Antivandal switch amp limit

[Paul CL]

Hi. Since no one in our place seems to really know what and how to explain, and noone seems to care about safety here, im asking this
what exactly does the amp limit of the switch means? How does it relates to the resistance of my atomizer build? Im using a box mod with 5amp switch. Thanks

 

[twgbonehead]

The amp rating is how much current a switch can carry. Usually you want to run a switch well below it's limit.

You can figure out the current required by ohm's law: I=V/R
V is the voltage of your battery (usually 4.2 at full charge) R is the resistance, in ohms. With a 5 Amp switch you really don't want to go below 1 ohm.

Not sure what you mean by "no one seems to care about safety here".

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Amp limit means the power device is regulated so it will not output more than the amp limit.
If your atty resistance is such that it requires more amperage than the amp limit allows the power device will either not fire it or fire it at its preset amp limit.

 

[Sgt.Rock]

5 amps times 4 volts equals 20 watts. You should never exceed 80% of that to be safe...encroaching on limits puts you in the danger zone.

 

[twgbonehead]

Amp limit means the power device is regulated so it will not output more then the amp limit.
If your atty resistance is such that it requires more amperage than the amp limit allows the power device will either not fire it or fire it at its preset amp limit.

Elvis,

That's not true of a switch. A switch won't regulate the power through it; if you try to run too many amps through it it will heat up and eventually either burn out or melt (or worse, weld the contacts together).

 

[DancingHeretik]

There's the amp limit of the switch and, also the amp limit of the regulated device. Two different things.

A regulated device will often only allow the device to fire up to a certain amp limit.

All switches have an amp limit. How high the limit is depends on the quality of the materials the switch is made of. Beyond it's limit, a switch will likely fry and stop working.

 

[rusirius]

Switches are usually rated in amps and volts... some are rated with HP as well, but that's a different subject...

The amp limit on a switch denotes how much current it can safely carry. Generally this has to do with arcing when the switch is opened and to a lesser extent when it's closed. Exceeding the amperage limit means the contacts aren't made to withstand that much current. That can lead to the switch "welding" together or just failing. Generally it's not going to cause any serious issues other than a bad switch, however if you grossly exceed the amp limit it could result in the switch heating up, melting, etc.

The volt limit on a switch denotes how resistant it is to arcing. For example, a smaller voltage switch may have a much smaller distance between the contact, this means high voltage can arc across the gap.

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Elvis,

That's not true of a switch. A switch won't regulate the power through it; if you try to run too many amps through it it will heat up and eventually either burn out or melt (or worse, weld the contacts together).

Thanks for the clarification, I assumed what the OP was talking about was amp limit of an APV, instead of what he was actually asking about.

New PV's / APV's / mechanical's come out so frequently I thought the antivandal was a new product named after the switch, sometimes us old pharts just can't keep up.

 

[tj99959]

It all depends on how the switch is wired into the ckt.
I'll give you a classic example:
Your car has a "horn relay", if your horn button (switch) was wired directly between the car battery and the horn, you would probably burn your car to the ground, or have enough voltage loss that the horn wouldn't work. (low amp switch) With a relay the horn button simply energizes a magnetic coil, and larger (higher amperage) contacts close to complete the ckt. between the battery and the horn.

We can do basically the same thing with regulated mods, and use smaller switches. With unregulated mods the switch MUST be of a high enough amperage to handle the load.

 

[Paul CL]

I mean that here in my place, no one seems to care about safety. They just use dual batt box without even understanding its limits.
I know how to get the resistance and amp limit of my battery. What i want to understand is how the ohms law calculations would affect the switch. For instance, if my build would produce 25amps, does it mean that my switch cant handle it? Thanks

 

[Paul CL]

So it doesnt matter how i build my atomizer?

 

[Paul CL]

By the way, im using a semi-mech wood box

 

[twgbonehead]

I mean that here in my place, no one seems to care about safety. They just use dual batt box without even understanding its limits.
I know how to get the resistance and amp limit of my battery. What i want to understand is how the ohms law calculations would affect the switch. For instance, if my build would produce 25amps, does it mean that my switch cant handle it? Thanks

Yes. There is no way that switch will handle 25A (at least not for very long ;-)

ETA: The main thing about how you build your atomizer, from an electrical point of view, is the resistance. The electricity doesn't care how many turns, what gauge, how many coils; it just sees the final resistance. (Of course, the coils and wire gauge do have a big effect on the vaping performance).

And sorry about the misunderstanding, when you said "here" I thought you were referring to ECF, rather than Manilla!

 

[tj99959]

Those semi mechanical box mods are a disaster looking for a victim. In order for those mods to have room for a switch large enough to handle the load safely, they would also have to have wheels!

When you put batteries in parallel you have the potential of 100 amps.