Can anyone explain why 5 amp cartridge fuses used in Consumer Units are
so expensive compared to 5 Amp fuses used in plugs. Apart from the size I
cannot see what difference there can be in them . The two I bought today
locally ( Glasgow ) were 55p (each) but I have seen them much more
expensive than that .
Stuart

--

"YESTERDAY is history,TOMORROW is a mystery,TODAY is a gift

That is why it is called the present "

On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 16:09:40 +0000, Stuart
wrote:

Can anyone explain why 5 amp cartridge fuses used in Consumer Units are
so expensive compared to 5 Amp fuses used in plugs. Apart from the size I
cannot see what difference there can be in them . The two I bought today
locally ( Glasgow ) were 55p (each) but I have seen them much more
expensive than that .
Stuart

1) For the same reason that a dog licks its private parts

2) Volume




..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

In article ,
Stuart writes:
Can anyone explain why 5 amp cartridge fuses used in Consumer Units are

BS1361

so expensive compared to 5 Amp fuses used in plugs.

BS1362

Apart from the size I
cannot see what difference there can be in them .

BS1631 fuse has a much higher breaking capacity, as it's next upline
fuse is likely to be much high higher capacity than is the case for
a BS1362 fuse.

If you stick a BS1362 plugtop fuse in a consumer unit and then short
out the lighting circuit, the BS1362 fuse might not be able to break
the resulting high current flow, in which case the 100A main fuse will
be left to do so, which will wreck the lighting wiring and might cause
a fire (much more than 100A will pass).

--
Andrew Gabriel

Andy Hall wrote:
On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 16:09:40 +0000, Stuart
wrote:

Can anyone explain why 5 amp cartridge fuses used in Consumer Units
are so expensive compared to 5 Amp fuses used in plugs. Apart from
the size I cannot see what difference there can be in them . The two
I bought today locally ( Glasgow ) were 55p (each) but I have seen
them much more expensive than that .
Stuart

1) For the same reason that a dog licks its private parts

2) Volume
.andy


Never had to buy one in 22years of owning such a CU .... but within a week
of changing it to a MCB type, one of the 6A lighting mcbs tripped when a
halogen mains bulb blew. I just wonder what fault current the fuses actually
would need to blow...

Never had to buy one in 22years of owning such a CU .... but within a
week of changing it to a MCB type, one of the 6A lighting mcbs
tripped when a halogen mains bulb blew. I just wonder what fault
current the fuses actually would need to blow...

Fuses have a curve like MCBs without the instantaneous trip for short
circuits. They will certainly trip on the fault current caused by a short
circuited ionised blowing bulb. However, they need it to flow for more than
a few milliseconds, unlike an MCB.

Christian.

On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 16:59:25 -0000, "BillR"
wrote:

Andy Hall wrote:
On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 16:09:40 +0000, Stuart
wrote:

Can anyone explain why 5 amp cartridge fuses used in Consumer Units
are so expensive compared to 5 Amp fuses used in plugs. Apart from
the size I cannot see what difference there can be in them . The two
I bought today locally ( Glasgow ) were 55p (each) but I have seen
them much more expensive than that .
Stuart

1) For the same reason that a dog licks its private parts

2) Volume
.andy


Never had to buy one in 22years of owning such a CU .... but within a week
of changing it to a MCB type, one of the 6A lighting mcbs tripped when a
halogen mains bulb blew. I just wonder what fault current the fuses actually
would need to blow...


Funnily enough that wahy I had to buy one -when one of the halogen bulbs
in the kitchen blew and the cartridge fuse went
Stuart

--

"YESTERDAY is history,TOMORROW is a mystery,TODAY is a gift

That is why it is called the present "

In article ,
(Stuart) wrote:

Can anyone explain why 5 amp cartridge fuses used in Consumer Units
are so expensive compared to 5 Amp fuses used in plugs. Apart from the
size I
cannot see what difference there can be in them . The two I bought today
locally ( Glasgow ) were 55p (each) but I have seen them much more
expensive than that .
Stuart

--

"YESTERDAY is history,TOMORROW is a mystery,TODAY is a gift

That is why it is called the present "

Presumably one of the reasons is because there's not the same market for
them (not many needed compared with plug size and not the same competition
between manufacturers.

I'm assuming that size alone would also make a big difference to the cost.

Roger

On 13 Jan 2004 16:51:41 GMT, (Andrew Gabriel)
wrote:

In article ,
Stuart writes:
Can anyone explain why 5 amp cartridge fuses used in Consumer Units are

BS1361

so expensive compared to 5 Amp fuses used in plugs.

BS1362

Apart from the size I
cannot see what difference there can be in them .

BS1631 fuse has a much higher breaking capacity, as it's next upline
fuse is likely to be much high higher capacity than is the case for
a BS1362 fuse.

If you stick a BS1362 plugtop fuse in a consumer unit and then short
out the lighting circuit, the BS1362 fuse might not be able to break
the resulting high current flow, in which case the 100A main fuse will
be left to do so, which will wreck the lighting wiring and might cause
a fire (much more than 100A will pass).

Thx Andrew for that explanation-better take out the plug fuse which is put
in yesterday and use the proper one .:-)
Stuart

--

"YESTERDAY is history,TOMORROW is a mystery,TODAY is a gift

That is why it is called the present "

On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 17:20:03 +0000 (UTC), wrote:

In article ,
(Stuart) wrote:

Can anyone explain why 5 amp cartridge fuses used in Consumer Units
are so expensive compared to 5 Amp fuses used in plugs. Apart from the
size I
cannot see what difference there can be in them . The two I bought today
locally ( Glasgow ) were 55p (each) but I have seen them much more
expensive than that .
Stuart

--

"YESTERDAY is history,TOMORROW is a mystery,TODAY is a gift

That is why it is called the present "

Presumably one of the reasons is because there's not the same market for
them (not many needed compared with plug size and not the same competition
between manufacturers.

I'm assuming that size alone would also make a big difference to the cost.

Roger

Well maybe on account of numbers needed but the size difference isnt that
much .
Stuart

--

"YESTERDAY is history,TOMORROW is a mystery,TODAY is a gift

That is why it is called the present "

Very interesting! I too had to replace the lighting fuse in the CU when a
halogen bulb blew.

Steve

In article ,
Stuart wrote:
Presumably one of the reasons is because there's not the same market
for them (not many needed compared with plug size and not the same
competition between manufacturers.

I'm assuming that size alone would also make a big difference to the
cost.

Roger

Well maybe on account of numbers needed but the size difference isnt
that much .

For *serious* fuse prices, check out those for a Fluke multimeter...

--
*Always drink upstream from the herd *

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

"Dave Plowman" wrote in message
...


For *serious* fuse prices, check out those for a Fluke multimeter...

6-10 dollars !

In message , Dave Plowman
writes
In article ,
Stuart wrote:
Presumably one of the reasons is because there's not the same market
for them (not many needed compared with plug size and not the same
competition between manufacturers.

I'm assuming that size alone would also make a big difference to the
cost.

Roger

Well maybe on account of numbers needed but the size difference isnt
that much .

For *serious* fuse prices, check out those for a Fluke multimeter...

Anyone know the best place to buy fuses from ?
RS prices seem to be a complete rip off

--
geoff

On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 22:48:54 +0000 (GMT), Dave Plowman
wrote:

For *serious* fuse prices, check out those for a Fluke multimeter...

I smoked one of my £2 Maplin DVMs last week.

Still cheaper than a fuse for the Fluke

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message , Dave Plowman
writes
In article ,
Stuart wrote:
Presumably one of the reasons is because there's not the same market
for them (not many needed compared with plug size and not the same
competition between manufacturers.

I'm assuming that size alone would also make a big difference to the
cost.

Roger

Well maybe on account of numbers needed but the size difference isnt
that much .

For *serious* fuse prices, check out those for a Fluke multimeter...

Anyone know the best place to buy fuses from ?
RS prices seem to be a complete rip off

maybe here
http://tinyurl.com/2qz5l

In message , Chris
Oates writes

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message , Dave Plowman
writes
In article ,
Stuart wrote:
Presumably one of the reasons is because there's not the same market
for them (not many needed compared with plug size and not the same
competition between manufacturers.

I'm assuming that size alone would also make a big difference to the
cost.

Roger

Well maybe on account of numbers needed but the size difference isnt
that much .

For *serious* fuse prices, check out those for a Fluke multimeter...

Anyone know the best place to buy fuses from ?
RS prices seem to be a complete rip off

maybe here
http://tinyurl.com/2qz5l

CPC are a bit but not significantly cheaper (if they actually have what
you want in stock, that is)

--
geoff

(Andrew Gabriel) wrote in message ...
If you stick a BS1362 plugtop fuse in a consumer unit and then short
out the lighting circuit, the BS1362 fuse might not be able to break
the resulting high current flow, in which case the 100A main fuse will
be left to do so, which will wreck the lighting wiring and might cause
a fire (much more than 100A will pass).

Or alternatively for maximum safety and lack of false fuse blowing you
replace the 5A CU fuse with a 13A plugtop fuse as the previous owners
of our house had done!!

In article ,
geoff wrote:
Anyone know the best place to buy fuses from ?
RS prices seem to be a complete rip off

I've bought a couple of 20mm fuse sets - one AS, one normal, off Ebay at
about 1/4 of the RS price.

--
*Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

In article ,
Andy Dingley wrote:
For *serious* fuse prices, check out those for a Fluke multimeter...

I smoked one of my £2 Maplin DVMs last week.

Still cheaper than a fuse for the Fluke

But for a serious user, a good DVM is a delight - same as with most tools.

Bit like a cheap cordless drill against a decent one. Until you've used a
good one the cheap one seems ok.

--
*Strip mining prevents forest fires.

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

"Andy Dingley" wrote
| I smoked one of my £2 Maplin DVMs last week.

Cheaper than a cigar.

Owain

"Chris Oates" none wrote in message ...
"Dave Plowman" wrote in message
...


For *serious* fuse prices, check out those for a Fluke multimeter...

6-10 dollars !

Check out a fuse for 100A at tens of kV - that'll cost ya. So will the
fuseholder. Theyre big buggers.


Regards, NT

"N. Thornton" wrote in message
m...
"Chris Oates" none wrote in message
...
"Dave Plowman" wrote in message
...


For *serious* fuse prices, check out those for a Fluke multimeter...

6-10 dollars !

Check out a fuse for 100A at tens of kV - that'll cost ya. So will the
fuseholder. Theyre big buggers.

In rural America, where trees fall down or line 'whips'
and linemen are many miles away, they use a novel
fusing system - a bank of three fuses in canisters.
When the fuse blows the canister explodes away
from the pole and pushes up the next fuse.

On 14 Jan 2004 14:43:47 -0800, (N. Thornton) wrote:

Check out a fuse for 100A at tens of kV - that'll cost ya. So will the
fuseholder. Theyre big buggers.

They are indeed. I've a bunch of them here, picked up from Marconi's
scrap pile. I eBayed a few to the Flash-Gordon wannabee market.
--
Do whales have krillfiles ?

In rural America, where trees fall down or line 'whips'
and linemen are many miles away, they use a novel
fusing system - a bank of three fuses in canisters.
When the fuse blows the canister explodes away
from the pole and pushes up the next fuse.

Any chance of an URL? As a fan of all things high-voltage... I Googled
a bit but couldn't find them yet...

snip
As a fan of all things high-voltage...

Have you seen this.....?
http://www.wiseguysynth.com/larry/day.htm
500KV power arc 3 storeys high.....

"Abdullah Eyles" wrote in message
om...
In rural America, where trees fall down or line 'whips'
and linemen are many miles away, they use a novel
fusing system - a bank of three fuses in canisters.
When the fuse blows the canister explodes away
from the pole and pushes up the next fuse.

Any chance of an URL? As a fan of all things high-voltage... I Googled
a bit but couldn't find them yet...

It's here somewhere
http://electrical-contractor.net/

I'll see if I can locate it

In message , Mike Harrison
writes


snip
As a fan of all things high-voltage...

Have you seen this.....?
http://www.wiseguysynth.com/larry/day.htm
500KV power arc 3 storeys high.....

Not since yesterday, no
--
geoff