An electrical fuse is the cheapest device to protect a circuit from short circuits as well as circuit overloading. Overloading is a condition when more current is loaded than a circuit can bear. Fuse is basically a metal wire or a thin strip of metal. It prevents excessive current flowing into a circuit which is common in short circuits. Under normal circumstances the current flowing through a circuit remains within the safe range. But when faults occur, like short circuits or circuit overloading, the current flowing through the circuits exceeds the safe range. As a result the fuse wire gets heated up and melts to break the current flow. This is how a fuse protects heavy machines and electrical equipment from excessive flow of current.
Do you know anything about wiring a fuse board? This is any easy and important skill for almost everyone. Before getting into that topic let us know a little more about fuses so that mastering the skill becomes easier.
How much time a fuse takes to blow out
The time required for a fuse to blow out depends on the magnitude of the excess current. The higher the magnitude the faster a fuse blows out. Thus fuses possess inverse time trait. In fact all protective gears or devices have this inverse time characteristic. Fuses are used on both low and high voltage circuits. The capacity of fuses usually ranges between moderate and high. The device is widely used in protecting in industrial plants and commercial premises, distribution in transformers, lighting circuits, motors of small and medium capacity, branch circuits of distribution lines and others.
Benefits of fuses
- As already mentioned above, a fuse is the most cost-effective yet reliable protection in an electrical circuit.
- It is the primary protection device against short circuits.
- Most importantly it requires zero maintenance
- A fuse operates in a simple, linear way with zero complexity involved.
- A fuse is very reliable – it is highly efficient to interrupt huge magnitude of short circuit current without producing any noise, smoke, flame or gas.
- In comparison with operation time of a circuit breaker that of a fuse can be made much smaller.
- A fuse can afford current limiting effect under the conditions of a short circuit.
- Fuse possesses inverse time current characteristic for which it can be used to protect from current overloading.
Easy skill development – how to wire a fuse box
A fuse box is a very common electrical device installed in your home. It is a reliable protection against current overloading and power surges that lead to dangerous situations like fire and electrocution. The condition of current overload in a system result from either a short or some other electrical power surge. Whenever the condition of current overloading occurs the fuse blows itself instead to allowing the power to continue flowing on to the electrical devices connected to it.
When the fuse blows out power gets shut down in that section of the system. Installing a fuse box is easy and does not require high level technical knowledge. It is also an important skill to learn for almost every householder. Now let us explore few easy steps about installing a fuse box in the following section of the blog post.
Step 1 – Be sure about the amperage load
Before setting out to purchase a new fuse box you must know the exact amperage load that is required for your home. A qualified electrician can help you out in this aspect quite easily. Without this specification it is indeed confusing to get the right thing from the market. Different levels of this item are widely available in the market. If the existing fuse box is not too old you will find the amperage level on the inside of the box too.
Once you are aware about the actual amount of load your home is under keep provisions for future additions. Therefore add extra. It is important to remember you should never ever purchase fuse boxes on basis of cost but always on basis of requirement.
Step 2 – cut off power from main meter
While wiring a new fuse box the first thing you must do is disconnect power supply. Disconnect power from the main meter to avoid any hazard – big or small. Check the rooms to make sure power is indeed off.
Step 4 – remove all the existing fuses
Remove all the fuses that are already there inside the current box. This will make the box lighter in one hand while on the other makes sure there is no problem with broken fuses in case you drop it.
Step 5 – disconnect the wires
After you have removed the fuses you will see several wires connected to each end of the terminals. You need a screwdriver to loosen the retaining screws of each of those wires. Remove each and every wire before marking them so that you know where to install them in the new box. Use some tape to wrap it around each wire. Use a marker to write the section of the home connected to each one to make things easier for future.
Step 6 – remove the fuse box
You need the screwdriver to remove the existing fuse box from its location. Make sure there is no moisture behind it. Clean the debris if there are any.
Step 7 – install and wire the new fuse box
Set the new fuse box in the location and fix it to the wall. You can use the same wires that you removed from the old box to connect to the separate terminals. Be careful while reading each label and connect the exposed wire to the retaining screw. Tighten the screws carefully so that there is no fraying or breaking at the ends.
Step 8 – install the new fuses
In order to complete the wiring of the fuse box all you need to do is install the new fuses before connecting the main power. Check to make sure each of the fuses is functioning properly.