Every house must have an up to date electrical fuseboard fitted. In UK it is also known as an RCD unit or Residual Current Device. It protects the whole electrical system against any electrical faults something like an overload. The fuseboard typically consists of a mains lever, circuit breakers and a number of fuses. Every circuit breaker or fuse matches up to a certain area of electrical wiring inside your house.

When an electrical fault transpires the circuit breaker will inevitably shut off or 'trip'. In an old fashioned fuseboard the fuse will 'blow'. The electricity source in that particular piece of the house will be cut off, this prevents fires breaking out which is stemming from electrical overload. The drawback of the fusebox over a circuit breaker is that after a fuse blows, it has to be changed, but every time a circuit breaker trips, you only have to reset it with the flick of a lever. Changing a fuse in an old fashioned fuse board is what we will be discussing here.

Obviously, safety is an important issue to consider when changing or altering anything on your electrical system. Switch off the mains lever at the board prior to changing a fuse. Shut down the lights and unplug any home equipment which are supplied by that particular fuse. Every time, when you are changing a fuse, be sure to replace it with the exact rating. A fuse with a greater rating will permit too much electricity to go through the circuit and that may cause a fire as a consequence of an overload.

In cases where a fuse keeps blowing, get a qualified electrician in. Possibly it really is time to replace your switchboard with an up to date RCD unit. Fuseboards tend to be labeled to help you see which fuse protects which part of your house. However, if your fuseboard doesn’t have any labeling, have an electrician label it for you the following time he is at your house. This information will certainly make it less difficult for you in locating a blown fuse the next time it occurs.

Changing a blown fuse is quite easy. Follow these steps when changing fuses:

1. Switch off the master switch on the switchboard.

2. Switch off all of the lights and unplug any gadgets in the affected part.

3. Check the labels in your switchboard. Take out the particular fuse that corresponds to the region in your house that ran out of power.

4. If the switchboard does not have any labelling or if you have trouble in pinpointing the blown fuse, you will have to pull out and check every fuse until you find the blown one.

5. The blown fuse will be rather obvious because the wires inside will have seperated when they burned out.

6. Make sure that your fuse is the proper rating. You will ordinarily see the rating printed on the fuse itself. Ratings of lighting circuits range from 5 amps to 10 amps, 10 amps to 15 amps are for socket outlets, and ratings which are higher than 15 amps are for power hungry appliances like cookers.

7. Replace the fuse and turn the main switch on.

8. Test all the lights and appliances in the affected area of the house.

Finally, Congradulate yourself, you’ve successfully replaced that fuse.

I have always had properties that I own maintained by the exact same electrician london company and through the years they've saved me a great deal of money, just by giving me some very useful advise.

Author's Bio: 

I have been heavily involved in the property business for over twenty years. My work ranges from gardening, electrics and diy. Gasically I can turn my hand to pretty much anything.