Cartridge Fuses

Types of fuses in use

There are thousands of cartridge fuses available today and they come in many shapes, sizes and amperages. The more common ranges include mini fuses, which are the smaller version of the plug top fuse. You will find them in clocks, shaver sockets and central heating programmers. The most popular cartridge fuses are the plug top fuses which are used in almost every plug-in electrical appliance.

The glass ranges of quick acting, time delay and anti surge fuses are used extensively in sensitive electronic equipment and the continental bottle fuses are used in the more robust control panels and industrial machinery. The heavy duty offset tag, blade tag, central tag and barrel cartridge fuses can be found protecting circuits in commercial and industrial properties and sometimes in the home. 

Why fuses are used

Cartridge fuses monitor electrical circuits and melt causing open circuit as soon as a predetermined temperature is passed. It is an essential safety device designed to protect wiring circuits and printed circuit boards during short circuiting or overloading.

When a cartridge fuse blows it will instantly stop the current flowing to prevent damage or any further damage accruing. It is important to remember that cartridge fuses blow for a reason. They blow for safety reasons, so they should never be replaced without first testing and inspecting the circuits they are protecting. 

In many instances cartridge fuses have been replaced by circuit breakers, but fuses are still very widely used. Although most people will only ever use small plug top fuses, this is only the tip of a very large iceberg because cartridge fuses of one kind or another are used in almost every electrical circuit.

It is not always practical to use circuit breakers because of their physical size and rating. Therefore small and medium size cartridge fuses are used in appliances, computer equipment, machinery and control panels. There are also many older electrical installations in which some of the larger cartridge fuses are used. These fuses range from 60A to 315A are used in single and three phase distribution units and switch fuses for the protection of final sub-circuits.