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| I have an old fuse box that blew a fuse and I am not sure how to replace it. It has a row of 4 edison screw type fuses. The middle 2 are red and say "time delay fuse 20Amp." The outter two are clear. Abbove this row of 4 fuses are two carriages side by side. The one on the left says "Main" and the one on the right says "Range." On both carriages it says "When fully in reverse for OFF."
On the panel door it says its a murray manufacturing corporation fuse box. I am not sure how to get into the carriages as there is no main switch. So do I just unscrew the fuses below to kill power to the carriages? Or do I need to reverse them if thats what the writing means? Since there is no main switch do I need to make sure everything in the apartment is off before I unscrew the fuses? Or should I look for another fuse box that might have the switch? Thank you for any help or advice you can give. Jim |
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| I'm not sure I understand what your problem is. The four screw-in fuses are for branch circuits. If only a few of your lights or receptacles don't work, it's probably because one of those fuses is open (blown). YOu can usually tell which is bad because it will have a blackened face, or (for the time delay type) the spring inside will be short rather than stretched out. If one of these fuses has opened, it's a fairly simple matter to replace it. But first you need to turn off the main switch. Here is the secret which shouldn't be a secret. The black bakelite blocks that are marked "When fully in reverse for OFF" are both fuse holders AND switches! To turn off the power, seize the wire handle on the MAIN block, and pull the block straight out of the panel. Then put it back in upside down. Then you can safely change the blown branch circuit fuse. When done, pull the MAIN block out and reinsert it right side up (or the way it was before). Now, if about half of your lights and outlets are out, and all the screw-in fuses (confusingly called "plug fuses" ;-) below seem to be OK, it could be that one of the main fuses has opened. To check them, pull the MAIN block straight out as described above, but don't put it back in yet. Turn it over and you'll see the two main cartridge fuses. (You can see a bit of the cartridges through the holes in the blocks, in your picture.) Carefully pull the fuses out. Put the block back into the panel, upside down as above. Then take the fuses to your hardware or electrical store for testing and, if necessary, replacement. If a main fuse fails repeatedly, it's a sign that your house's electrical service capacity is too low. In this case you'll need to hire a pro to evaluate the electrical system, and take bids on an upgrade. |
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| You do not need to turn off the main to change a branch circuit fuse. Unscrew the blown fuse and screw in a new fuse of the EXACT SAME TYPE. |
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- Posted by ronnatalie (My Page) on Mon, Sep 11, 06 at 9:37
| Unscrew the blown fuse and screw in a new fuse of the EXACT SAME TYPE. Actually, I'd think carefully about what the PROPER fuse should be. Unless you've got fusestat's, it's quite possible that someone put a larger fuse in there at some point in the intervening years. Any screw-in type fuse over 15A should be suspect :-) |
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- Posted by bus_driver (My Page) on Mon, Sep 11, 06 at 11:27
| I subscribe to the wisdom found at 1 Thessalonians 5:21. Once I found that a homeowner had been told that he should install the TypeS adapters and he did so. His thinking was that if 15 amps was good, 30 amps was twice as good. All his wiring was 14 gauge. I removed the 30 amp adapters with a Trico tool and installed the correct ones. |
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| Heck my dad just busts out that plastic and adds a drop or two of solder to fix those sprung plug fusetrons links. |
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| "Actually, I'd think carefully about what the PROPER fuse should be. " For someone asking how to even change an edison fuse, determining the correct circuit ampacity is probably a real stretch. |
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| I will change an Edison base fuse with the power on, but I recommend that non-electrical types open the main first. That way it's just about impossible to get hurt. |
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- Posted by ronnatalie (My Page) on Tue, Sep 12, 06 at 9:27
| Of course, pulling and replacing the main is about as dangerous as replacing the branch circuit fuse hot. |
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| Just out of curiousity, what is the danger in switching out an Edison base fuse with the power on? Is it just that your finger might slip into the hole and contact the live components, or is it something else that I can't even guess at? |
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| Both sodes of teh scrw socket in an Edison fuse are hot as soon as the fuse makes contact with them. The design is actualy pretty good though. The base contct will not touch until the metal shell is covered pretty well. |
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| I need one of those blocks. I have one of these old fuse boxes too, except mine is missing the "RANGE" block that goes into the right slot in that picture. It's made by Turnbull, and I can't find it anywhere. |
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- Posted by garyrt51(garyrt@yahoo.com) onMon, Feb 26, 07 at 10:53
| How do you know if the blocks are upside down? The writing appears to be same either way. |
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| One way the contacts are made so the range or panel is "on". the other way the contacts are not made , so the range or panel is "off". |
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| But, you can't know by just looking at the block, right? |
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| All the ones I have are pretty clear about when they are upside down. |
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- Posted by bus_driver (My Page) on Tue, Feb 27, 07 at 7:41
| Some of the fuse blocks have a notch in the side that that permits reading the marking on the side of the contact base. The word "OFF" will appear in the notch when the pullout block is reversed. That word is covered when the block is in the "ON" position. For those who still have this style panel, it is vitally important that the block be pushed firmly all the way in when the panel is supplying power. A loosely installed block will soon result in a completely ruined panel. |
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| I was just looking at the picure of the fuse box in the original posting. By the picture, it would appear that you could not tell if the block was inserted for " on " or " off ". What am I missing ?? Thanks |
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| Maybe this is the answer, if the block is inserted for "off", it will not go all the way in. If insterted all the way, it would indicate it is "on". So, if the block is all the way in, it is on. |
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- Posted by ronnatalie (My Page) on Wed, Feb 28, 07 at 5:12
| If you don't pull the main, it's hard to get the penny in there :-) |
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| If you pull out the blocks (they normally contain a pair of cartridge fuses) be sure to pull them fully out quickly. This is not the time to be tentative, just pull them out. The same goes for plugging them back in in the 'ON' positin. Push them in quickly and firmly. Going slowly can allow an arc to establish and damage the blades and sockets making the actual connection. The same thing goes with screwing in Edison base fuses. |
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| I have an older 100 amp fuse service in my early '60's ranch. Have asked a question or two on this forum. I've noticed the two books on 'wiring' I've got have very little info devoted to fuses. Ninety percent is devoted to breakers even though books are ten or twenty years old. Anyone have a recommendation on a book for fuses and boxes?
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| Fuse panels have not been used much for over 50 years. If you have them it is likely time to upgrade to breakers. I used to do a changeover every Saturday for many years. In Virginia you can do it without the POCO standing there (unload and pull the meter) and then use jumpers from the old meter base to the new meter base and shorting bars in the new base. If you plan carefully power is off for about 5 minutes (or less). After inspection the POCO returns and replaces the feed to the meter if required (and on their nickel, including weather head and drop to the meter base.).
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