On Saturday, December 27, 2014 3:11:25 PM UTC-5, wrote:
If your house still has Fuses, Stock up on Fuses BEFORE the Holiday!

I'm posting this because I have a vivid memory of going to visit my
uncle, when I was around 10 years old. A fuse blew in his panel. He
did not have any spare fuses, and all the stores were closed. So, he
put a penny behind the fuse. I watched him do it, and even at my young
age, I thought that was dangerous. A little while later there was smoke
coming out of the fuse box. so the main was shut off. We spent the next
few hours of that holiday using candles, and it was getting cold in the
house because the furnace needed electricity.

My other uncle was an electrician, but he was at some other party. He
had to make a special trip to repair the damages, and I still remember
the electrician uncle calling the other uncle an idiot for doing that.
I know the repair involved replacing some burnt wires and maybe more. I
watched him doing the work and saw the charred wires. But the
electrician was able to temporarily get power to most of the house and
get the heat working. (I suppose he just disconnected the burnt wires
from the circuit that overloaded).

Anyhow, this was probably over 40 years ago, but I still remember it
vividly. So, if you have a fuse box, stock up on fuses BEFORE the
holiday, After all, you'll be using a lot more power than normal, since
it's a holiday. More lights, holiday decorations, and very likely an
electric roaster, which are huge energy users.

And of course the stores will be closed......

upgrade to breakers, adding safety, convenience, plus homes that still have fuses are near impossible to sell, you cant get homewners insurance on homes that still have breakers