An electrical appliance without a properly functioning fuse is a potential hazard. Any fault, overload or incorrect use can risk electric shocks, fires or damage to the appliance itself. Make sure you’re using quality plug fuses, capacitor options, and more with the selection at Ace.
What is an Electrical Fuse?
Electrical fuses are designed to cut the power whenever the current gets too high for any reason. They are an important backup to the circuit breakers in your home's load center. Common household appliances will use electrical fuses to help protect against surges, and there are many different types of fuses available.
And to help you select the right type of electrical fuse, some models come with a tamper-proof design. These fuses can only fit into a socket with the correct amp rating, making it impossible to use the wrong fuse.
Glass, Cartridge and Plug Fuse Options
For most light commercial or consumer appliances, glass-cased fuses are used and fit directly into the appliance's plug. However, for more powerful devices such as HVAC systems or for higher-rated commercial systems, cartridge fuses fitted to the device itself are tougher and can cope with higher amp and voltage loads.
For older or non-high voltage circuits, a plug fuse is a common option. Highly convenient, plug fuses simply screw in to the circuit.
Electric vs Thermal: Microwave Fuse
Unlike electric fuses, a microwave fuse is a thermal fuse, sometimes referred to as a thermal cutoff. A microwave fuse operates differently in that the safety mechanism is activated when the appliance overheats—not when there is too much electricity.
Amp Fuse Ratings
The amp rating of a fuse tells you how much current it will allow to flow through it before blowing and cutting the supply. The higher the rating, the more it will take to blow the fuse. It's important to match the amp rating to the appliance correctly.
If the fuse amperage is too high, it won't offer full protection, potentially letting dangerous amounts of current flow. However, if it's too low, it'll often blow inconveniently under normal conditions.
For these reasons, always replace fuses with the original amp rating recommended by the device manufacturer. Ace stocks fuses rated from 0.2 amps right up to 500 amps.
Fuse Voltage Rating
The voltage rating of a fuse is an important backup safety feature. Even after a fuse blows on a high-voltage circuit, it's possible that electrical arcing could complete the circuit again with dangerous results. It's therefore essential to choose a fuse with a voltage rating greater than or equal to the circuit it's used on to prevent this from happening.
For most homes, the correct rating would be either 125V or 250V, but for more demanding situations we also carry fuses rated up to 600V.
Fast-Acting Fuse vs Time-Delay Fuse
Fuses are available as either fast-acting fuses or time-delay types.
- Fast Acting Fuse: A fast-acting fuse will blow quickly before any trouble is caused. This is the type that you’ll rely on in most circumstances. Fast-acting fuses offers the best protection for delicate electronics and minimize shock risk.
- Time Delay Fuse: Also known as dual-element fuses, time-delay fuses may be better choices than fast-acting fuses in some circumstances. For example, some heavy power tools or large appliances use a lot of power when they're first turned on. Although start capacitors keep these surges as low as possible, a time-delay fuse can handle a brief surge without blowing but will still cut the supply if the current stays too high for too long.
Run Capacitor vs Start Capacitor
Capacitors store electrical charges and are used to prevent interruptions with power supplies. Capacitors are used in circuit boards, ceiling fans, AC units and more. You’ll find two capacitor types at Ace: run and start capacitors.
- Run Capacitor: More common than start capacitors, a run capacitor stores energy to help keep an application running.
- Start Capacitor: By contrast, start capacitors help provide the energy to get your application going.
Shop Fuse and Capacitor Options at Ace
Choosing carefully between the different kinds of fuses and capacitors is essential to get the right balance of safety and convenience. Know what you need? Shop online today for quick delivery to your home or business. But If you need any advice when shopping for a start capacitor, dual-element fuse, meter sockets or any other electrical hardware, stop by your local Ace Hardware store where our knowledgeable staff will be happy to help.
