Fuses

[ND67]

Hey Guys,

This weekend I noticed that many of the fuses in my fusebox are wrong. The owner before me seems to have added a 20amp fuse each time one blew. Now all but two are 20amp.

Everything seems to work fine so I didn't worry about it. Can this do any damage?

Thanks,

ND67

 

[WayneC]

Fuses are intended to protect the devices on the circuit... their purpose is to sacrifice themselves to prevent serious damage when a device malfunctions (shorts) internally, or fire when there is an electrical short in a wire run.

On a 15 amp circuit, everything downstream should be capable of withstanding just a little more than 15 amps without being damaged, but should normally get/use much less than 15 amps. 15 amps is abnormal for the combined load of all devices on the circuit, forcing the sacrifice of the fuse (better to blow a 50 cent fuse than ruin a $100 heater motor).

So, as long as nothing goes wrong, the 20 amp fuses just conduct normal current load.

It's kinda like asking if a glass of water will suffice as a fire extinguisher... it all depends on whether you ever have a fire, and if so, how big it is.

Were it me, I'd change the fuses back to the book values.

 

[magicv8]

I agree with Wayne