What DC breaker for an inverter?

[reader2580]

The DC breaker for my inverter physically broke. Is the Buss MRCB a good breaker, or is something else better? The manufacturer specifies a 200 amp DC breaker for what I am doing.

A T class slow blow fuse would also work, but I want to be able to turn off the DC power to the inverter if necessary.

 

[mm08822]

Post the specs from the existing cb so you get proper recommendations for an equivalent.

 

[reader2580]

The current breaker is a 225 amp DC breaker from a UPS that was dismantled. It is external of the inverter itself. The breaker sits between the batteries and the inverter. Inverter is a Xantrex Prosine 3.0 if that matters.

I can basically use any DC breaker that is rated for an inverter.

 

[rlitman]

The current rating is not what we need to know. We need to know the interrupt rating of the breaker.

Do you need something this big?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ABB-SACE-S...it-Breaker-Shunt-Trip-Aux-Switch/253643502997

What sort of terminals? Shunt trip capability? Side contacts?

What's your DC voltage?

 

[reader2580]

The current breaker has 1/4" bolts, but I can change the lugs on the cables. I have no idea what the interrupt rating of the breaker is. The manual for the inverter just says to use a 200 amp breaker. The inverter is 3,000 watts at 24 volts.

It doesn't really matter what the interrupt rating of the current breaker is because I got the the breaker for free and I didn't care about the interrupt rating.

What I really want to know is would the following breaker work for an inverter? https://www.waytekwire.com/item/46875/EATON-s-Bussmann-Series-187200F-03-1-Marine-Rated/ Is there something better?

 

[reader2580]

The current breaker seems to be physically jammed. It just suddenly quit passing power Sunday morning. I cannot move the lever to the off position to reset it.

We checked everything for shorts and didn't find anything. I think the breaker is just bad, but I am going to disconnect everything from it to see if the breaker can be reset after that.

 

[sberry]

I say that would work dandy especially as off on switch, price reasonable.

 

[rlitman]

...It doesn't really matter what the interrupt rating of the current breaker is because I got the the breaker for free and I didn't care about the interrupt rating...

Fair enough. The interrupt rating you need would need to be higher than the short circuit potential for your batteries. Unless you're using a bank of batteries in parallel, I think that that breaker should be just fine.

The current breaker seems to be physically jammed. It just suddenly quit passing power Sunday morning. I cannot move the lever to the off position to reset it.

We checked everything for shorts and didn't find anything. I think the breaker is just bad, but I am going to disconnect everything from it to see if the breaker can be reset after that.

If you can't turn it off, then yeah, it's probably broken inside. Having wires connected could cause it to trip instantly when turning it on, but should never stop you from turning it off.

 

[Movover]

Similar to this? Its what I had on my Xantrex 1500

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bussman-18...hash=item2822d1f17d:m:mvz14jQdFOqHi3LS3-e60yg

 

[reader2580]

Similar to this? Its what I had on my Xantrex 1500

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bussman-18...hash=item2822d1f17d:m:mvz14jQdFOqHi3LS3-e60yg

This is exactly the one I am looking at, except the Buss version instead of Blue Seas. Notice in the picture that the Blue Seas item is actually a Buss MRCB.

I just wanted to be sure this breaker would not trip too fast or something. Fuses are supposed to be slow acting when used with an inverter.