Knotter fan electric supply

[vinnie123]

Evening all, had endless trouble with the triple fan arrangements on a six string nh baler .
Original wiring cooked itself many years ago, we then wired them up to a plug in the cab but that seems to get ridiculously hot and blow fuses for fun.
The latest plan is to wire them straight from the battery, the question is what cable size and connectors should carry the power without playing up (thinking Anderson connector ) ? Also switch..... what’s recommended? We need to be able to isolate on the baler if working on a knotter in the field etc .

Tia

 

[vinnie123]

Any sparkys about ️ ?

 

[Andrew]

What is the make and model of the fans? Or any numbers on them?

 

[Sheep]

As above, or the model of the baler either, if they're original fans.

If it's wired to a D plug currently then it's a ~25a fuse from memory.

A 50a Anderson connector with ~16mm wire, an inline fuse and a simple switch on the baler will work if it's wired off the battery.

Better to know the fan model though to suggest the correct fuse size.

 

[vinnie123]

As above, or the model of the baler either, if they're original fans.

If it's wired to a D plug currently then it's a ~25a fuse from memory.

A 50a Anderson connector with ~16mm wire, an inline fuse and a simple switch on the baler will work if it's wired off the battery.

Better to know the fan model though to suggest the correct fuse size.

Will get some numbers later

 

[avag]

I have used 110v plugs for high power demanding items like fans and coolers on hedge cuttters before cheap and easy to get

 

[vinnie123]

This is the fan id plate. Three fans total on a nh 9070. 2011 ish

 

[TechWise]

We had similar issues with the fans on an Opico air seeder. These sorts of things rarely state their current rating so you end up going overboard with the wiring just to cover yourself.

Our harrow blower is now wired straight into the tractor battery via a relay with a small control switch in the cab. The connector is a seven pin lighting connector with three pins used for +ve and three used for -ve. Certainly not ideal but that's how they come out the factory so it had to be done that way to maintain compatibility. As above, if you're starting from a blank canvas of sorts, connect straight to the battery with an inline fuse, control it with a relay operated from the cab and use a high-current connector like an Anderson connector. Ours was done with something like 50mm2 single core copper wire but only because that's all the supplier had in stock and we were in a pickle. Crikey that was a dear roll of wire! Something like 6, 10 or even 16mm2 will be fine.

I wouldn't use an ordinary inline switch unless you can find one that's designed to interrupt a large DC current. Things like battery isolator switches are generally intended to isolate the supply from a circuit where the current has already been prevented from flowing by some other switch. Actually interrupting the full load current will cause arcing and wreck the switch in fairly short order. I would stick with a relay setup personally, and it means you only need a nice little control switch in the cab instead of running heavy wires.

 

[vinnie123]

Now we’re getting somewhere Don’t suppose you have a diagram of some sort ?

 

[Exfarmer]

Make sure you use heavy enough wiring! If the wire is too small, you will get voltage drop and this drives the amerage draw up. I suspect this is a lot of the issue

 

[TechWise]

Now we’re getting somewhere Don’t suppose you have a diagram of some sort ?

Make all the wires as heavy as you need to. The wires controlling the relay can be small and dainty which makes them much easier to route in the cab.

Refer to this calculator for a wire thickness recommendation. https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/wire/voltage-drop-calculator.html As an example, a 16mm2 cable of 15m length carrying 50A will lose 1.6V along the way. I doubt if the fans are actually drawing as much as that when they're running but it's best to play it safe. Something like this should do for the relay: https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/12v-200a-heavy-duty-relay.html Best to go for something that's rated for more than you need. Something like this will do for the control switch https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/wate...ker-switch-with-red-illumination-12v-24v.html If you go to an automotive parts stockholder, they can actually order them in with various "pictures" inside the bit that lights up. I always meant to get one with a fan, but that's just me getting a bit carried away.

 

[vinnie123]

Make all the wires as heavy as you need to. The wires controlling the relay can be small and dainty which makes them much easier to route in the cab.

Refer to this calculator for a wire thickness recommendation. https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/wire/voltage-drop-calculator.html As an example, a 16mm2 cable of 15m length carrying 50A will lose 1.6V along the way. I doubt if the fans are actually drawing as much as that when they're running but it's best to play it safe. Something like this should do for the relay: https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/12v-200a-heavy-duty-relay.html Best to go for something that's rated for more than you need. Something like this will do for the control switch https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/wate...ker-switch-with-red-illumination-12v-24v.html If you go to an automotive parts stockholder, they can actually order them in with various "pictures" inside the bit that lights up. I always meant to get one with a fan, but that's just me getting a bit carried away.

Thank you