Changing a fuse in Buenos Aires

[andrewjps]

Hi all,

Just a question some of you may be able to help out with.

A fuse has blown in our apartment block, but the fuses are those old edison type fuses which I have no experience with. The problem is I don't know which one has blown to change, nor have a changed one before (although it looks quite simple, just screw out and screw back in). The people at the ferreteria suggested I call and electrician, but surely this is not necessary for changing a fuse!

Does anyone have any experience with these? Thank you in advance.

 

[mcaffa]

If you have a portero, ask him for help. If not, I'd play it safe and just have an electrician sent over. It shouldn't be too pricey at all.

 

[nikad]

Yes, what Mcaffa said, call your portero, they usually do that for you if you do not know how to do it ( tip him after )

 

[Tangerine]

Look into the little window..... the bad fuse (or two) will looked charred.
The good ones will look nice and neat with maybe a little age yellowing of the window.
If they all look good the problem may be somewhere different. You will need to call an electrician and be ready to give up a ‘huevito’.

 

[Ries]

huh?
Do you hire someone to tie your shoe when it comes untied?

there is nothing simpler than changing a screw in fuse.

You unscrew the old one, and screw in a new one.

fuses have a small metal bar that goes across, under the glass. This little strip of metal melts when the fuse blows.
So a good fuse will have clear glass, look clean inside, and have a strip of metal going across just below the glass, usually about 1/8" (5mm) wide.

A blown fuse will have the strip of metal gone- often, you will see the two ends, melted and bent. Most of the time a blown fuse will have black soot inside as well.

You need to examine all the fuses, and find the one that looks physically damaged. Unscrewing it should NOT make any lights go off, or outlets stop working, since, theoretically, its already not working.
So, if, when you unscrew a fuse, power goes out somewhere, then that fuse is not your problem.

Fuses come in different amperages (capacity) you need to take the blown fuse to the ferreteria, and buy another one the same amperage. It should say right on it what it is- 10 Amps, most likely, but it could be a 5, or a 15, bigger. Dont put a bigger one in, as you will be straining the capacity of the wires in the wall, which could result in a fire. The whole idea of the fuse is that it blows, instead of letting other parts of the system get so hot that they catch on fire.

Do you know WHY this fuse blew?

 

[andrewjps]

Thanks for your replies guys. Unfortunately we don't have a portero to call on. I do realise how easy it is to change a fuse, but I've just never seen these ones before. The fuse box is for the whole apartment building, so I can't see which ones are fine by seeing if the power goes out as others are for the neighbours (who aren't home).

The fuses don't really have a 'window' as I think these ones are pretty old school. The are just like the fuses in this blog post. No glass anywhere in them.

http://travelogue.travelvice.com/romania/scary-antiquated-edison-fuses/

No idea why the fuse blew. Turned on the lights, and they went out.

I feel pretty daft asking how to do such a simple thing, but I've never seen fuses like these before!

 

[nikad]

Thanks for your replies guys. Unfortunately we don't have a portero to call on. I do realise how easy it is to change a fuse, but I've just never seen these ones before. The fuse box is for the whole apartment building, so I can't see which ones are fine by seeing if the power goes out as others are for the neighbours (who aren't home).

The fuses don't really have a 'window' as I think these ones are pretty old school. The are just like the fuses in this blog post. No glass anywhere in them.

http://travelogue.travelvice.com/romania/scary-antiquated-edison-fuses/

No idea why the fuse blew. Turned on the lights, and they went out.

I feel pretty daft asking how to do such a simple thing, but I've never seen fuses like these before!

No worries, go and ask your nextdoor building portero, any portero will help you out for sure. Those damn fuses just blow out when you least expect it. It is hard to tell which one is damaged cos some have been repaired many times and you would be amazed to know how old they are.

 

[French jurist]

Indeed, it's just a fuse.

I'll give you the mad scientist method (costs 25 pesos but you'll be a mad scientist afterwards, that's worth it) :

- Buy a multimeter (about 25 pesos). They can be found everywhere.
- Switch off the electricity in your flat
- Switch the multimeter to the position which has for symbol something like a : ->+
- Now the multimeter's screen should show "1"
- Join the two multimeter's electrods together : screen should show "0" (circuit is "closed")
- Now take every fuse out 1 by 1 and test them by applying the electrods on each contact : 0 is good, 1 is broken

Simple ! 25 pesos ! You're a Mad Scientist !

 

[Ries]

What FJ is talking about, with the multimeter, is called measuring "continuity".
In Castellano, I am not sure what they would call it.
But it requires removing the fuse- and, if some of them belong to your neighbors, and they are not labeled, you risk the anger of your neighbors at coming home and finding things resetting, and angry green and red lights blinking on answering machines, digital clocks, and other electronics.

But if the style of fuse has no outward sign of failure, there is no other way to find out than to remove them and test them, especially if you dont know which ones are for your apartment.

Not all multimeters have a continuity function. You would need to know enough about meters to know if the one you were using has it, and then you can test the continuity of each fuse. Some meters will just show a digital sign, usually OO.OO, and others will have a beeping tone, or lack thereof.

Best policy I can think of is find somebody in the building who knows which fuses are whose. This cant be the first time a fuse has blown, so probably other neighbors know whose are whose. Then, you would pull ALL of the ones that are yours, and take them to a decent ferreteria- not one that specializes in dustpans and plastic clothes hangers, but one that actually knows electricity, and carries a lot of electrical supplies. In my neighborhood, that would be the one on Guemes, near Vidt. They have meters, and they can test the fuses for you, and tell you which one is bad, and sell you a new one.
There are good ferreterias like this all over town, but it takes some figuring to find the right one- some specialize in tools, others in door hardware, others in domestic knicknacks, and a few in electrical.

Personally, I wouldnt buy a multimeter if I were you (I own at least 4, including two Flukes that each cost well over $500 pesos- and that is in the US- I shudder to think what a decent Fluke brand meter would cost in BsAs, but it sure would be more than twenty five pesos) - instead, I would take all suspect fuses to be tested, for free, at a store.
Much cheaper than paying an electrician, but it does require some detective work to isolate which ones are most likely to be the culprits, as opposed to the one running your neighbor's illicit server that is hosting online gambling for all of north america...

 

[andrewjps]

Thanks for your detailed replies guys. Tomorrow I'm off to find a good ferreteria with a bunch of fuses from the 60s and no longer be in the dark (literally and metaphorically).