Something For The Fuse Guys ...

Red, Black, Blue , Orange. What color comes next? Might as well wait for it, since it surely will blow the orange away.

^^^ Is there anyone left on the planet that doesn't know to unplug their equipment before working on it? How many of us learned not to stick our fingers into an unused wall outlet by the age of two?

I was going to stay out of this but some of these posts are irresponsible...

has anyone ever burned his house down because of a faulty fuse? Has any amplifier every blown up 💥 because of a faulty fuse? Has a house ever burned down 🔥 or amp blown up because someone bypassed a fuse?

Yes, yes (depends what you mean by 'blown up', but bang, smoke and fire are all possible) and yes... incorrectly rated or bypassed fuses are a fire hazard. There is a possibility that any component in your amplifier could fail at some time - whether that component fails open (safe) or closed (short circuit) is down to the component and the particular failure mode. In the event of shorted power rails the fuse will blow to both protect the non-faulty elements in the circuit and ensure that the current is stopped. If a 100W amplifier fails short then that 100W energy needs to go somewhere and it creates heat, the traces in a circuit board or a wire may not be able to dissipate the heat effectively and that is when you are at risk of starting a fire. The fuses are there to prevent damage and injury, if you bypass them or replace them with incorrectly rated fuses you are increasing the risk of both.

It's worth noting that amplifiers often use slow blow fuses which will tolerate the current surge whilst the reservoir capacitors charge. This means that if you replace a 1A slow blow with a 1A fast fuse it may well blow during the inrush. If you then decide to go with a higher current rated fast fuse that will tolerate the inrush it may not blow under fault conditions.

There's no reason not to experiment with fuse types (other than you shouldn't expect the audio performance to change at all) just remember that you're experimenting with a device that is there to protect you and your belongings.

 Is there anyone left on the planet that doesn't know to unplug their equipment before working on it? How many of us learned not to stick our fingers into an unused wall outlet by the age of two?

Unplugging is the first step... reservoir caps will remain charged for some time depending on the size of the bleeder resistors and are able to dump their load almost instantly. You can weld a screwdriver to the terminals if you use one to short them, I've done it (unintentionally).

I've no problem with people taking risks themselves (we've all done it) but we shouldn't advise others to do the same without highlighting the risks.

George? Do I win a prize? 

pragmasi .... 

• There's no reason not to experiment with fuse types (other than you shouldn't expect the audio performance to change at all)

Just curious, pragmasi ... have you tried any of the after-market fuses in your system? 

Frank