Auto Main Switch
For safety reasons, electric thrusters must have a fuse and a main switch/circuit breaker in the main power feed circuit. When there is an abnormal current consumption in the circuit the fuse will blow, but situations can arise when the fuse will not blow and it becomes necessary, for the safety of the crew, boat and those around, to shut down the main power to the thruster.
The problem is that in most cases the main power switch/circuit breaker is a manual switch located in the bilge, technical room or even the engine room so that you will have to leave the control position to shut it off. Even boats with remote-controlled main breakers might not be easy to shut down either. This because these breakers often support more than just the thruster so that shutting it down will also shut down other systems that you might need to be operational.
Many boat owners may not take the time to read manuals and learn about their boats and equipment as well as they should. So they might not know what to shut off in case of a problem. The main switch is fast and easy to shut off without leaving the steering position simply by pushing the OFF on the control panel, which should be the logical thing to do in a problem situation even for those not very familiar with the equipment.
It is also very common to forget to shut off their main switches when leaving the boat. As the Side-Power control panels have an Auto-Off function, the main switch will automatically shut off also and this problem is gone. With the new Side-Power Automatic Main Switch / Fuse product installed the boat thruster system has ultimate safety and maximum user-friendliness.
