Fuse Safety

April 8, 2013
True or false? When pulling 100A fuses supplying an air-compressor motor, it's important to line your adjustable pliers up on the middle of the fuse cartridge and pull quickly. This is false for multiple reasons. To safely change fuses:

True or false?

When pulling 100A fuses supplying an air-compressor motor, it's important to line your adjustable pliers up on the middle of the fuse cartridge and pull quickly. This is false for multiple reasons.

To safely change fuses:

  1. Use your DMM to measure voltage (to ground) at the fuse input and then at the output.
  2. Open the disconnect to remove power to the fuse clips. Yanking out a fuse that's under load is a good way to cause an arc flash or even an arc blast.
  3. Use your DMM to measure across the (now de-energized) fuses.
  4. Use a fuse puller appropriate to this size fuse. Don't use adjustable pliers to remove a fuse.
  5. Don't jerk the fuse out; doing so may shatter the fuse cartridge. If you can't remove the fuse by using reasonable force and steady pressure, something's wrong. Check the fuse clips. If they are corroded, you'll probably need to replace the fuseholder assembly.

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