Small problem about a plug fuse

LilacLillie

Hi, I haven't a clue and need a little help please.
Went to put some food away in my upright garage freezer and found it off.
It is about 25 years old and never been a problem.
My neighbour said it could be the fuse and promptly went and got one.
It was a 13A, the one he took out was a 5A.
The freezer kicked back on and he said all is well.
I'm in a tizzy thinking it might blow up or something, thinking it should be replaced like for like?
It's now working, lights have come on and making usual noises.
My question is should it be a 5A or is the 13A going to be fine?
I've Googled it and it says 13A for upright freezer.
TIA 
LL

Leon_W

As it's an old freezer it could well be drawing above 5 amps as the compressor kicks in at start up.  Personally, I'd be happy with a 13A fuse in it, but if that blew, I'd be looking around for a new freezer !

theoretica

While I would look to replace it with another 5A fuse - if it has run for 25 years on 5A but now blows it more than once then that would be an indication of more deterioration than I would probably be happy with and time to think about replacement or servicing.

Section62

LilacLillie said:

My question is should it be a 5A or is the 13A going to be fine?
I've Googled it and it says 13A for upright freezer.

I would check the manual/instructions (if you can find them) for the correct rating, but otherwise replace the 13A fuse for a 5A one as soon as you can.

The freezer won't 'blow up', but you have a lower level of protection than you had before.  Aged fuses can blow for no reason, so the fact this one has blown means you can't be sure that either the freezer is faulty, nor that a 5A fuse is the wrong rating.  It could just be a random failure of a fuse.

Mutton_Geoff

Section62 said:

I would check the manual/instructions (if you can find them) for the correct rating, but otherwise replace the 13A fuse for a 5A one as soon as you can.

The freezer won't 'blow up', but you have a lower level of protection than you had before.  Aged fuses can blow for no reason, so the fact this one has blown means you can't be sure that either the freezer is faulty, nor that a 5A fuse is the wrong rating.  It could just be a random failure of a fuse.

I'm sorry, that's nonsense. Fuses protect the cable, not devices. The freezer will be fine on a 13A fuse although many fridges/freezers are not designed to be operated in ambient temperatures below 5 or 10C.

theoretica

Mutton_Geoff said:

Section62 said:

I would check the manual/instructions (if you can find them) for the correct rating, but otherwise replace the 13A fuse for a 5A one as soon as you can.

The freezer won't 'blow up', but you have a lower level of protection than you had before.  Aged fuses can blow for no reason, so the fact this one has blown means you can't be sure that either the freezer is faulty, nor that a 5A fuse is the wrong rating.  It could just be a random failure of a fuse.

I'm sorry, that's nonsense. Fuses protect the cable, not devices. The freezer will be fine on a 13A fuse although many fridges/freezers are not designed to be operated in ambient temperatures below 5 or 10C.

But a fuse blowing repeatedly is likely to be an indication of something not right somewhere - and having that indication of potential fault is a variety of protection.  The freezer won't act any differently on a larger fuse, but if the correct fuse isn't happy with the freezer I would want to know.

Section62

Mutton_Geoff said:

Section62 said:

I would check the manual/instructions (if you can find them) for the correct rating, but otherwise replace the 13A fuse for a 5A one as soon as you can.

The freezer won't 'blow up', but you have a lower level of protection than you had before.  Aged fuses can blow for no reason, so the fact this one has blown means you can't be sure that either the freezer is faulty, nor that a 5A fuse is the wrong rating.  It could just be a random failure of a fuse.

I'm sorry, that's nonsense. Fuses protect the cable, not devices. The freezer will be fine on a 13A fuse although many fridges/freezers are not designed to be operated in ambient temperatures below 5 or 10C.

Disagree. What you are suggesting is unsafe.

Fuses and other protective devices protect the circuit downstream of the protective device.  You can't separate the cable and the appliance - the cable needs to be protected, but so does the appliance, both form part of the circuit.  There will be wiring and/or circuit boards within the appliance which, unless given additional protection, will rely (to a greater or lesser extent) on the protection given by the fuse in the plug or FSU.

You can't know that the freezer "will be fine" on a 13A fuse without knowing the rating of the internal wiring and components and/or the presence of additional internal protective devices.  In any event, if the cable from the plug to the freezer requires protection by a 5A fuse then a 5A fuse is what needs to be fitted.

No idea what the ambient temperature has to do with the fuse rating.  Low ambient temperatures make most freezers work harder, but that won't determine whether a 5A or 13A fuse should be fitted.

Replacing a 5A fuse with a 13A fuse gives a lower level of protection. That should be an undisputed fact.

Bendy_House

Hi LL. Have you Googled the actual make and model that you have, so the spec can be checked?

If you cannot find the specific info on t'net, then drop the manufacturer an email and ask them what size of fuse it should have.

Yes, if it has always run on a 5A fuse, then clearly it was able to cope, and the lower the fuse rating, the slightly more protection your appliance has.

But, until you find out for sure, please don't worry about it. LOTS of appliances in your kitchen will have 13A fuses in them, and you don't give these a second thought. You would have to be staggeringly unlucky for a fault to develop that blows a 5A fuse but not a 13A one. So, find out for sure (put the make and model on here, for example), but meanwhile don't worry.

DanDare999

theoretica said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

Section62 said:

I would check the manual/instructions (if you can find them) for the correct rating, but otherwise replace the 13A fuse for a 5A one as soon as you can.

The freezer won't 'blow up', but you have a lower level of protection than you had before.  Aged fuses can blow for no reason, so the fact this one has blown means you can't be sure that either the freezer is faulty, nor that a 5A fuse is the wrong rating.  It could just be a random failure of a fuse.

I'm sorry, that's nonsense. Fuses protect the cable, not devices. The freezer will be fine on a 13A fuse although many fridges/freezers are not designed to be operated in ambient temperatures below 5 or 10C.

But a fuse blowing repeatedly is likely to be an indication of something not right somewhere - and having that indication of potential fault is a variety of protection.  The freezer won't act any differently on a larger fuse, but if the correct fuse isn't happy with the freezer I would want to know.

Once in 25 years?

grumbler

Section62 said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

Section62 said:

I would check the manual/instructions (if you can find them) for the correct rating, but otherwise replace the 13A fuse for a 5A one as soon as you can.

The freezer won't 'blow up', but you have a lower level of protection than you had before.  Aged fuses can blow for no reason, so the fact this one has blown means you can't be sure that either the freezer is faulty, nor that a 5A fuse is the wrong rating.  It could just be a random failure of a fuse.

I'm sorry, that's nonsense. Fuses protect the cable, not devices. The freezer will be fine on a 13A fuse although many fridges/freezers are not designed to be operated in ambient temperatures below 5 or 10C.

Fuses and other protective devices protect the circuit downstream of the protective device.  You can't separate the cable and the appliance - the cable needs to be protected, but so does the appliance, both form part of the circuit.

Generally, yes, but unless it's some unique model for UK market only, the appliance can't rely on a fuse in a plug. Often you can find fuses in electronic modules that need protection.

theoretica

DanDare999 said:

theoretica said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

Section62 said:

I would check the manual/instructions (if you can find them) for the correct rating, but otherwise replace the 13A fuse for a 5A one as soon as you can.

The freezer won't 'blow up', but you have a lower level of protection than you had before.  Aged fuses can blow for no reason, so the fact this one has blown means you can't be sure that either the freezer is faulty, nor that a 5A fuse is the wrong rating.  It could just be a random failure of a fuse.

I'm sorry, that's nonsense. Fuses protect the cable, not devices. The freezer will be fine on a 13A fuse although many fridges/freezers are not designed to be operated in ambient temperatures below 5 or 10C.

But a fuse blowing repeatedly is likely to be an indication of something not right somewhere - and having that indication of potential fault is a variety of protection.  The freezer won't act any differently on a larger fuse, but if the correct fuse isn't happy with the freezer I would want to know.

Once in 25 years?

It has happened once now - so I would be on the minor alert for whether it was a one off or start of a series, and want the correct fuse for that reason.