Contact Intermountain Fuse Supply Inc.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Call: 1-800-246-8336
Fax: 1-801-466-1998

 

 

Salt Lake City, UT, US

Now
Partly Cloudy
81°F, Windchill: 81°F
Wind: 12 mph N
Humidity: 15%
Visibility: 0 mi
pressure: 29.78 in falling
Sunrise: 6:58 am
Sunset: 7:53 pm
Sun
Clear/Wind
Hi: 81°F, Low: 44°F
Mon
Sunny
Hi: 70°F, Low: 51°F
Maintenance
Monday, 23 February 2009 21:05

Maintenance:  It is very unusual that a fuse would blow without a reason. It is important to look for the cause before replacing the fuse.

 Common reasons for blowing are overloading, a direct short circuit, the enviroment is too hot, the voltage may be too low, or one of the three phases has been lost. If the fuse is a small fractional amperage fuse protecting an electronic circuit, there may not be an adequate ground to dissipate spikes from the spike protection device. The system ground wire should be the same size or larger than the current carrying conductors. It should go all the way back to the distribution panel. Conduit is not adequate for grounding spike protectors.

 Fuse clips should be replaced when necessary. They tend to lose spring tension over the years. Terminals on the fuse blocks as well as circuit breakers should be checked for tightness. They tend to come loose with time. Loose terminals and fuse clips can result in heating, loss of voltage and drawing too many amps.

 A fuse should be replaced if it is corroded or several years old. Supply voltage should be checked routinely, especially during hot weather. Low voltage will result in drawing more amps. A 10% drop in voltage line voltage may result in a significant increase in amperage as well as a dramatic increase in operating temperature.

 When devices are properly fused, the fuses will usually blow if one of the three phases is lost. Protective devices can be installed on motors and distribution panels to shut off current and alarm if a phase is lost or reversed.