New value BS1362 fuse

amjmfareham · 8 Sep 2016

This is reminiscent of something that I watched on Fake Britain (on BBC1) with Matt Allwright the other day, and it had an item of counterfeit fuses being sold in a well-known discount store (Poundworld).

It was very interesting indeed, and I could reveal all that was featured on the programme, but go and watch it, it is well-worth viewing!

The link to the programme is: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07tl838/fake-britain-series-7-episode-3

I was speechless afterwards!

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Andrew!

Adam_151 · 10 Sep 2016

While undoubtly there there is a problem with these, The video of the exploding plug (which has been online for a few years now) from earlier tests is perhaps over dramatic. I would guess that its been tested pretty close to the rated 6kA breaking capacity and in isolation rather than with other protective devices in circuit. I would expect that with sub 1Ka PFC at the plugtop and with an upstream B32 breaker, its not going to be quite as spectacular as thst

bernardgreen · 10 Sep 2016

Adam_151 said:
guess that its been tested pretty close to the rated 6kA breaking capacity

being a fake it's safe breaking capacity is unlikely to anywhere near 6kA

JohnW2 · 10 Sep 2016

bernardgreen said:
being a fake it's safe breaking capacity is unlikely to anywhere near 6kA

You well may be right - but that can only be pure speculation.

Kind Regards, John

bernardgreen · 10 Sep 2016

Not really speculation. Fakes have to be made cheaper that the real thing. One cost saving is not fitting the means to quench the arc when the fuse wire ruptures. The explosive power comes not from the heat of the wire melting but from the much greater heat of the plasma arc in the metal vapour of the fuse wire. The most common way to quench the arc is to fill the cavity around the fuse wire with fine sand which prevents the plasma arc forming.

JohnW2 · 10 Sep 2016

bernardgreen said:
Not really speculation. Fakes have to be made cheaper that the real thing.

Although I agree that they are fairly cheap, these are not really 'fakes' in the usual sense (albeit they should not exist). In this particular case there is no "real thing" with which they are in competition.

Kind REgards, John

securespark · 10 Sep 2016

No, there are not 20A 1362's, but there are other legitimate products of identical construction (apart from the rating) to each other, but not to the fakes.

I'm pretty confident if you broke a fake fuse open, you would find it an empty tube with no sand inside. It probably will also have an inconsistent poor quality fuse element too.

bernardgreen · 10 Sep 2016

Ebay page said:
Details about 10 Pcs AC 250V 20A 6mmx25mm BS1362 Cylindrical Ceramic Fuses Tube

Yet the end caps appear to have holes which ( I believe ) are not permitted BS1362 ( ejection of material when the fuse ruptures )

EFLImpudence · 10 Sep 2016

JohnW2 said:
Although I agree that they are fairly cheap, these are not really 'fakes' in the usual sense (albeit they should not exist). In this particular case there is no "real thing" with which they are in competition.

You do seem particularly argumentative this week.

If you printed a twenty five pound note, would it not be a fake?

The thread is about fuses, not more definitions.

JohnW2 · 10 Sep 2016

EFLImpudence said:
If you printed a twenty five pound note, would it not be a fake?

Not in the sense that it was a counterfeit copy of something 'genuine'. In any event, I don't want more discussion about definitions of words ....

EFLImpudence said:
The thread is about fuses, not more definitions.

Indeed, and I was responding to bernard's speculation about the (probable) quality of these fuses. As he said, if they were 'counterfeit copies' in competition with a 'genuine product', then there would be incentive to cut corners in manufacture in order to achieve a competitive price for their product. However, my point was not about definitions, but was that if they are not in competition with any 'genuine product', then there is no pressure to get the production cost (hence retail price) down below that of some other product.

In fact, I imagine that if anyone was silly enough to want such an item (which is generally unavailable), they might well be prepared to pay a fair bit to get one from one of the few possible sources - maybe even enough to facilitate proper manufacture and testing. Of course, bernard is right that they probably are poorly manufactured (and subjected to little, if any, testing) - but no-one can be certain abou that unless they buy one, test and dissect it.

Kind Regards, John

JohnW2 · 10 Sep 2016

JohnW2 said:
- but no-one can be certain about that unless they buy one, test and dissect it.

I just bought "the last one" - so we'll see!

Kind Regards, John

EFLImpudence · 10 Sep 2016

There is a link above to the Fake Britain programme where they did open one and found no sand.

JohnW2 · 10 Sep 2016

EFLImpudence said:
There is a link above to the Fake Britain programme where they did open one and found no sand.

I did see that programme when it was broadcast, and remember that there was no sand - but, if I recall correctly, that was about 'fake copies' of fuses of ratings for which there were "genuine products" available - hence the incentive to minimise production costs to be competitive. As for these current ones, for which there are no 'genuine' alternatives, we'll see!

Kind Regards, John

securespark · 10 Sep 2016

I cannot see why it matters that they have "faked" a fuse that did not exist before this one came out.

Surely they will just copy any other 1362 fake fuse design but put a thicker fuse element in it.

JohnW2 · 10 Sep 2016

securespark said:
I cannot see why it matters that they have "faked" a fuse that did not exist before this one came out. Surely they will just copy any other 1362 fake fuse design but put a thicker fuse element in it.

Sure. However, the point is that if they are making, say, 'fake' 13A fuses, they have to compete with countless 'legitimate' manufacturers of such fuses, and therefore will be very tempted to cut as many corners as possible to minimise their manufacturing (and testing, and QC) costs.

On the other hand, if they produce a 20A "BS1362" fuse, there is no legitimate competition that they are trying to 'undercut' in price, so those pressures/temptations will be less. Indeed, as I just wrote, someone who 'really wanted' a 20A BS1362-size fuse might well be prepared to pay a fair bit for one.

Kind Regards, John

diynot

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.

Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

New value BS1362 fuse

Similar threads