Safety is always a primary concern of everyone especially when it comes to dealing with electricity. Proper precautions should be followed in order to avoid dangerous situations that can lead to fire, personal injury and even death. There are a lot of safety measures that should be observed when doing electrical project in your household. Electrical safety devices such as circuit breakers and fuses help prevent electrical hazards and accidents.

These electrical devices trip (circuit breaker) or blow (fuse) whenever they detect overloads or short circuits. The tripping and blowing action of these devises interrupt the flow of electricity in the circuit.

All electrical and electronic devices require protection. The protection is usually by a fuse and sometimes a circuit protected by a circuit breaker will also have a fuse in the devise. Circuit breakers can be reset when it trips but a blown fuse has to be replaced once it has blown. Fuse replacement is one of those simple electrical tasks which can be performed by the homeowner. However, it’s imperative to follow proper safety precautions when replacing fuses so that any electrical hazards can be avoided.

Fuses come in different sizes from small glass tubes in electronic devices to large fuse elements in main electrical service equipment. These fuses are rated on the amount of voltage they control in an electrical circuit. In order to choose the right type of fuse for replacement you must first identify the type of voltage that is being protected because fuses are not only rated by the amount of voltage but whether it is direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC). However, some fuses may be dual rated that can handle both DC and AC current.

Always observe the amperage of the electrical circuit that the fuse is protecting. Circuits having motors or fluorescent lighting use wire coil winding. Choose a fuse made for motor-starting or one that has a time-delay rating. Size the fuse to its specific holder. There are fuse holders that will only physically permit a certain type of fuse. These are made not only for the fuse size but also for the fuse's characteristics. Some types of fuses have specific diameter and length. Fuses of the same voltage and rating will not fit in just any fuse holder.

Most fuses have an inspection window so you can clearly see the fuse element. Inspect the fuse to determine if the element is blown. This can be done just by appearing at the element that contains the actually fuse. If the element is blown you will see a separation in the small metal strip. Always replace a blown fuse with a fuse of the same rating.

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