I have a Cutler Hammer fused disconnect switch on the outside of my home which serves the Heat pump. How do i access the fuses on the switch? When I pull out the panel, I don't see fuses.
- posted
17 years ago
Cutler Hammer fused disconnect switch repair
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- posted
17 years ago
If there is a square thing with a wire loop handle, pull it out and the fuses are in it. Be sure the AC is off before you pull it.
Al
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- posted
17 years ago
Are you SURE it's a fused disconnect and not an unfused "pull out" disconnect?
You don't need fuses in a disconnect if there's a properly sized breaker in the line ahead of it, servicing just the Heat Pump.
The disconnect is just there to protect service people who open it to make damn sure there's no power to the unit and to protect them against some clod inside the house deciding to reclose the breaker without warning them.
Jeff
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- posted
17 years ago
If your disconnect is designed in such a way as a block of plastic attached to a little wire pullout come out of the box completely.......then the fuse will either be in that part that stays in your hand, or there may not be any fuses. Some of these disconnect switches are not fused at all, except at the breaker from the supply panel source.
Look carefully at the raised lettering on the pull out part. Many of them are designed so that you can turn them over and put them back in to keep the device disconnected while being serviced. They are isolation switches for safety only. Most of them are designed to be pulled out only when the power is off and not to be pulled out under a load.
Randy R. Cox