Circuit breakers cause less bother on hovercraft
An
E-T-A Circuit Breakers product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jul 21, 2004
E-T-A circuit breakers are used for the protection of electrical circuits by the Southampton-based manufacturer of the Hov Pod, the world's newest and most versatile hovercraft.
E-T-A circuit breakers have been chosen for the protection of electrical circuits by the Southampton-based manufacturer of the Hov Pod, the world's newest and most versatile hovercraft.
Designed for three adults, the Hov Pod is aimed at the leisure industry as well as work-related environments, where accessibility by conventional vehicles may be a problem.
Riding on a cushion of air, the 3.5m long Hov Pod hovercraft can glide over sea, in up to force 4 conditions, over lakes, rivers, grassland, marsh, tarmac, sand, snow and ice.
It can move without hindrance from one surface to the next, at speed and in comfort.
It will cruise on water at 32km/h, with a top speed of 60km/h.
Professional uses include rescue operations, coastguard and patrol duties, and inspection and environmental work.
Reaction International's Hov Pod has been designed with quality, reliability and durability as the key guiding principles.
Thus, instead of using fuses to protect vital electrical circuits, easily and quickly resettable circuit breakers, manufactured by E-T-A Circuit Breakers, are used.
When an electrical fault occurs, it is not necessary to inspect each fuse to find out which is blown and then try to locate the correct replacement.
Instead, the white neck of the tripped circuit breaker will be clearly visible, and simple depression of the reset button puts the circuit back in operation immediately.
Mike Glanville, Sales Manager for Reaction International, endorsed the E-T-A circuit breaker solution.
"One of the reasons we chose E-T-A circuit breakers is due to our design philosophy to minimise downtime (of the Hov Pod) through the selection of quality components".
The Hov Pod uses E-T-A 2-5700 single-pole circuit breakers.
A 20A version is used in the battery charging circuit, and a 5A one protects the ignition circuit.
Both the circuit breakers are housed in an electrical bay under the seat.
This location provides water splash protection, but it is easily accessed should the need arise.
There is a further location free for a 2.5A type 2-5700 to protect any optional auxiliary equipment fitted to the Hov Pod.
This provides protection, for example, for spotlights, navigation lights, bilge pumps and communications equipment.
The E-T-A 2-5700 circuit breakers provide superior protection to fuses through their electrical performance characteristics and their ability to distinguish between temporary surges and genuine overloads.
This is especially important for motors, lamp loads and other circuits where discrimination is necessary between start-up currents and normal operating conditions.
The full-feature type 2-5700 employs a slow moving bimetallic element that operates a spring-loaded latching mechanism.
This arrangement provides a physically stable assembly that is not adversely affected by influences such as shock, vibration, and other environmental extremes.
The trip-free, tease-free operation ensures the circuit beaker cannot be forcibly overridden and minimises contact wear.
Furthermore E-T-A circuit breaker performance is stable over time, whereas fuses can age causing their blow characteristics to change.
This may lead to nuisance blowing of fuses with consequent problems while the vehicle is in use.
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