Hello everyone, I am new to these forums and I think I posted in the right forum, if I didn't I apoligize in advance. it seemed like the most fitting one.

I recently installed some electric baseboard heaters and every since than my fuses have been blowing. It is not a immediate blow, but a slow one with lights dimming and some appliances not working or working intermittently. Some lights will work and some won't.

I usually just change the fuses before they go out completly since it takes awhile. The fuses are expensive though about 6 dollars each which add up after awhile. They average about 2 days now, and the box takes two at a time.

This is the box right here. It is connected from the electricity outside than it goes to the box with the two fuses(that I think is the problem.) Than to the breaker box. This box is in the side of the house that used to be the landlords so I THINK that they had it there as a way to shut off the electricty to their tenants if something happened. I am curious if I need this box, or should just remove it completly, or will that not fix this problem.

Thanks in advance for the assist.

 

What size feeder wire is coming into the box?

What amperage fuses?

Did the new heaters overload thew circuit?

 

After answering Wirepiller's questions please explain: Why aren't the heaters on the breaker box?

 

The wire ontop is the one coming from outside, and the one on the bottom is the one that goes to the breaker box. The heaters are hooked up to the breaker box, but I never had a problem before the heaters. From what I gather though the box with the cartridge fuses doesnt serve a purpose besides acting as a shut off from the landlords side, so I was curious if I could just get rid of it.

The fuses are frn-r-60 250v fusetron by bussman 200k amp rating

As far as the feeder while that I dont know, would it say it somewhere on there?
Also thanks for the quick replies.

 

It should. You can also just look at the wire size inside the disconnect.

Those fuses don't look large enough to be 200A each. A Bussmann BP/FRN-R-60 Fuse is a 60A fuse. And it's black, not green.

 

The 200 amps is the interrupting capacity, they are 60 amp fuses. These are green ones.

COOPER BUSSMANN Fuse, 60A, 13/16 Dia, K Holder - Fuses - 1A700|FRN-R-60 - Grainger Industrial Supply

Your service is apparently only a 60 amp service and you obviously are overloading the service, thus blowing the fuses.

 

How many amps are the heaters? Are they 240 volts?

 

There are a lot of things going on there. That's not really an appropriate main disconnect box.
It looks like the incoming wires are not protected / insulated from getting touched.

In order to remove that disconnect from the system.....you would need a main breaker in the circuit breaker panel. Based on a visual....you have 60 amp service cable (actually it looks like nm cable) so you would need a two pole 60 amp main circuit breaker.

If those fuses fit loosely in the holders.....they will run hot and burn/blow prematurely.

 

I would agree except for the fact that this is obviously a fairly old house. Today this switch would have to be service entrance rated, but considering the age of the switch, I would assume it was acceptable at the time as a service switch or disconnect for a panel that was pretty far away.

 

All the above about suitability as a disconnect aside the reason the fuses are blowing seems obvious to me. A 60 amp main service can't support electric baseboard heat when added to the loads found in a modern home.