The Ford Barn

nkaminar · 01-15-2025, 06:17 AM

BadPuppy, You are right that with the same resistance the power would be 1/4 with the 6 volt system as opposed to the 12 volt system. But the current with a dead short is going to be so great that the circuit breaker (or fuse) will trip in so short of a time that it does not matter where it is 6 or 12 volts. I did some very crude calculations in my head last night with lots of assumptions and the time for the circuit breaker to pop is about one millisecond. The wire in a 16 gauge electrical cable may heat up 1 degree F in that time, probably less.

An interesting experiment would be to test, using 6 and 12 volts, the tripping time of the circuit breaker and the time it takes for a 16 gauge wire of 2 foot length to burn up. An oscilloscope would be needed to catch the circuit breaker tripping. A stop watch could probably be used for the wire.

01-15-2025, 06:17 AM	#21
nkaminar Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Western North Carolina Posts: 5,871	Re: Electronic Circuit Breaker BadPuppy, You are right that with the same resistance the power would be 1/4 with the 6 volt system as opposed to the 12 volt system. But the current with a dead short is going to be so great that the circuit breaker (or fuse) will trip in so short of a time that it does not matter where it is 6 or 12 volts. I did some very crude calculations in my head last night with lots of assumptions and the time for the circuit breaker to pop is about one millisecond. The wire in a 16 gauge electrical cable may heat up 1 degree F in that time, probably less. An interesting experiment would be to test, using 6 and 12 volts, the tripping time of the circuit breaker and the time it takes for a 16 gauge wire of 2 foot length to burn up. An oscilloscope would be needed to catch the circuit breaker tripping. A stop watch could probably be used for the wire. __________________ A is for apple, green as the sky. Step on the gas, for tomorrow I die. Forget the brakes, they really don't work. The clutch always sticks, and starts with a jerk. My car grows red hair, and flies through the air. Driving's a blast, a blast from the past.