Looking for ideas here. I recently purchased this:
I know it will physically work fine with SmartThings but my intent was to wire it into an outdoor GFCI outlet. Namely for Christmas lights and the like. The spec calls out a 10A max and says to add a fuse in on the line side which makes sense. Even though I will be nowhere near 10A, I can’t control a contractor or someone plugging their gear in and I want to remain protected so off for fuses I went, knowing full well that if it gets blown, I have to take apart the box to fix.
Problem is, all of this needs to fit in the gang box. I am having difficulty procuring something like an inline 10A fuse that can be added to the circuit and installed in the box. Most things I come across are for automotive applications for much less voltage.
Has anyone ever tried this or anything like it? Maybe a product that you could recommend even?
Not terribly feasible as this isn’t the only thing on the breaker so it’d limit everything else that is on it. Also might be against my local NEC codes.
Thanks for the feedback though.
The above fuse holder works great actually so nothing to worry about. I used a slow blow fuse as that’s what the manual said to use.
@Navat604 Meaning, a 10A breaker with 15A outlets down the line (since there are other devices on this circuit).
The breaker should match the outlets I believe. Obviously, this direction isn’t dangerous, but a 20A breaker with 15A outlets is so I think they just blanket everything matching.
I could be wrong, I’m not a licensed electrician
That being said, I get what you’re saying about the fuse potentially being against code, but I think it should be okay. It’s definitely safe and much safer that it would have been without the fuse since the Qubino relay only safely can handle 10A. Since it is “safer” it has to be okay, right? I tried contacting Qubino to see what would happen with their relay if it exceeded 10A but they never got back to me. Since the manual says it is required in bold, I’ll assume a fire is the result if the fuse isn’t there.
I understand what you are trying to do and even my advise wasn’t really a good one either. They are all against code actually. Maybe the best way is to have a big red sticker saying do not use this plug or an outlet lockout device to save you from contractors plugging things in.
Thinking about it. The fuse is much safer since you won’t get an overccurrent condition.
There are the outdoor GE dongle devices which would serve a similar purpose, but they are ugly, can be stolen, have far less features, and fall off the network when not in use.
I considered going that route initially but decided against it. Perhaps if a 15A zwave relay comes available, like this Qubino relay, I’ll swap them out and remove the fuse but anything larger wouldn’t likely fit my application and most of these devices are built for light switches with less than 1A of power draw.
Thanks for the insights and confirmation that my project wasn’t total hogwash
Sorry to bring this topic back but I have the same issue (and can’t send a private message to bmmiller because I’m a new forum member).
Has anybody else used an in-line fuse with the Qubino Flush 1 Relay?
The Qubino Flush 1 is perfect for what I need … (turn natural gas pool heater [very low amperage] + monitor pool temperature), but the 10A rating is concerning.
I would suggest using the Aeotec Nano now. It didn’t exist yet when I went with the Qubinos.
It has a max resistance of 15A in the US.
I already converted one of my Qubinos to this after the fuse was blown when a large fan was plugged into it for one of those blow up play things for kids. It did it’s job, protected the Qubino, but the fan needed more than 10A, at least to start up I guess.
Doesn’t look like it but a temperature sensor would seem to be the easy part of the equation here. Might have to get a second device for it. I’d recommend that over a Qubino unless they have started making a 15A version.
Don’t get me wrong, the Qubino is a nice device but risking over amping it seems like it’s not worth it. If you have complete control over what it is monitoring/controlling and you know it won’t get to 10A, then obviously it works for you.
For me, it was tied to an traditional outlet I don’t have complete control over so slightly different use case. Since I don’t care about the temp sensor, I don’t miss it.
I tried contacting Qubino to see what would happen with their relay if it exceeded 10A but they never got back to me. Since the manual says it is required in bold, I’ll assume a fire is the result if the fuse isn’t there.