What Happens When a Fuse Blows?
If the power suddenly goes out at your property, it could be because a fuse has blown, but do you know what this means and how you can fix it?
When the power trips in one part of your house, it could be a blown fuse. Why did the fuse blow and how can you fix it? Fixing a fuse can be relatively simple and a few simple steps can get you up and running again quickly.
What are fuses?
Fuses are found in the meter box (or fuse box) of many older Australian properties. The meter box is generally found on an exterior wall of your home or in the garage. If your electrical circuits get overloaded, a fuse in your meter box can blow. Once you determine the cause of the fuse blowing, then you can work out whether it’s something you can fix yourself or if you need to call in an electrician.
A fuse is a single use device. It’s composed of a thin metal wire which melts when the fuse blows. Replacing the fuse is as simple as replacing the wire, but it’s important to replace the wire with one of the same amperage. Make sure you turn off all the mains power before you change the fuse.
These days many meter boxes also have circuit breakers which cut of the electrical supply in the event of an overload. If your circuit breaker has tripped, then you simply need to switch it back on again.
What do fuses do?
Fuses protect the electrical circuits in your home from overload. They don’t protect you from electrocution – that’s a role played by the safety switches on your circuits.
What causes a fuse to blow?
If you have a blown fuse or a tripped circuit breaker, then it’s generally because of an overload to the system. That could simply be because you have too many appliances plugged into the one circuit at the one time. Having the toaster, the kettle and the coffee machine all running off the same power socket could be enough to trip the circuit breaker or blow a fuse.
But fuses also blow when an appliance short-circuits, so you need to find the root cause of the electrical problem to know whether it was a one-off issue or a bigger problem. Keep doing portable appliance testing on regular basis.
How to check what’s causing a blown fuse?
If a fuse blows, it’s generally relatively easy to identify the cause of the issue. Often the fuse will blow immediately the circuit is overloaded, so it’s easy to know which appliance caused the overload.
But you also need to identify whether the issue is overload on the circuit or a short circuit in the wiring of the appliance itself.
You can check this once you’ve replaced the fuse by plugging in each appliance one at a time. If the fuse blows again when you plug in a particular appliance by itself (so you can be sure it’s not an overload issue) then there could be a short circuit within the appliance. There could also be a problem with the circuit itself, so in that situation, you’re best to call an electrician and get them to check your fuse box and your circuits.
Keep on top of electrical safety
It’s advisable to keep on top of electrical safety in your home. It only takes a few regular checks to make sure that your home is a safe electrical environment and it’s not much to pay for peace of mind and do test and tag regularly.
What electrical checks do I need in my home?
When you first move into a home, it’s a good idea to get your home’s circuits and safety switches checked by a professional.
Get your safety switches checked
You can check the safety switches in your home yourself, but only a trained specialist can advise you if you have safety switches on the right circuits in your home. Safety switches are a critical safety item as they protect you and the ones you love from the risk of electrocution. Safety switches cut off the electricity instantaneously if the electrical circuit starts running through another item – such as a human body.
Organize to have your electrical circuits tested
You should also have your electrical circuits tested using fault loop testing. This type of testing checks that all the circuits in your home are working as they should. It’s especially important to get the circuits checked if you live in an older home. Faulty electrical circuits are a potential fire and safety hazard.
Test your appliances
You can also get your electrical appliances tested and tagged to ensure that each appliance is safe to use. Jim’s Test & Tag Melbourne can do all the electrical testing in your home. They can also check that your smoke alarms are working correctly and positioned in the right area of your home and can test your microwave to ensure that it isn’t leaking radiation.
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