Fuse or a Breaker

[Ronald Goodall]

Hi guys from Australia. Im building the M26 Pershing and I would like fit a Breaker or a Fuse between the battery's and the power module, can anyone advise me on what I need ie: what size breaker or fuse. I have 2 x 12 volt x 22 amp batteries. Any advice would be very much appreciated Cheers Ron

[Jerry Carducci]

When I built my Lee I made a 'control box' between the battery , a 20Ah LiFePo4 pack in my case and the Armortek electronics.

The box has:

• cut off switch

• 30amp circuit breaker

• drive motors cutoff switch- to enable testing of other functions with out the drive

• relocated Armortek main switch

I used silicone insulated 10 gauge wire for internal wiring and silicone rtv for overall insulation.

Other builders with say a circuit breaker with a greater capacity is required for heavier models and I can't argue that.
For my King Tiger presently in the work I plan a similar control and I'll likely use a greater capacity circuit breaker.

I've found the ability to disable the main drive motors handy when testing the rc system functionaility so I don't have to worry
about bumping the throttle. Yes I'm clumsy at times.

[Adrian Harris]

I've fitted a blade fuse as the link between the two batteries. Small/medium models have a Midi sized fuse and larger ones have a Maxi sized ones. The plan is to start at around 20A for the smaller models and 30A for the larger ones. If they blow during normal use then I can just up them and try again.

Telemetry from recent shows means I know my King Tiger uses about 8-10A driving and around 30A turning and my old M4A3 Sherman uses around the same for driving and around 20A for turning. It uses bushes in the road wheels rather than bearings, so that probably explains the extra load. I will be removing the bushes over the Winter and fitting roller bearings instead, which will reduce the rolling resistance considerably.

Adrian.

[Robert E Morey]

Cool box Jerry - Great idea. Would prevent runaway tanks when power applied! Could save some "hurt" later on.

Adrian I used oil bronze in my bushings, better than brass but still not as good as a ball/roller bearing. Would that be a needle type bearing for the ol Sherm? That would be a good upgrade.

[Ray Massa]

Jerry,

Really like your control box. Very nicely done. I wanted to do something like that in the M26, but just could not find any room to consolidate everything in one place that was easy to access through a hatch. I understand that the German tanks have a lot more room in them.

-Ray

[Ronald Goodall]

Thanks for the help and advise guys, much appreciated.