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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,381 Likes: 7
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Working within the 'inner cities' back many years, the 30 amp plug fuses were what I found in the majority of the fuse panels. HOs and tenants bought them 'cause they lasted longer' that the 15-20 amp ones. They had no clue, except the economics of buying the 'longer lasting ones'.
I also came upon many instances of 'warm' fuse boxes, and toaster wire!
The S adaptors that I installed were bastardized and higher amperage S fuses were forced in.
Over the years, I also came accross copper pipe used for 30, 60 & 100 amp fuses in disconnects!
Fuses are not to blame!
John
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
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Same here... Diazed fuses are keyed by rings with different inner diameters screwed into the base, preventing the use of fuses with thicker tips. However, a) the rings are porcelaine and thus fairly easy to destroy with brute force and b) they aren't exactly tamperproof or irremovable, they just screw in. They do require a special key, but that is easily substituted with two flat blad screwdrivers. Besides, both keys and rings of all sizes are sold in every DIY store. Every time I find one of those keys in a fuse box I immediately get suspicious (even though there were legit reasons to use one, at some point even 1.5mm2 wires that can be fused 10A (16A in Germany) by today's standards were only fused 6A, similarly with larger wires).
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 167
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I own a house that was built in '74 with a Murray fuse panel. As I recall it had 15 screw-in fuses which were connected to a 60-amp pullout. There was a 50-amp pullout for the range, a 30-amp pullout for the dryer and another 30-amp pullout for the air conditioner. It was a split-bus panel.
It had a neutral and ground bus with plenty of room, and physically it was as large as a breaker panel with an equivalent number of circuits. It's now sitting in a landfill somewhere, having been replaced.
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 15
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Brian, that's interesting that they installed a fuse panel that late. I'm wondering if some of these fuse panels installed in the 70s were not older stock that they were using up.
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,381 Likes: 7
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I did a quick search, and found one online supplier with a Wadsworth 4 plug, 2 pull out panel. It did not say 'new', or 'used', although they did offer 'used' parts?
Just to clarify something I posted above, the selective coordination fuse panels (Bussmann) are cartridge fuses, not plug (screwshell) type.
John
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,392
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Hello,
I hope I'm asking this in the correct forum. What is the latest panel installed you saw that used fuses?
I have heard that some have seen them installed as late as 1972, 200 amp panels with fuses. I was surprised.
Was there anything in code that would prevent them from being installed today, given the proper adapters were used?
I think the first fuse 'panel' I saw was a simple ceramic fuse holder for some abandoned K&T wiring. It had two fuse holders, that I assume fused the hot and neutral sides of a single circuit. It was surface mounted about 6-7 feet from the floor, all exposed.
Well Switches, i'm compelled to forward the distinction of resi from commerical here, and disconnects from panels, as fuses really dis get a bad rap in the resi scene
~S~
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Posts: 44
Joined: July 2013
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