General > General Technical Chat
Fused on the 'neutral' side?
rstofer:
You need to separate electrical from equipment when you think about requirements. A soldering station is regulated by UL, the wall outlet by the National Electric Code. Fixed equipment is subject to the NEC but the design is controlled by UL. Plug connected stuff is strictly UL, not NEC.
So, what happens to the Neutral inside a piece of equipment like the soldering station is controlled by UL and they very well might not care whether the fuse is in the hot or the neutral.
OTOH, the NEC prohibits switching the neutral with the only exception being that if the neutral is switched, all associated phase conductors are switched at the same time. Therefore, overcurrent protective devices switch only the phases or the phases plus the neutral but never just the neutral.
themadhippy:
--- Quote ---A soldering station is regulated by UL, the wall outlet by the National Electric Code. Fixed equipment is subject to the NEC but the design is controlled by UL
--- End quote ---
And outside the states both are about as usefull as BS7671 or CE are inside the states
MrMobodies:
I remembered someone who had an old shop that was falling apart.
One the day the outside toilet collapsed and owner was showing me his fuse box which kept on blowing. It was a Wylex and the mouldings didn't look perfect, inside date stamped Wylex 1936 and it had those wrap around wire and the main one and another one for the plugs kept on burning out. It had some cardboard looking thing on the cover.
I traced the wires from the outside toilet to a spur near the skirting board and even though it was switched off and I pulled the fuse out it still shorted from the neutral to earth until I pulled it out isolated them and after that it was okay. So it looks like the fuse and switch were put in series on one cable instead of putting the switch on one and fuse on the other so the circuit can be isolated.
I think this spur looked newer about 60's or 70's but I am nore sure what brand but I think it was a single pole.
The switch was very small and pokey and the fuse cover bulged out a bit.
Monkeh:
--- Quote from: MrMobodies on June 25, 2020, 02:00:15 am ---So it looks like the fuse and switch were put in series on one cable instead of putting the switch on one and fuse on the other so the circuit can be isolated.
--- End quote ---
Uh, yes, that would be quite intentional, because you don't fuse or switch the neutral in fixed wiring..
NiHaoMike:
On devices with nonpolarized plugs and one fuse (very common), there's a 50/50 chance the fuse ends up on the neutral side.
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