PSU Kettle Lead

[fadsarmy]

I've noticed that PSU kettle leads have either a 5amp or 13amp fuse. I have several computers and have mixed up all the kettle leads during a recent move. Does it matter?

[Ronaldo-7]

should be 13amp for pc

[schmunk]

should be 13amp for pc

I disagree - it'll take a fairly special PC to trip a 5A fuse - that's 1,150W..!

In summary, though, it doesn't really matter - fuses very rarely blow, the circuit breaker in your fuse box should go first.

[Ironbuket]

I agree with schmunk.

Definitely DONT use one with a 13AMP fuse. I had a computer at work take out power for a whole floor of the building last year and we traced it down to there being a 13AMP fuse in the "kettle lead" attached to a faulty PSU. If it had been a lower fuse then only the fuse would have blown instead of tripping out the whole floor. The tech guy that investigated said it was a fire hazard to use such a high AMP fuse in that situation.

[peterb]

The primary purpose of the plug top fuse is to provide protection in the event of failure of the power cord, although in practice, domestic white goods (kettles, washing machines) are also protected by that fuse.

Those instances apart, electronic equipment should have an appropriately rated (in terms of capacity and blowing characteristics) internal fuse that shoulkd be the first thing to blow in the event of a failure of that device.

That said, it makes perfect sense to down rate the fuse in the plug top, and 5 amps should be adequate for most computer systems. The problem (but not danger) is that if the lead is used on something that draws more current, the fuse will blow, so it is worth marking the plug top with the value ogf the fitted fuse.

The other thing to note is that if the power cord is rated at a lower current capacity (for example, the thin "binocular" type leads, the plug fuse must match the rating of the cable - for 5amp cable, use a 5 amp fuse.