From the articles, in this article I will talk about old-style electric plugs with fusible links, how to determine which electric plug is faulty, what plugs are there and should they be changed to automatic machines?
The picture shows three types of electric plugs with different ratings for 6A, 10A and 20A (from left to right).
If you still have such plugs installed in your electrical panel at home, then it will be useful for you to learn how to determine the malfunction of such a plug and how you can temporarily fix it.
All plugs contain fuse-links, which actually protect your electrical wiring from high currents caused, for example, by a short circuit or excessive load, when many electrical appliances are turned on at the same time. Sometimes an increase in current is associated with poor twists in junction boxes, or when. If the current passing through such a fusible link is greater than its nominal value, then the wire inside the fusible link burns out and, thereby, breaks the electrical circuit. Accordingly, electricity in the apartment disappears partially or completely, depending on how many lines the apartment is divided into. As a rule, this is one (two traffic jams) or two lines (four traffic jams). How to determine which of the plugs burned out?
Checking fusible links.
To do this, you will need the simplest indicator-screwdriver-dialer, or a multimeter (tester, ohmmeter), you can also use any of the devices discussed in the article. The indicator must first be checked for operability - touch the index finger of one hand to the patch of the indicator, and with the finger of the other hand touch the indicator sting, as shown in the figure. If the indicator lamp lights up, then the device is working and we proceed to check the fusible links.
To do this, you need to touch the metal cap on the fusible insert with one hand and touching the indicator patch with the index finger of the other hand, touch the indicator tip to the other cap of the insert. If the indicator light is on, the fuse is good. If not, then the insert must be replaced. When checking with a multimeter - touch it with probes to the metal caps of the insert, the arrow of the multimeter should deviate to the end, the multimeter should be set to measure resistance, which is indicated by the Ω icon, measured in Ohms. You can buy the cork as a whole, if the inserts are not sold separately. But I’ll give you advice right away: buy a cork right away - an automatic one.
Types and denominations of traffic jams.
Corks come in different types, for example, they are distinguished by the size of the base (thread). In apartments and houses, in 90% of cases there are plugs with an E27 base, but you can measure the diameter (for E27, respectively, 27mm) or take a burnt plug with you to the store to pick it up there. Corks also differ in design, for example, there are corks with a glass on the end, through the glass you can immediately determine whether the insert has burned out or not, in a burned-out spring it will push out a colored pin with a wire soldered to it. But the most important parameter of the plug is the rating, which is determined by the maximum possible current at which the plug does not burn out. In an apartment, most likely it is 6.10 or 16 A (Amps). This can be read on the insert itself. Inserts with a colored check under the glass are marked as follows:
green - 6A, red - 10A, gray - 16A, blue - 20A, yellow - 26A.
By the way, fuse links also differ in diameter, so measure yours before buying. Is it possible to put a cork with a higher denomination than it was? Depends on the condition of your wiring, it's better to have a specialist look at it. You can also see what current is acceptable for your wiring.
Do I need to change traffic jams to automatic machines?
Yes, of course it's worth it! In any case, changing plugs with fusible links to automatic ones is a must. Now I will explain why. The fact is that the fusible insert works slowly, and at currents slightly higher than the nominal value, it may not work at all, but it will heat up properly, guess what this can lead to? That's right, fire. Also, in the event of a short circuit or a malfunction of the device / wiring, such a plug will not immediately respond, which is bad for your wiring. Therefore, if you are not ready to change the design of the shield, and for sure this action will lead to the replacement of the meter, then buy at least automatic plugs. By the way, there will be a benefit - you don’t need to change it, in case of operation, it will be enough to press the button.
How to temporarily fix a plug malfunction.
I emphasize - temporarily eliminate. That is, in an emergency, when it is not possible to buy a new plug, you can use this method, but at the first opportunity, replace the plug (fusible link) with a new one.
Remove the metal caps from the insert with pliers, rocking slightly from side to side. If not removed, then heat with a lighter, match or on a gas stove. Pour special quartz sand onto a piece of paper from the insert, we will need it. Sand serves to extinguish the electric arc that occurs when the wire burns out. Remove the remnants of the old wire.
Strip the ends of the new copper wire that will be in contact with the insert caps. Pass the wire through the insert and fold over on both sides. Put on one cap. Pour the sand back into the insert. Put on the second cap.
The diameter of the new wire is selected from the table below:
A more detailed table of wire selection is available in the article.
The diameter can be measured with a micrometer, or with a ruler: wind several turns of wire tightly against each other on the ruler and divide the number of millimeters wound by the number of turns, get the diameter of one wire. The more turns wound, the more accurate the calculation. If you have a multi-wire cable, for example, whose cross section is known, then you can calculate the diameter of one wire.
Example: there is a cable, we clean one of the three wires and count the number of wires in it. In my case, it turned out 22 pieces. We divide the cable cross section (1.5 mm²) by 22, we get the cross section of one wire of approximately 0.068 mm². We consider the diameter of the wire according to the simplified formula: d \u003d √ (1.27 * S) \u003d √ (1.27 * 0.068) \u003d 0.29 mm (approximately). We look at the table - such a wire is suitable for repairing a 10A fuse-link.
But remember that in the near future it is necessary to purchase a new cork, this measure is only temporary.
Recently I met a question on the network - “is it possible to use plugs for different amperages in the electrical panel”? As I understand it, plugs were implied on the neutral and on the phase wire of the same line. In principle, it is possible, but a plug with a lower rating will be triggered in the event of a malfunction or overload.