To make up for this, occupants will often use fuses that are too large for the wires, which will keep fuses from blowing, but also creates a fire hazard. With today’s demand for electricity, old services are usually inadequate.
The example I gave for an old 60 amp panel only has six spaces available for the entire house. This adds up to nine spaces in an electric panel. This is a minimal installation, and many electricians will also put the fridge on its own circuit, and have another 240 volt circuit for an electric range. In a new home, a kitchen will typically have one circuit for the dishwasher, one for the disposer, two for the countertop outlets, one for the lights, and another for the microwave and fridge. Compared to the minimum number of circuits required today, this is totally insufficient. A typical 60 amp fuse box might have one 240 volt circuit for an air conditioner or electric range, plus four more fuses for the rest of the wiring in the home. Old electric services will have fuses, and old electric services can have problems. Once a fuse blows, it has to be replaced.
The main reason is because a circuit breaker can be re-used. Today, circuit breakers are used in homes instead of fuses. Circuit breakers can be reset after they trip, which is a huge advantage over fuses, but they don’t add any level of safety. Circuit breakers are designed to trip when too much current passes through for too long a period of time. A fuse will never allow more current to pass through than what it is rated for.
If a fuse is rated for 15 amps and more than 15 amps passes through the fuse, a thin strip of carefully calibrated metal will vaporize, which opens the circuit (in other words, kills the power). To start, how can I say that a properly installed fuse is as safe as a circuit breaker? A fuse will only handle the amount of amperage that it is rated for. A properly installed fuse is just as safe as a circuit breaker, but there are many reasons why fused homes can have problems, and I’ll discuss a few of the most common problems. Why are people scared of fuses? Many people think that fuses are unsafe, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
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