On Tue, 01 Nov 2005 11:07:42 +0000, Alex
wrote:

John Rumm wrote:
If you have the traditional Wylex type rewireable fuses:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Ind...ex_Rewireable/


Then you can get plug in MCBs to replace these:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Ind...nge/index.html

Would such a replacement bring any safety benefit? My "new" (30 years
old) has such fuses instead of circuit breakers, and I'm worried about
the electrical safety of fuses vs circuit breakers.

There is no reason to assume that the fuses will be any less safe than
circuit breakers, assuming they were correctly installed in the first
place and have not been fiddled with.

The inherent problem with rewirable fuses is that you can rewire them
with just about anything. It is not uncommon to find that a fuse which
keeps blowing is "fixed" by putting in 30A wire instead of 5A. To a
lesser extent cartridge fuses can also be abused in this way.

The only case when I would definitely recommend replacing fuses with
MCBs on safety grounds is when the property is to be rented out, but
in such cases you would probably want to put in a split box anyway.

John
--
John White
SCA Electrical, Manchester http://www.scaelectrical.co.uk/
Domestic and commercial electrical contractors