How to change fuse in breaker box. Nowadays, most modern homes have circuit breakers or fuse boxes. Sometimes, a defective or blown fuse is repaired with a small effort.
Suppose you brought a new appliance to your home and are excited to run it. But the time when you plug the power cord into the wall socket, the power turns off.
But later on, you may get to know that after checking that, the power goes to the specific area where you try to run your new appliance.
If you face the same scenario, it indicates that you have blown a fuse. If you have a broken fuse or the fuse runs out because of using any high-power electrical appliances or other reasons, you must require a replacement fuse.
In this article, we’ll discuss the guideline for replacing a fuse in the breaker box and the facts about why a fuse blows suddenly. Let’s jump into the solution.
How to change fuse in breaker box
Guideline To Change A Fuse in Breaker Box
This part will discuss the facts and factors for replacing blown fuses in the fuse box. You may follow the instructions to get the final results.
You may also come to know what are the possible reasons that may cause fuse blowing, including a short circuit, overload or overburdened electricity, and defective appliances.
Intro of Circuit Breakers
A circuit breaker is an essential part of an electrical system of a house. It lets you do separate electrical partitions over the house through the circuit breaker box.
Every time something goes wrong, the circuit breaker trips and breaks up the electrical connection to prevent any danger.
In this process, when a fuse is burnt, it signifies that the metal filaments of the fuse get burnt. But you can’t fix it separately. That’s why you must replace the old fuse with a new fuse in the box.
Replacement fuse Steps
Follow the instructions step by step.
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Initial preparation
Before starting the replacement procedure, ensure that your hands are dry. Don’t touch an electrical panel or appliances with wet hands or surfaces.
You must wear safety glasses, safety rubber gloves and a pair of rubber-soled shoes. It will help you save from electric shock, and glasses will work as a shield to save your eyes from sparks.
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Detach Electric Appliances
Firstly, inspect the area that is facing a lost power issue. It will help inspect the blown fuse. You may follow the next step if you already know the area.
But if you are unaware of that portion that lost power, you may inspect it by turning on a light or a fan in each room.
After locating the affected area, you must detach or unplug appliances to prevent any damage to the electrical panel during the replacement process.
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Locate The Fuse Box
Now, you must access the fuse box or electrical panel, usually covered with a metal door. You may find the panel in the basement, garages, utility room, or store room.
Now, grab a screwdriver and unscrew the cover of the circuit breaker. You may remove all the screws and tighten the corners.
Don’t forget to flick off the main power switch. It will able you to disconnect power to the fuse box when you turn it into the off position.
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Determine the Blown Fuse
Suppose you don’t know whether your fuse blows or not. If you want to identify the blown fuse, you have to inspect the fuses with some tips in mind.
One thing that indicates a blown fuse is, in this situation, you lost power in one or a few areas despite the entire house.
Secondly, it happens when you turn on a high voltage-consuming appliance. It may result in fuse blows.
You may also find a fuse with melted metal or a blemish on the glass appearance. But, a circuit breaker that trips or a blown fuse is a sign of safety that prevents any electrical fire or disaster.
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Detach The Old Fuse
Now, it’s time to replace the fuse from the fuse box. Before removing the blown fuse, ensure there is no electrical flow in the fuse.
To accomplish this task, you may use a multimeter and insert it into the Volt AC. You may start proceeding after ensuring the zero readings. Now unscrew the blown fuse and detach it from its spot.
We were hoping you could consider that as you plan to tackle electrical work. If you ever feel hesitant, you must contact a professional electrician.
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Replace The New Fuse
Before replacing a fuse, you must consider that the new fuse you brought contains the same fuse size, amperage, rating, and type.
If you want to avoid any danger to the electric panel or wiring and want everything safe and sound, don’t ever try installing a fuse with higher amperage.
The best way to purchase a new suitable fuse is to take the older one to the nearest hardware store and ask him to give you the same type of fuse. It will help you in a better way.
After purchasing the new fuse, the next step is so easy. You may install the new fuse the same as you remove it. Just place it and tighten the screws on the same electrical panel socket. Now, you may flick on the lever of the fuse.
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Flick On the Main Power
After installing the fuse on the fuse box, you may restore power to the panel. Inspect the circuit to whether it’s working fine or not.
You may test it by plugging in a few appliances in that area for which you change a fuse. If everything is normally running, then it must be a piece of good news.
In case of a blown fuse again, it will be the right time to call a qualified electrician. He will indeed diagnose the issue, whether it’s a particular appliance that is the culprit or if there is any other issue causing a blown fuse.
Reasons for Blown fuse
If you are facing any issue with a trip circuit or blown fuse, there must be some reasons that become the culprit of a blown fuse.
It will help you get an idea of the culprit electrical issue. Here is a small list that might be helpful to avoid any future Power outage due to a blown fuse of a fuse box.
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Defective Appliances
You have installed a new fuse, but it blows again and again after turning on a few appliances. If you face the same issue, you must say thank you to your blown fuse to keep you safe.
You should consider or inspect if there might be a possible particular appliance that becomes a culprit of a blown fuse. You must check out any faulty appliance that is the cause of your headache.
If you figure out the defective appliances, it would be better to replace them. On the other hand, if you cannot figure it out, then we suggest contacting a professional.
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Due To A Short Circuit
Another reason that may cause your tripped circuit breaker is a short circuit.
It could be because the wiring of your house contains or carries an electrical current, and it is possible to interact with other wires that may cause an electrical short circuit.
If there exists any issue of short circuits, then you must be thankful for the blown fuse that cut down the electric supply and saved you from any big disaster.
This kind of issue must be get resolved as it appears.
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Overburden Circuit
as you know that a circuit contains a large burden of current and electric flow that gets overburdened, add results in a blown fuse.
Every house contains different appliances; some are fewer voltage consumers, and some use high voltage to run smoothly.
If you are running a lot of appliances at a time, it may result in a blown fuse due to overburden or overloaded.
If you use extensions to run your appliances, it may cause heat, which also results in a tripped circuit breaker or a burnt fuse. The simple solution to overloading is upgrading your electricity power.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ll try our best to explain the procedure of changing a fuse in a circuit breaker box. Following these, you might be able to replace your blown fuse successfully.
The procedure also explains why things can make your fuse repeatedly blows so that you can figure out the culprit easily.
Replacing a fuse is not a difficult job, but no doubt it’s a risky task. If you like that challenging task and you think that you have the ability to replace a fuse without creating any further damage, then don’t forget to take precautionary measures.
If you ever feel hesitant or feeling nervous when we honestly suggest contacting a professional electrician, it will help you to get exact installation and also reduce the chances of any unpleasant situation.
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