Consumer Fuse Vs Appliance Fuse

xeftilas · 13 Sep 2010

Since they are of same rating,how do you explain to a layman the difference of a a 5Amp consumer unit fuse and a 5Amp appliance fuse.
a) I know the price is different b) physically one appears to be bigger than the other,

but what else, why they cannot be interchangeable if they have the same rating . Thanks .

333rocky333 · 13 Sep 2010

If they were the same size then someone would most likely put a 10 or 13 amp in

Spark123 · 13 Sep 2010

I believe the breaking capacity is different, i.e. the maximum amount of current the fuses can interrupt without exploding etc.

electronicsuk · 13 Sep 2010

They both have different characteristics in terms of how much current and for what period of time is required to blow the fuse. Just because two fuses have an identical rating, it does not mean they will both operate the same in the event of fault or overload current.

I think the argument that they are different to prevent an incorrectly sized fuse being inserted into the holder is fairly moot, as the majority of fuses of a particular type are the same physical size regardless of their current rating.

ban-all-sheds · 13 Sep 2010

xeftilas said:
Since they are of same rating,

They aren't, which is where anything you try to explain on that basis will go wrong.

how do you explain to a layman the difference of a a 5Amp consumer unit fuse and a 5Amp appliance fuse.

By getting him to understand fusing factors, breaking capacity, let-through energy and time-current curves.

Once you've done that it'll be quite simple to explain that BS 1361 fuses are not the same as BS 1362 ones.

why they cannot be interchangeable if they have the same rating . Thanks .

They don't have the same rating.

ban-all-sheds · 13 Sep 2010

electronicsuk said:
I think the argument that they are different to prevent an incorrectly sized fuse being inserted into the holder is fairly moot, as the majority of fuses of a particular type are the same physical size regardless of their current rating.

BS 1361s aren't. (Well, 15A & 20A are the same).

electronicsuk · 13 Sep 2010

ban-all-sheds said:
electronicsuk said:

I think the argument that they are different to prevent an incorrectly sized fuse being inserted into the holder is fairly moot, as the majority of fuses of a particular type are the same physical size regardless of their current rating.

Click to expand...

BS 1361s aren't. (Well, 15A & 20A are the same).

Yup, you're right, I notice now that the OP was referring specifically to "consumer unit" fuses rather than just fuses in general. The other points still stand, though.

securespark · 13 Sep 2010

I must have seen countless hundreds of 13A 1362s stuffed into a 1361 fuseholder.

Well, not all in the same fuseholder, you understand...

RF Lighting · 13 Sep 2010

Yep!

ban-all-sheds · 13 Sep 2010

Presumably in 5A holders?

securespark · 13 Sep 2010

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Consumer Fuse Vs Appliance Fuse

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