Hi all.when we put a blow heater on in our van if its set on high heat it pops the fuse out in the elecric box.now i dont know a lot about electrics but why does this happen.even if there is nothing else switched on in the van it still pops out.i know its probably to do with safety but can you buy a bigger fuse or something with more resistance so we can use the heater on high.thanx
------------- Those that danced were thought to be quite insane to those who could not hear the music. Angela Monet
It could be a couple of things, a loose or bad connection or the high heat element is faulty. Does it blow the fuse immediatly or after a while, if it's the first I would suspect the element or even the switch.
As a quick guide if the heater is 2400 watts or 2.4 kilowatts divide this by 240 volts and the answer will be 10. If the mcb [fuse] is less than 10 amps it will trip.
I would not put in a bigger fuse, as if you do you may set your van on fire!.
What type of fuse is it, is it a blade fuse or a cartridge fuse? As there are different types of cartridge fuses. You may need a slow blow as these do not react to a sudden surge but too prolonged over current i.e in a fail mode.
Does the blower sound normal? If its old, the motor bearings can get bunged up with fluff and that slows the fan down, puts more load on the motor and more amps needed to spin it. Might be worth pulling it out and giving it a good clean, maybe also a spot of lubticant on the motor bearings, (not too much as that also collects fluff).
Please excuse my terminology about all things electric.when i said fuse i meant the little switch thing that clicks down and cuts of all power.can i get a bigger one of these?
------------- Those that danced were thought to be quite insane to those who could not hear the music. Angela Monet
Quote: Originally posted by Dreadnought on 17/5/2009Please excuse my terminology about all things electric.when i said fuse i meant the little switch thing that clicks down and cuts of all power.can i get a bigger one of these?
These are called MCB's.
Simply put, the heater is using more amps than the MCB will allow.
It's not a good idea to put another larger one in, it's the size it is for a reason.
The best answer is to use a fan heater which is smaller.
We all suffer from this problem, if I put my fan heater and the kettle at the same time, my MCB switches the power off, so I don't do it!!
if you run the heater on 1000 you may get away with it,when you get to 2000 thats when it trips out,i know mine does it.to run ours on 2000 we turn everything but the tv off and dont use the kettle.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
does your heater not have a "low" setting? my fan heater has a high (3000W) or low (1500W) the higher of the two trips the van if on for about 10 mins, the low its fine.
Most vans the sockets are on a 10A MCB which is about 2300W
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Topic: Electric problem
