LNWR lives on Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Rather random topic but the Xmas tree lights blew last night and the Wife goes to the shed for a screwdriver and fuse while i am out All nice and simple until when i get home she refuses to believe me that replacing the 3A fuse with a 13A fuse is unsafe just because the plug says 13A on it As the bulbs are now running extremly warm after an hour I am off to invest in a fire extinguisher later (Luckily we dont have the lights on during the day) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 No, no no! DANGER Will Robinson, DANGER! There is usually a pretty good reason why a fuse blows - and replacing a fuse with one of a larger value won't cure the problem! If the lamps are running warm, you have probably found your problem, and warm christmas lamps on a conifer tree presents a fire risk. Turn them off, throw them away and buy a new set. Christmas lamps are dirt cheap these days - the life of your family isn't. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNWR lives on Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Thats what i tried telling her but she is adament that it will be fine because the plug says 13A on it, their is no budging her opinion Thinking my easiest option is to quietly replace the fuse later with a 3A, they were not running warm until last night when we had the 13A in Least its a plastic tree and not a real one Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonBradley Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Plastic is also flamable! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium skipepsi Posted December 7, 2009 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 7, 2009 Give her the lights as part of her divorce settlement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Thats what i tried telling her but she is adament that it will be fine because the plug says 13A on it, their is no budging her opinion 13A is of course, the maximum rating the plug can handle. It will not be fine! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakydoke Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Don't faff around; explain in the nicest possible way why the plug says 13 amp, as opposed to the fitting of an appropriate fuse for whatever appliance is connected to it. Then tell her you are going to fit a correct fuse before the house burns down and just do it. Otherwise this sort of thing could happen again, without you knowing about it (until there's an accident or fire!). You can add as an aside, that you're just about to place a big order for several new toy trains you've had your eye on for a while. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted December 7, 2009 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 7, 2009 Plastic is also flamable! Not 'arf! It also gives off toxic fumes which may actually be more dangerous than those of a real tree! I do not envy the OP his situation at all! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 3 amps is the smallest size plug top fuse available, which means your lights draw less than 700 watts a 13 amp fuse allows your lights to draw nearly 3000 watts, if there is a fault with the lights and it took out a 3 amp fuse but does not take out a 13 amp fuse there will be some serious over heating and the Christmas tree weather real or artificial could end up in flames. IT IS NOT WORTH THE RISK. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNWR lives on Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Well the latest is that she aint budging and is going to seek electrical advice to prove me wrong Plastic burning is a lovely smell (Soldering iron left near a kit that got knocked over, god love you dad) I do like Skipepsi's suggestion though lol 3A fuse has been aquired and will change it later when she is in bed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 This should explain it clearly enough. http://www.gla.ac.uk/seps/electrical/patinspection.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
apj64 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 I read this post in total disbelief The O/P seems to be treating this as some sort of joke and not taking the advice seriously. I suggest that a bit of googling on house fires and their causes particularly around christmas time and the devestating results. I am sure a local fire officer could describe how many people loose their homes, property and Lives through stupid behavour like this. We phased out all normal mains (240v) filament lamp christmas lights in our house years ago in favour of extra low voltage lights (transformer) as I have always been sceptical about mains operated xmas lights children and pets. We have actually now replaced all our filament lights with led which run cold or near as and the savings in energy are a bonus aswel. Please take the advice offered here seriously cut the plug off those lights and bin them Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNWR lives on Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 I read this post in total disbelief The O/P seems to be treating this as some sort of joke and not taking the advice seriously. I suggest that a bit of googling on house fires and their causes particularly around christmas time and the devestating results. I am sure a local fire officer could describe how many people loose their homes, property and Lives through stupid behavour like this. We phased out all normal mains (240v) filament lamp christmas lights in our house years ago in favour of extra low voltage lights (transformer) as I have always been sceptical about mains operated xmas lights children and pets. We have actually now replaced all our filament lights with led which run cold or near as and the savings in energy are a bonus aswel. Please take the advice offered here seriously cut the plug off those lights and bin them Believe me i am taking the advice seriously, i am not by any means a trained electrican but i know enough to know what she has done could send the whole house up in smoke quite happily and the consequences of that really dont bear thinking about It is the missus i am having trouble convinvcing, im just going to have to do it when she is asleep and believe me if the fuse goes again then they will be heading to the bin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smudgeloco Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 In your position I would have sabotaged the lights, so they were broken! I remember a couple of wonderful things, fuse wise, that I have come across over the years. One, opened a plug on a hired compressor, to find a dead fuse wrapped in foil! Another time, on a building site, I found a bit of house wiring copper wire wrapped around the fuse holders! It's a good job the equipment wasn't working at the time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Perhaps show her this thread - coupled with this video: Certainly a good way to ruin your Christmas... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitbull1845 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 You could always get her to read this thread.... Then maybe she will take the hint that its a bad idea.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 I have always been sceptical about mains operated xmas lights children and pets. Stopped using mains filament lights after the cat chomped clean through one of the bulbs. We had to collect up the bits and reassemble the bulb to make sure he hadn't swallowed any of it. Anyway I shall lend the weight of my OND in electrical engineering to the advice that using a 13A fuse is likely to burn the house down. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Please take the advice offered here seriously cut the plug off those lights and bin them ...but uplug it first - frying body smells like roast pork! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 ....All nice and simple until when i get home she refuses to believe me that replacing the 3A fuse with a 13A fuse is unsafe just because the plug says 13A on it... ....Thats what i tried telling her but she is adament that it will be fine because the plug says 13A on it, there is no budging her opinion.... ...Thinking my easiest option is to quietly replace the fuse later with a 3A.... ...Well the latest is that she aint budging and is going to seek electrical advice to prove me wrong... ...3A fuse has been aquired and will change it later when she is in bed... ...It is the missus i am having trouble convinvcing, im just going to have to do it when she is asleep... Seriously, is this a huge wind-up ? Why the sneaking around. Do you own a pair of trousers? Just change the fuse, or if they are faulty chuck out the lights pronto! . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNWR lives on Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Seriously, is this a huge wind-up ? Why the sneaking around. Do you own a pair of trousers? Just change the fuse, or if they are faulty chuck out the lights pronto! . no wind up just a very stubborn woman who cannot be wrong and someone who just wnats to get through xmas as quietly as possible and this isnt helping I am changing the fuse when i get home from work, not long to go woo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted December 7, 2009 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 7, 2009 no wind up just a very stubborn woman who cannot be wrong and someone who just wnats to get through xmas as quietly as possible and this isnt helping I am changing the fuse when i get home from work, not long to go woo C'mon guys - lighten up (sorry)! LNWR has a real wife with a real point of view, which not even Michael Faraday could change just now! Next you'll be asking what she's doing out of the kitchen! This is the 21st Century! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robrailltd Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 i'll agree with the guys here. and i'll add to that chaps ond. with my hnc, hnd, and degree in electrotechnical engineering and say this death trap should be scrapped imediatly. whilst its nice that your a modern family and indeed both know how to change a fuse/plug....not that many do. i personally think its time to put your foot down and get them changed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Welly Posted December 7, 2009 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 7, 2009 If your missus watches "Coronation Street" - tell her that Jack Duckworth had done the same thing with the fuse box in the Rovers Return 25 years ago ( replaced 5A fuse wire with 15A fuse wire) and the pub caught fire and nearly killed Bet Lynch! Bin those lights and just shut your ears to her! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Maybe you should get the wife to look at this website: http://www.dontgivefireahome.com/fire_safety/582.240.209.html#Why_does_using_the_right_fuse_matter Might make her think? Arthur Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium BR60103 Posted December 8, 2009 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 8, 2009 If she's done that to the lights, what other changes has she made and not told you about? We have screw-in glass fuses here, same base as a light bulb. A favourite trick was (is?) placing a penny at the bottom of the socket when the fuse blows too often. What would a penny be good for -- a thousand or a million amps? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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