ECN Forum
Posted By: Admin Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/11/04 03:38 AM
[Linked Image]

The first pic shows the method by which earlier poking fingers dealt with expanding electrical needs. Just add an extra wire... there's room on the terminal!

[Linked Image]

The second pic shows what greeted me when I pulled the cover. Notice the liberal use of 30 ampere fuses - I guess the 15 and 20's kept blowing, so neighborhood helpers "fixed" the problem. What the heck, I mean, 14 and 12 awg can handle it, right? The fact that only one circuit was actually rated for 30a is kind of incidental I suppose.

[Linked Image]

The third pic shows how the aforementioned poking fingers added additional home runs. If there aren't enough K.O.'s (***HINT***HINT***) then we can just piggyback the Romexes together in the same hole, right?

Not to worry. Granny's got a new Seimens 100a breaker panel with 15 breakers in place. She's happy, and it made a good Xmas present.

-DougW
Posted By: electure Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/11/04 02:17 PM
It looks like someone's been in here and added some things (the white romexes) comparatively recently.
The 30 A fuses can be explained!
Green is for go=30A
Red is for stop=20A
Someone just wanted it to go.
Posted By: :andy: Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/11/04 06:04 PM
[Linked Image] [Linked Image]
Posted By: electure Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/11/04 11:38 PM
Heck, Andy
I was only kiddin'.
(My sarcasism is very often "not appreciated" at the job, either, but things sometimes, issues must at least be mentioned)...S




[This message has been edited by electure (edited 01-11-2004).]
Posted By: ThinkGood Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/12/04 01:23 AM
Question, asked of a child:
"What does the greenlight mean?"
Child: "Go!"

"Very good. What does the red light mean?"
Child: "Stop!"

"Excellent! Now, what does the yellow light mean?"
Child: "Hurry up!"
Posted By: :andy: Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/12/04 02:15 PM
what does the orange light mean - the wire is glowing...

of course i understood your joke, my reaction was meant for the pictures [Linked Image]
Posted By: SvenNYC Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/12/04 02:43 PM
Thinkgood, spoken like a true New Yorker. [Linked Image]

Is the color-coding for screw-in fuses universal? I know I commonly see blue for 15 amps, 20 is orange, I believe....and I think I once saw a 30-amp fuse with a yellow & green band.

And I have an 8-amp fuse with a green band. All of these are Buss/Cooper.

There also used to be these all-glass fuses, but I haven't seen new ones of those in ages -- Gem in Hauppauge, NY (on Long Island) used to make those....

p.s. I understand that the casing for these fuses is not porcelain anymore, but a type of plastic composition. Not really thrilled about that...isn't it possible for it to melt?
Posted By: ThinkGood Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/12/04 06:22 PM
Sven:

"Don't Walk" = RUN!

Seriously, what is unfortunate in many situations is that the homeowner/occupant does not realize that there may not necessarily be an immediate danger, but that over time the overloading can cause problems.
Posted By: DougW Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/13/04 10:01 PM
The thing I was most thankful for this (day after) Xmas? That the PoCo had run 100a capable service to all of the houses when the subdivision was built... saved time and $$.

Explained to Grandma that, while the cousins may have meant well, that they had placed her and her house in jeopardy... we had a fire a few years ago - about a week before Xmas - due to 30a fuses and extension cords under carpets.

I also told her to call me if anybody tried messing with the new panel - cause i'll kill 'em!
Posted By: HotLine1 Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/14/04 02:02 AM
A commentary from an owner of a neighborhood hardware store.....
We used to sell a lot of 15 & 20 amp fuses, and quite a few times, when the shelf was empty, the people took the 30'. Well, I don't sell to many 15/20's anymore.

Customer told him...
You've been sellin' me the 'cheap' fuses all these years! I found the "real good" ones at Harry's Hardware, same price, but they don't 'blow'. He showed a "real good" fuse to the owner, yes it was 30 amp.

I have quite a few glowing memories of some old tenements in Newark, from years back...

John
Posted By: ComputerWizKid Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/14/04 03:39 AM
any one remember those screw in circut breakers? Lookek like a fuse with a button on them.My grandmothers house has them in her fuse box. overload just push the button in again.
Posted By: SvenNYC Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/14/04 04:43 PM
Wiz-Kid:

Yeah I remember them.

Heck, when I was a kid, we lived in a huge apartment where the 20-odd wall sockets and three or four light fixtures (some rooms had no ceiling lights, oddly enough -- this was an old 3-story tenement) were all connected to a single fuse holder in the basement

Into this fuseholder was screwed a 15 Amp Mini-breaker with the white button in the middle that you had to push in every time it popped.

They're still sold in hardware stores and the big DIY sheds. Some electricians say they're Ok. Others have their doubts. Someday I'll buy one to add to my screw-plug fuse collection [Linked Image] (OY!) [Linked Image]
Posted By: DougW Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/14/04 11:55 PM
I remember the screw-in breakers. We used them in my house growing up - the previous owner had run a "sub-panel" (2-position fuse box) for the kitchen, and it kept popping, so we bought those for the trouble circuits (IIRC, it was the counter receptecles).

They worked OK...man, I haven't seen those in years!

Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/15/04 10:15 AM
Here in Austria screw-in breakers were once called "eternal fuses" (1940ies term or maybe even older) and are still for sale. Pretty reliable I think. Myself I still use fuses for the old look. Since we don't blow fuses too often we don't need to care about replacments too much (besides we got 3 packs of spare fuses, flea markets sell them almost for free now).
Posted By: earlydean Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 01/15/04 06:22 PM
I once had to remove the meter after a fire at an old trailer. The owner (an old ex-boxer of some repute) was wandering around when I pulled the fuses out and discovered quarters behind each fuse! As I gave him the quarters I asked him why he put the quarters behind the fuses. His reply? "Because quarters are worth more, therefore they must be better."
Posted By: atwater_kent Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 02/29/04 07:58 AM
My late grandmother ran a grocery store in Buffalo from the late 1940's to the late 1960's. Between all the coolers, deli cases, and lights, she found a way to keep the fuses from blowing: use 30A fuses. As a kid, I remember a few of my aunts having frequent heated arguments with her about how she's going to burn the place down sooner or later. It never bothered her! The ironic twist: In the late 1980's, long after she had given up the business, but still lived upstairs, a car crashed into the building, setting it on fire. Miraculously, the fire department got her out, and put out the fire before it spread much beyond that corner of the building where the car entered.
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 02/29/04 10:05 AM
atwater,
Rather wierd story, but cool all the same!.
Welcome to ECN, mate. [Linked Image]
Posted By: Lostazhell Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 03/01/04 07:02 AM
Welcome on board Atwater [Linked Image]

Hmmm... It does seem like every time I go into one of those prehistoric "fuse" panels everything's got a 30 amp stuck in it... I have an old Diamond S 120V fuse box from a turn of the century house in Compton. The homeowner kept having sporadic partial power losses & she felt that the pennies behind the fuses needed to be checked & maybe replaced!!! [Linked Image] [Linked Image] [Linked Image] Even worse than that, the original cause I found was a burning K&T splice feeding the only receptacle in the kitchen, buried behind the stove with a 6 way Gem tap screwed into it.... (Wasn't much of a load on it though... only a microwave, washing machine, gas dryer, dishwasher, toaster, coffee maker & a refridgerator!!! [Linked Image] [Linked Image] & she swore she'd only use 3 things at once!!)

_Randy
Posted By: SvenNYC Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 03/01/04 03:42 PM
Lostazhell said:

Quote
buried behind the stove with a 6 way Gem tap screwed into it....

6-way Gem tap. I assume you mean one of these? Of course it's not quite made by "Gem Electric" but it's the same concept. Courtesy of your local dollar store by way of the People's Republic of China. #1 OK!! [Linked Image]

[Linked Image from kingtecnet.com]
King Tec Product # KT-C02BL
Posted By: Lostazhell Re: Granny's Old FuseBox - 03/01/04 06:38 PM
You got it Sven! Except hers had burn marks around the prong holes from getting so hot over the years.... I think I still have that thing too... (I gotta get a new Digicam!)
From the Dollar Store? Hmmmm... I tend to be suspect of "off shore" branded electrical products... Especially after hearing about a few of those companies affixing "counterfeit" UL labels to them in "Electrical Contractor" magazine! The golden rule.. "You get what you pay for!"

[This message has been edited by Lostazhell (edited 03-01-2004).]
© ECN Electrical Forums