Fusing Circuits on a Battery Isolator

Question:

I've been watching your videos on battery isolators and I'm curious about one thing. You mention putting fuses in the lines to the battery. Is this purely to protect the system in the event of a short or is there some other reason? I'm putting an isolator in a 20' pleasure boat and the batteries basically straddle the engine so we're talking very short runs that should be fairly easy to protect. Is a fuse really necessary in this case?  - Casey

Answer:

Hi Casey, yes fuses are absolutely necessary to protect the circuit of a battery isolator. Even though the probability is low of dead short, it’s absolutely imperative to fuse the circuits. As a point of comparison, not fusing circuits on land would probably be criminal negligence, and literally unthinkable. Take the same standard and value of life and property on land and apply it to your boat. Do it right do it once.  - Jeff