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What size fuse to use?

B

Butter

I've got a solenoid with 8 ohms of resistence. Its AC and don't know
where to go to find out how I'd determine what size fuse I'd need. And
where would I go for single phase motors too. I haven't got any books
that tell how to determine what size to use.
Thanks
Rosco
 
C

Charles

Butter said:
I've got a solenoid with 8 ohms of resistence. Its AC and don't know
where to go to find out how I'd determine what size fuse I'd need. And
where would I go for single phase motors too. I haven't got any books
that tell how to determine what size to use.

At 120 volts that would be 15 Amps, but that ignores inductive reactance.
AC solenoids have more reactance than resistance. Perhaps you can contact
the manufacturer of the solenoid to determine normal current and then fuse
the circuit at 1.6 times that value. I'd guess 1 amp or so.

Time to invest in some books and some basic test equipment?
 
B

bud--

Butter said:
I've got a solenoid with 8 ohms of resistence. Its AC and don't know
where to go to find out how I'd determine what size fuse I'd need. And
where would I go for single phase motors too. I haven't got any books
that tell how to determine what size to use.
Thanks
Rosco
..
Single phase motors - depends on the motor. Comments for US practice:

Small motors are typically 'impedance protected' - the impedance of the
motor limits the current.

Larger motors, maybe 1/3HP up to a few HP, typically have built in
thermal protectors that switch the motor off when the motor gets hot.

As motors get larger they are protected by 'motor starters' which have
protection that is closely sized to the motor current rating and
designed for motor protection.

In the last 2 cases a fuse or circuit breaker generally only protects
the supply wiring from short circuits and can be a lot larger than you
might expect.

In any case, motors can draw 6x their normal running current when they
start.
 
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