What does 30 kA mean?

It does mean that. It's a "30 kA fast-acting fuse".

In other words, if you apply more than 11A (or whatever the fuse rating is) but less than 30,000 amps the fuse promises to become open circuit. If you apply more than 30kA then there is a risk the fuse blows closed-circuit. Due to the destructive power of putting so many kW into a small space, you could have problems like vapourising metal parts in such a way that it fails 'closed', or creates a sustained arc that means current flows even though the fuse has supposedly 'blown'.

TL;DR: if you are measuring something that might allow more than 30kA to flow if you accidentally shorted it, don't use this meter to measure it. However you would probably know if you were in such a situation.

Theo

I'm glad I asked and I'm glad you explained this to me. I have the bodies of a young fawn and a wolf, both of whom died accidentally. I sewed the head of the wolf onto the body of the deer and I was waiting for the next lightning storm to revive the wolf-deer. Now I realize I don't have the right equipment. But lighting will persist through April I think and that is time to buy the proper fuses. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Nothing in the data sheet:

Ah-ha. Found it in the quick start guide:

It might be one of these fast acting fuses?

I think it might be this fuse:

HRC is "high rupture efficiency".

I think I'm on the right track but I'm late and need to leave now. Good luck.

That should be "High Rupture Capacity". Maybe I should go back to coffee with caffeine.

...like the venetian blind slats on the other side of the room (yes, it happened to me whlst testing equipment with the covers removed).

Ouch!

There was an earth strap hidden on the back of the fuseholder block and my workshop was quite close to the electricity substation.

I only discovered the strap when I gathered up the remains of the fuseholders and pieced them back together.

I wonder how much current it took to vaporize a 2KW wirewound resistor? It had something to do with a pressurized waveguide that developed a leak and arced internally... Impressive, nothing left but the metal end cylinders!

I once (well twice, actually) had to rebuild a starting controller for a

- it must have been quite spectacular.

The fragments of wire were so short that I had to use 4-terminal measurements to calculate the resistance values. A resistance wire supplier in N.E. England recognised the type of wire immediatley and sold me the length I needed.

A slate quarry in Cornwall cut me some replacement slate bars and I re-wound the resistors by hand, complete with tapping points for the various stages of motor control.

The motor and controller were made in 1919 but I had no difficulty obtaining the materials to repair them and restore them to full working order. The whole job onlu took about 3 weeks from start to finish. How many modern electrical items will be so easy to repair in another 95 years time?

Approximately none, they will all have been recycled for the precious metal content!