"Steven Watkins" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 10 Nov 2018 23:00:46 -0000, Rod Speed
wrote:



"Steven Watkins" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 10 Nov 2018 22:13:34 -0000, NY wrote:

"Steven Watkins" wrote in message
news
And you could have just used the fuse/circuit breaker in the consumer
unit
for that.

About the only advantage of a fuse over a circuit breaker is that you
can
physically remove a fuse and keep it with you while you are working on
the
appliance, safe in the knowledge that almost certainly no power can be
restored. A circuit breaker can be restored to the on position by
someone
who doesn't know that it is off for a reason.

The other advantage is no nuisance trips. That's one of the main
reasons
why I still have fuses in my house. That and I see no point in
replacing
the consumer unit with circuit breakers. My tradesman neighbour is
constantly called out to work out why houses keep tripping for no
reason.
It's often just something tiny leaking a little bit of current to earth.

I heard of a case years ago of a woman who called out an electrician.
The
electrician turned off one circuit and started work. The husband got
home
from work, saw that the ring main was off, thought it had tripped and
turned
it back on. The electrician died even though the RCD tripped within the
regulation time, probably because it was an hand-to-hand
across-the-chest
shock and he had had a heart attack previously which left him more
susceptible.

So RCDs aren't that good then. Anyway, they don't protect against live
to
neutral shocks, which is what my neighbour got when he was up a ladder
fixing a light. No harm from the electricity (healthy people don't die
from 240V),

Some do actually.

********.

Fact.

Funny how I've had several of them, some across the chest.

No one said it was certain to kill you. And you arent a healthy person
anyway.

but he did sprain his ankle falling off the ladder.