Yes there is a contactor with an overload relay in the combo staterter box, its an across the line type. I actually replaced the contactor a few years ago as one of the contacts came apart.

I forgot to mention in my first post that this building and equipment is 20 years old. The building is a prison and the pump is used for condensor water for water source heat pumps. So it is needed all year long. The building is about 100,000 sq ft.

I want to thank all for the help. I never seriously consindered doing away with the fuses. I wanted to research options more than anything else. The other option was to buy a breaker that will replace the molded case switch but I am sure thats going to cost more than a fuse block.

I suppose I could figure out the SCCR rating of the upstream breaker, but thats going to take more time and money than just replacing the fuse block. Besides how do I explain that to the insurance company/jury after the prison burns down the next day after I modified the equipment??????

The fuse has not blown yet, but it is getting mighty warm and will blow sooner rather than later. To make matters worse, the backup pump does not work. The motor works fine but theres some sort of problem with the pump that the HVAC guys have not resolved yet..... The other problem is that the pump that works now has developed a leak and will need to be shut down to repair, but without a backup...... Around here things tend to go bad all at once.

The motor is drawing slightly less than FLA which is 96 amps or so. Its drawing around 90 amps per leg.

I should mention this is a 20 year old motor came with the building. About 2 years ago a bad bearing was discovered by the HVAC guy and it was sent off to a motor shop to be repaired and baked. It has been in use for 6 months and so far no problems.

Once again thanks for all help.