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> Turns out, I need a 3A fuse, so I ordered one from Amazon OP might want to watch Louis Rossmann's video about buying things from Amazon. https://www.youtube

> Turns out, I need a 3A fuse, so I ordered one from Amazon OP might want to watch Louis Rossmann's video about buying things from Amazon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B90_SNNbcoU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B90_SNNbcoU

Symbiote 3y ago
I was surprised someone would order this from Amazon, rather than get one from the nearest convenience shop or supermarket. Those places only sell the normal thing for local use. I was further surprised that someone would be worried about installing the fuse. Is he also worried about plugging things in generally?
- xattt 3y ago
  I see the recommendation every so often to buy a fuse locally, but I don’t live in Akihabara. I HAVE to buy online electronic components, and usually it ends up being Amazon, because other national suppliers insist on charging $15 for courier shipping on a $2 part.
  - Symbiote 3y ago
    The person lives in an apartment in Britain. Apartments are only built in towns and cities, and are generally within walking distance of convenience shops and supermarkets. Every plug in Britain has a fuse, so they are about as easy to buy as replacement light bulbs. Probably on the same shelf.
    - MeImCounting 3y ago
      This is fascinating! I did not know this about british plugs. Why is that? Is it a safety measure?
      - tjohns 3y ago
        British household electrical systems are normally built as one large ring circuit, originally in order to save copper after WW2. This means you don't have breakers for each branch circuit (there are no branch circuits), just the single mains breaker for the house. This single breaker is too large to trip from a short from occuring in the smaller wires inside an appliance. So each plug (or hardwired device) needs it's own dedicated smaller fuse instead.
        zarzavat 3y ago
        To add: Many pre-90s buildings don’t even have circuit breakers, they have fuse boxes with fuse wire (different fuse to the one being talked about). Literally just a piece of wire that burns out at a certain current and breaks the connection. You “reset” it by putting a new piece of wire in. The second fuse at the plug allows using a narrower gauge of wire in the device’s cord. Let’s say you have a lamp with a 3A fuse, the cord only needs to be able to handle 3A, so then it can be lighter and cheaper. If it had to handle the same amperage as the circuit it’s plugged into then it would be seriously impractical and expensive. Of course there are modern ways of solving this but fuses are dirt cheap and already implemented.
        outofmyshed 3y ago
        My last place had a 1970s Wylex board, which at least had plug-in MCB modules that replaced the fuse wire holders and can be reset. However given you can still buy fuse wire in DIY stores there still must be installations out there that need it. Shudder.
        Angostura 3y ago
        I recently replaced the old fusewire plugs with MCB modules. Really didn't fancy trying to wind a bit of wire around the terminals in the cellar in the dark :)
        Symbiote 3y ago
        My parents' house still has fuses with fuse wire. They had it rewired when they bought it in the 1980s, and that was the standard then. A fuse blowing is so rare I don't think they're worried by the inconvenience. It might happen every 5 years or more.
    - xattt 3y ago
      Thanks for clarifying. I took the fuse in the article to mean something like an appliance fuse, which for some reason, was conveniently located in an accessible place.
neither_color 3y ago
For US readers: The big orange or blue store are probably better for you for anything electric that would go in your walls. I went down a rabbit hole of amazon clones of popular brand things like switches/dimmers/outlets and what I found is dubious UL certificates shared by multiple "brands".
- inetknght 3y ago
  > what I found is dubious UL certificates shared by multiple "brands" Have you reported it to UL? https://www.ul.com/resources/market-surveillance-departments https://www.ul.com/resources/market-surveillance-departments
ikt 3y ago
That's what immediately stood out to me, why the hell would you order it from Amazon instead of literally driving 5 minutes down the road to pick one up from any electronics or hardware store? what a horribly inefficient way to do things
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

Symbiote 3y ago

I was surprised someone would order this from Amazon, rather than get one from the nearest convenience shop or supermarket. Those places only sell the normal thing for local use. I was further surprised that someone would be worried about installing the fuse. Is he also worried about plugging things in generally?

xattt 3y ago
I see the recommendation every so often to buy a fuse locally, but I don’t live in Akihabara. I HAVE to buy online electronic components, and usually it ends up being Amazon, because other national suppliers insist on charging $15 for courier shipping on a $2 part.
- Symbiote 3y ago
  The person lives in an apartment in Britain. Apartments are only built in towns and cities, and are generally within walking distance of convenience shops and supermarkets. Every plug in Britain has a fuse, so they are about as easy to buy as replacement light bulbs. Probably on the same shelf.
  - MeImCounting 3y ago
    This is fascinating! I did not know this about british plugs. Why is that? Is it a safety measure?
    - tjohns 3y ago
      British household electrical systems are normally built as one large ring circuit, originally in order to save copper after WW2. This means you don't have breakers for each branch circuit (there are no branch circuits), just the single mains breaker for the house. This single breaker is too large to trip from a short from occuring in the smaller wires inside an appliance. So each plug (or hardwired device) needs it's own dedicated smaller fuse instead.
      - zarzavat 3y ago
        To add: Many pre-90s buildings don’t even have circuit breakers, they have fuse boxes with fuse wire (different fuse to the one being talked about). Literally just a piece of wire that burns out at a certain current and breaks the connection. You “reset” it by putting a new piece of wire in. The second fuse at the plug allows using a narrower gauge of wire in the device’s cord. Let’s say you have a lamp with a 3A fuse, the cord only needs to be able to handle 3A, so then it can be lighter and cheaper. If it had to handle the same amperage as the circuit it’s plugged into then it would be seriously impractical and expensive. Of course there are modern ways of solving this but fuses are dirt cheap and already implemented.
        outofmyshed 3y ago
        My last place had a 1970s Wylex board, which at least had plug-in MCB modules that replaced the fuse wire holders and can be reset. However given you can still buy fuse wire in DIY stores there still must be installations out there that need it. Shudder.
        Angostura 3y ago
        I recently replaced the old fusewire plugs with MCB modules. Really didn't fancy trying to wind a bit of wire around the terminals in the cellar in the dark :)
        Symbiote 3y ago
        My parents' house still has fuses with fuse wire. They had it rewired when they bought it in the 1980s, and that was the standard then. A fuse blowing is so rare I don't think they're worried by the inconvenience. It might happen every 5 years or more.
  - xattt 3y ago
    Thanks for clarifying. I took the fuse in the article to mean something like an appliance fuse, which for some reason, was conveniently located in an accessible place.

neither_color 3y ago

For US readers: The big orange or blue store are probably better for you for anything electric that would go in your walls. I went down a rabbit hole of amazon clones of popular brand things like switches/dimmers/outlets and what I found is dubious UL certificates shared by multiple "brands".

inetknght 3y ago
> what I found is dubious UL certificates shared by multiple "brands" Have you reported it to UL? https://www.ul.com/resources/market-surveillance-departments https://www.ul.com/resources/market-surveillance-departments

ikt 3y ago

That's what immediately stood out to me, why the hell would you order it from Amazon instead of literally driving 5 minutes down the road to pick one up from any electronics or hardware store? what a horribly inefficient way to do things

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]