In a house built in 1936 on an ancient fuse board it has huge copper U
shaped plugs that act as fuse holders.
They are unbelievably stiff to pull in and out, so only those with the
strongest fingers can manage it.
Is there some kind of lubrication that could be thinly smeared on the
copper prongs that would be safe to do?
Thanks.

On 03/09/2020 10:20, john west wrote:

In a house built in 1936 on an ancient fuse board it has huge copper U
shaped plugs that act as fuse holders.
They are unbelievably stiff to pull in and out, so only those with the
strongest fingers can manage it.
Is there some kind of lubrication that could be thinly smeared on the
copper prongs that would be safe to do?

You can get purpose made contact cleaners, and contact lubricants / greases.

e.g.

https://cpc.farnell.com/electrolube/...ct%20lubricant

or

https://cpc.farnell.com/electrolube/...ntact%20grease

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 03/09/2020 10:20, john west wrote:

In a house built in 1936 on an ancient fuse board it has huge copper U
shaped plugs that act as fuse holders.
They are unbelievably stiff to pull in and out, so only those with the
strongest fingers can manage it.
Is there some kind of lubrication that could be thinly smeared on the
copper prongs that would be safe to do?

Try Vaseline. Standard for car battery terminals and, though
non-conductive, the pressure should thin it enough to allow conduction.

--
Max Demian

On 03/09/2020 12:26, John Rumm wrote:
On 03/09/2020 10:20, john west wrote:

In a house built in 1936 on an ancient fuse board it has huge copper U
shaped plugs that act as fuse holders.
They are unbelievably stiff to pull in and out, so only those with the
strongest fingers can manage it.
Is there some kind of lubrication that could be thinly smeared on the
copper prongs that would be safe to do?

You can get purpose made contact cleaners, and contact lubricants /
greases.

e.g.

https://cpc.farnell.com/electrolube/...ct%20lubricant


or

https://cpc.farnell.com/electrolube/...ntact%20grease


That would be my suggestion too. It's probably related to that slightly
gritty-feeling corrosion that you sometimes get on electrical contacts,
so light abrasion of the fuse with steel wool or fine emery might also
help. Obviously, you don't want to remove the plating (but it is
probably thick on old hardware).

That said, vaseline shouldn't do any harm either and the OP may have
that to hand.

john west has brought this to us :
They are unbelievably stiff to pull in and out, so only those with the
strongest fingers can manage it.
Is there some kind of lubrication that could be thinly smeared on the copper
prongs that would be safe to do?

Vaseline is usually recommended for contacts.

Vaseline?
That is what I used to put on them when we first moved here, but the house
was rewired in the 70s and a new plastic consumer unit with circuit breakers
put in. The old wiring was insulated in perished rubber and a kind of cotton
stuff outside it.
Brian

--
--
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"john west" wrote in message
...

In a house built in 1936 on an ancient fuse board it has huge copper U
shaped plugs that act as fuse holders.
They are unbelievably stiff to pull in and out, so only those with the
strongest fingers can manage it.
Is there some kind of lubrication that could be thinly smeared on the
copper prongs that would be safe to do?
Thanks.

On 03/09/2020 17:56, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
john west has brought this to us :
They are unbelievably stiff to pull in and out, so only those with the
strongest fingers can manage it.
Is there some kind of lubrication that could be thinly smeared on the
copper prongs that would be safe to do?

Vaseline is usually recommended for contacts.

No-one has asked the question, 'Is there any VIR or lead-sheathed
cables in that property. Is there an earth of any sort ?.

In article , Brian Gaff \(Sofa\)
wrote:
Vaseline? That is what I used to put on them when we first moved here,
but the house was rewired in the 70s and a new plastic consumer unit with
circuit breakers put in. The old wiring was insulated in perished rubber
and a kind of cotton stuff outside it. Brian

I had to replace lead-sheathed stuff when I rewired here (1978ish). The
insulation had persihed in places so the sheath was live,

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On 03/09/2020 10:20, john west wrote:

In a house built in 1936 on an ancient fuse board it has huge copper U
shaped plugs that act as fuse holders.
They are unbelievably stiff to pull in and out, so only those with the
strongest fingers can manage it.
Is there some kind of lubrication that could be thinly smeared on the
copper prongs that would be safe to do?
Thanks.

Just rub them with a soft 'lead' pencil.

--
Cheers
Clive

On 3/9/20 7:20 pm, john west wrote:

In a house built in 1936 on an ancient fuse board it has huge copper U
shaped plugs that act as fuse holders.
They are unbelievably stiff to pull in and out, so only those with the
strongest fingers can manage it.
Is there some kind of lubrication that could be thinly smeared on the
copper prongs that would be safe to do?
Thanks.
Dielectric grease.

on 03/09/2020, Brian Gaff (Sofa) supposed :
The old wiring was insulated in perished rubber and a kind of cotton stuff
outside it.
Brian

VRI? Vulcanised rubber, covered by a waxed cotton. The rubber would dry
out and crumble wherever it was exposed to the atmosphere. Where it
remained protected by the waxed cotton, it would usually survive
better,

charles was thinking very hard :
I had to replace lead-sheathed stuff when I rewired here (1978ish). The
insulation had persihed in places so the sheath was live,

The lead sheath was supposed to be earthed. It was supposed to be used
with metal terminal boxes, with a clamp onto the sheath to maintain the
earthing. A common dodge to connect to the sheath, was a copper pyro
clip + brass nut and bolt.

In article ,
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
charles was thinking very hard :
I had to replace lead-sheathed stuff when I rewired here (1978ish). The
insulation had persihed in places so the sheath was live,

The lead sheath was supposed to be earthed. It was supposed to be used
with metal terminal boxes, with a clamp onto the sheath to maintain the
earthing. A common dodge to connect to the sheath, was a copper pyro
clip + brass nut and bolt.

I suspect that when the house was part rewired (in PVC) any earth
continuity got lost.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle