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Cartridge Fuses in Domestic Fuse Boxes.

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How many domestic fuse boxes have you come across within the last year that have B.S. 1361 cartridge fuses in them? I came across one today. You know the ones. The 5 Amp cartridge fuse is just a little shorter than a 5 Amp. 13 Amp.  plug fuse. The 15 Amp fuse is coloured blue, 20 Amp yellow and 30 Amp red. The shower fuse may have been 35/40 or 45 Amp. I seem to remember that the 45 Amp carrier was orange. I have an old Wylex carrier here that has a brown cartridge fuse carrier and an orange base. I was impressed years ago with a cartridge fuse maker's video advert. It said that when a fuse blows you fit a new unused cartridge fuse that affords great protection and reliability, unlike with a circuit breaker that after time and many operations may become unreliable. That impressed me at the time.


Z.
  • 0
    Well  then I better not mention Supercar or Four Feather falls then! Or Torchy the Battery Boy
  • 0
    Supercar...Four Feather Falls...Torchy...now you are talking.

    However to get back on subject, I grew up in a Victorian house where the electrics were probably installed in the 1920s, so 15 Amp sockets, rewireable fuses, metal clad light switches (that could give a shock if a fault occurred) and other such horrors that would be condemned within minutes if inspected today. However the system was pretty reliable and while we had replacement fuse wire (15A and 5A rating) it was seldom needed (perhaps once every five years or so). Looking back I am slightly appalled at what we took for granted.

    Alasdair
  • 0
    It's a shame that no one seems to do cartridge switch fuses other than the 13A fused connection unit any more.

    I have a job whereby I need to feed a outbuilding via 6.00mm SWA and I need to provide protection. Problem is that there is only enough room in the intake area for something like a 2 way enclosure.

    A 40A cartridge fuse on a DIN rail at the side of a dp isolator would have been ideal but they all seem to be 4 way., so I'll have to go down the 2 pole 40 amp Type C mcb route instead.

    I'm rating it at 40A to get round an upfront RCD because there isn't room and I'm going to have to drop a couple of Henlys into the tails - the house CU is remote from the supply intake and there is only one spare way left.

    Yes I mourn the demise  of a simple cartridge fuseholder!

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