| Q | Should I use a circuit breaker or fuse? |
| A | We will always recommend a fuse over a circuit breaker as they are reliable (there are no moving parts) so should be considered first, and where sensitive electronic equipment is involved a circuit breaker should never be used. This is because the time taken for the circuit breaker to operate can be longer than it would take a traditional fuse to blow, potentially exposing the circuit to damaging overload currents for longer. |
| Q | What is continuous current rating? |
| A | The current that the fuse can handle indefinitely without blowing. |
| Q | What is a current curve of fuses & breakers? |
| A | All fuses and breakers have a current-time chart (also known as a current-time curve). If the current is above the continuous rating, the faster the fuse will blow. For example, if a 10A fuse is exposed to 11A then it might take many minutes for it to blow but if it is exposed to 20A then it may blow in a fraction of a second. Manufacturers show this blow time on a Current-Time chart but for the typical user it's not necessary to go into this level of technical detail |
| Q | What is the difference between slow & fast blow fuses? |
| A | Most standard fuses are considered slow blow and have a current-time chart which may go up to minutes. Fast blow fuses are used on more sensitive equipment and will have a much shorter current-time curve. This can help protect such equipment from damaging overload currents. |
