Blowing two 27KW (220V 125A) fuses

Either the 30 A breaker is defective OR you had your hand on it at the time which may have prevented it from tripping. I think modern breakers are designed to prevent that from happening but who knows ? What brand and how old is the 30 A breaker ?

me which may have prevented it from tripping. I think modern breakers are d esigned to prevent that from happening but who knows ? What brand and how o ld is the 30 A breaker ?

At least 20 to 30 years old. Yes, will replace the 30A breaker as well. T hey are blaming me for not checking for short before turning it back on. A m i suppose to check every time flipping the breaker? A main breaker would have avoid the $500 ($100 parts + $400 delivery) fuse replacement cost.

Not in the US, at least per the NEC as far as I know. Unless something chan ged recently. themain thing it say IIRC is that the whole house should be a ble to get shut down in five or less moves. In the old days the main box wa s MLO (main lug only) and there was no main. That means it is limited to fi ve breakers, which is why you see a bunch of fuse boxes all over the place in some older houses.

You might have both legs shorted to neutral, most of the time just one of t hose mains blows. If you are not well versed in wiring you might want an el ectrician but forget the yellow pages, find the local union hall and find o ne who is currently between jobs. If it is residential they might not want to do it though, tell them it is residential but not scary and tell them th e problem.

The guys in the book, well let me put it this way, you can have good price, competence or timely completion. Pick any none. From what I've seen I woul dn't let them hook up a VCR. Meanwhile I can satisfy ANY electrical inspect or, including Ivan The Terrible. In fact any inspector at all except for ro ofing and foundation/brick work, I job that out.

Not necessarily, but I would unplug whatever is plugged in to that circuit to know whether it is the appliance or the wiring. Check the switch, if tha t works turn it off. After resetting the breaker turn it on, if it trips th en it is a matter of working on that, or replacing it.

e replacement cost. "

I could change out the whole box for about that kind of money unless it is a huge installation. Certainly a simple main breaker only box would be much cheaper to install than $ 500. But again, at least try the union hall. If you have no luck there and do call someone tell them you want to see their electrician's jouneyman card. That should keep the rif raf out. Even at a f our hour minimum, a qualified electrician will know where to get materials locally and even if he charges a four hour minimum he might be done within that time. It would also probably be faster than waiting for a ridiculously priced delivery outfit. I'd see if you can cancel the order and if you can just find a qualified electrician. That four hour minimum is likely to be about $ 200, but if you go through a company it is that plus their markup.

If you're near Cleveland, Ohio I could do it but the chances of that are pr obably about like me winning the Women's gymnastics gold medal.

There is ONE thing I would call an electrician for that came to mind - inst alling a backup generator. If it is not done exactly right you could kill a lineman working up on the poles during an outage. I would rather do it at least once or twice with someone who has experience with them. I can do eve rything else if it does not involve great heights. But I thought I would me ntion that there IS something I would not attempt right now.

t to know whether it is the appliance or the wiring. Check the switch, if t hat works turn it off. After resetting the breaker turn it on, if it trips then it is a matter of working on that, or replacing it.

use replacement cost. "

s a huge installation. Certainly a simple main breaker only box would be mu ch cheaper to install than $ 500.

It was a hard to get LET125 fuse. Home depot, Orchard Supply and Aces don' t carry it. I can get it half hour away next time. Anyway, the electricia n charged $400 for driving an hour and blame me for blowing the fuse.

You should install "trip-free" breakers.

hen turning it back on, it took out both 125A main fuses. Question is: sh ouldn't the 30A breaker tee off a 50A or 100A main breaker to avoid exactly this problem. Is this a code violation, with just one breaker to the main fuse?

They've been showing up here. They just catch fire to alert you. Nothing in em but a bit of wire.

NT

Chinese circuit breakers? Like Chinese FPGAs?

When turning it back on, it took out both 125A main fuses. Question is: shouldn't the 30A breaker tee off a 50A or 100A main breaker to avoid exac tly this problem. Is this a code violation, with just one breaker to the ma in fuse?

in em but a bit of wire.

Most likely

NT

Or one-cent fuses.

When turning it back on, it took out both 125A main fuses. Question is: s houldn't the 30A breaker tee off a 50A or 100A main breaker to avoid exactl y this problem. Is this a code violation, with just one breaker to the main fuse?

Main fuses aren't cheap. The one we are using (about 3" long) is $30 each. Others (6" to 8" long) (at Homedepot, etc) are at least $10.

KRW is refering to the dangerouce practice of putting a one cent coin under a blown ES-base fuse.

Yeah, but if you have to explain a joke, it loses its humor value.