Working with electrical fuses? Stay safe by following these easy-to-remember tips:
Match Fuse & Wire Sizes. Always make sure your fuse and wire sizes match up.
Fuses are just as safe as more modern circuit breakers, as long as they’re correctly matched to the wire size used in the circuit.
Here’s a cheat sheet to proper pairings for standard home wiring:
- A No. 14 wire gets a 15-amp fuse
- A No. 12 wire gets a 20-amp fuse
- A No. 10 wire gets a 30-amp fuse
Ask your electrician to write the correct fuse size for each spot right on the fuse panel inside your fuse box, and never install a fuse bigger than what he or she has noted for you.
When a Fuse Blows. When you blow a fuse, keep in mind that it’s just doing it’s job – it’s protecting your home from overheating wiring, which can cause a fire. The answer is not to install a larger fuse. Instead, you need to reduce the load by turning off whatever you were running that caused the circuit to blow in the first place. Try running fewer items on that same fuse, or move an item to a different part of the room that runs off a separate circuit.