On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 20:52:54 +0200 (IST), Peter L. Peres wrote:

>...<
> Some fuses are rated in 
> break energy (Joules) for this reason. DIN railmount automatic fuses for 
> house panels come to mind in this context.

In the UK DIN rail Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCBs) are rated by the fault current they are guaranteed to 
break - the lowest ones seem to be rated at 6kA - yes, 6,000A - this is not related to the current-limit 
rating which relates to the circuit it's supplying.  For a lighting circuit rated at 6A, 6kA would be quite a 
fault!

Incidentally, the fuse cartridges used in plugtops here use ceramic tubes filled with a type of sand, with the 
fuse wire in the middle, so any arc is quenched pretty quickly, and there's no problem with broken class 
cartridges inside the plug, either as a result of an explosive fuse-blow, or clumsy handling by the user!

Cheers,



Howard Winter
St.Albans, England


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