Fuse Box

      

The electrical protective system in your home acts as a safety device. It cuts off the electricity flowing through wiring (circuits) when wiring becomes overloaded or there is a short in the circuit. There are two protective systems: plug or cartridge fuses and circuit breakers.

Both types of protective safety devices service the same purpose they shut off power when a circuit carries more current than it should. Fuses destroy themselves (blow) and must be replaced. Circuit breakers function as switches that automatically trip open when current exceeds the circuit breaker rating. They can be reset manually by pushing the handle to the OFF position, then to the ON position.

In this article we'll cover household fuse systems, while circuit breakers are discussed here.

SAFETY COMES FIRST:
Working with electricity is not hazardous as long as you obey strict safety rules. Always shut off or disconnect power before handling wires. If you are working on the electrical service panel, do not stand on a damp floor. Protect yourself by wearing rubber gloves and rubbers, and stand on a rubber mat or a piece of dry wood. Above all, if you are in any doubt about how to do any particular job, call in a licensed electrician.

FUSE BOX:
The main service panel, usually called the fuse box in a household fuse system, is where all electrical circuits start and end. That is, electric power passes through a meter, then enters the house and is distributed by the main service panel.

Ordinarily, main and branch fuses are located in a metal fuse box that is equipped with a lever-type disconnect switch or a fusible pullout switch. The branch fuses have screw-in sockets.

Before working on your electrical system, shut off all power and make sure that a good continuous connection exists from the neutral or the service panel box to a ground rod driven into the earth or to a metal water pipe system. Also, make sure that the neutral is connected to the service panel box with a wire or bonding screw. If the main pullout switch(es) are in a separate box, these connections should be in that box instead. No ground connections should be made to white neutral wires anywhere else in your system, and no other neutral bar should be connected to the box in which it is mounted.

Some appliance circuits use fused receptacles. They can save you a trip to the main service panel. If you overload the circuit and blow the fuse, only this receptacle is out of order, and the bad fuse is at your fingertips.

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