A fuse question

[R.G.]

I should be clear about this - fuse wear-out is rare. It is distinctly NOT what is wrong most of the time. I think I've only seen it once in my personal gear. But it can happen, and repairmen are the ones who see many, many amplifiers, not just a few. They encounter enough blown fuses to see the few that flex and break.

And that's why I have the courage to replace a blown fuse with another fuse of the same value - once - which is what the question was.

[loudthud]

When I check out a used piece of gear for possible purchase or repair, the first thing I check is the fuse before I even plug the amp into the mains.

When possible I try to construct an amp so there is no exposed mains wiring inside the amp. If an internal fuse is called for like the pic in the first post, I try to find one with a clear plastic cover over the fuse and use insulated crimp-on connectors or heat shrink on the connections.

[Justin Thomas]

When I check out a used piece of gear for possible purchase or repair, the first thing I check is the fuse before I even plug the amp into the mains.

Yup, this. Luckily nothing else was wrong with my Bassman when I plugged it in. But at some point soon after buying, I checked the fuse. 30A. Hooray for no bad power tubes or filter caps at purchase.

Justin

[hylaphone]

When possible I try to construct an amp so there is no exposed mains wiring inside the amp. If an internal fuse is called for like the pic in the first post, I try to find one with a clear plastic cover over the fuse and use insulated crimp-on connectors or heat shrink on the connections.

Do you happen to have a link to such a fuse block? I'm not finding anything, thanks --

[J M Fahey]

You need the NON PCB mount version of these:

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1YX9CI...ont-5-20mm.jpg
You should get the proper version googling "fuse holder with cover"

What *I* do, and I´m recommending nothing, like my lawyer told me, when I can only get these, is to bend open the PCB pins away from the body, there´s a needle thin tip to go inside the PCB hole and a wider flat body, bend it back-forth a couple times so they split/crack open flush with fuse holder body, and solder wires to te stumps, then slightly cut the cover "wings" so they just meet cable plastic sheath and transparent cover can be placed the normal way.

No metal is accesible; I mount fuse holder to chassis or top of PCB (but not connectd to it at all, just physically held) with a small screw through the small hole in the base.

Of course, if you get the version for soldered wires, not PCB mount, you just use it, and heatshrink cable tips as suggested by Loudthud.

Suggest you glue fuse holder body to chassis/case/PCB, whatever applies, and also the retaining screw nut, with a little contact cement, so it never ever comes loose.