15 amp fuses

[The Medway Handyman]

When I say fuses, I mean the ones in an old style consumer unit with a length of replaceable fuse wire. I think the correct term is Plug-in Rewireable Fuse Carrier.

Anywho, whilst trying to find out why some garden lights weren't working (turned out that a fused connection unit, cunningly hidden behind a bread bin, was switched off) I noticed a small consumer unit with 3 x 15amp fuse carriers. (There was a larger one next to it with carriers marked Lights, Cooker, Sockets etc).

They were marked NSW Front Bedroom, NSW Back Bedroom & NSW Lounge.

I know that 5 amp are for lighting, 30 amp for sockets, but why 15 amp? And any idea what NSW stands for?

Just curious really.

[neverwas]

Purely from personal experience/memory they were (and are!) used for spurs - often the immersion heater

[Andrew Gabriel]

Sounds like Night Storage Heaters. Could the W be an H?

[michael adams]

Like he said and Non-SWitched

michael adams

...

[Cicero]

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I don't know what the 'NSW' means but the fuses might have been for wall mounted electric fires which were once quite common in the bedrooms of older properties before the advent of central heating.

Cic.

[The Medway Handyman]

Aha! You could well be right there. The W could well have been an H. That explains everything. Thanks!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

15 amp sockets on a radial each - both two and three pin - were common before ring circuits.

Usually one per room for a heater. Those radial circuits were often converted into a ring in the '50s - especially upstairs to avoid running in all new wiring. The cable size - 7/029 - was the same as used for rings initially. But of course only with an ECC - earlier cable could have been two core.