go through it. Don't increase the breaker size unless you are increasing total battery load by adding more electric stuff that will be on at the same time.

Both batteries (in parallel) should be upstream from any load, distribution, or circuit breakers. They will look the same as one larger battery to the rest of the wiring. So there is no need to change any circuit breakers.

Circuit breakers are sized based on 2 factors - load current and wire size. The wire size has to be big enough to handle the full current of the circuit breaker rating without introducing enough resistance to stop the circuit breaker from proper functioning. In other words, it does no good (and a lot of harm) to put in a 20 amp circuit breaker when the resistance of the wiring limits the current in the circuit to 19.8 amps (that's fire starting current in a resistance wire).

You also do not want to put in a bigger circuit breaker than the maximum expected load of the circuit. If the fan motor draws 6 amps, putting in a 20 amp circuit breaker again does no good, and possibly creates a fire hazard.

Fred W

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by FoxRiver

I've got an R-pod 171 - 2012 does anyone know the amp rating on the battery circuit breaker ?

I also installed a 2nd battery in parallel (both same mfg and model 85ah ) Can I up the amp rating on the circuit breaker? if so what new amp rating can I use ?

Adding to PG&W's comment, installing 2 batteries is done in order to share the demand across two batteries, thereby reducing the load on each and extending the life of the batteries.

The amp demand should never change and stay the same as before the second battery was added. As such, increasing the amperage of the "current limiter" is unsafe and not recommended.

Having said that, if you ARE tripping the current limiter, you have a 12 volt demand that exceeds the ability of your camper to handle. This is a dangerous situation and the cause of the high demand needs investigation.