<p><strong>No, do not use this fuse.</strong> The current rating is too high to be reasonable for your printer. It will "work" in the sense that your printer will get power, but it won't provide anywhere near as much protection as a lower-rated fuse. </p>

<p>10A is a lot of current for mains voltage. Depending on what else you have plugged in, there is a fair chance your home's 15A breaker will trip before this fuse does, which kind of defeats the point of having it. </p>

<p>Even for "fast" fuses, it takes a significant amount of time for them to blow when conducting their rated current. The internal fusible link has to heat up and melt before the fuse stops conducting. The less the overload current exceeds the rating, the longer that takes. A 10A fuse conducting a 10.5A short might take 30 seconds to trip. In the meantime, your printer is melting. Lower-rated fuses will trip faster for the same short and thus provide better protection. </p>

<p><em>You need to size fuses as small as possible for the required current draw if you want to have any hope of rapidly cutting off an excessive-current event.</em></p>

<p>I would recommend a 4A fuse in the USA for this 350w power supply. (Note: the listing title says 360 but the photos show 350.) I use 4A fuses in several printers with 120v / 350w PSUs and they do not trip. But you can do the math for yourself:</p>

<p>350 watts / 120 volts / 80% efficiency = 3.64A</p>

<p>The smallest fuse you can find that is larger than this value is what you should use. </p>

<p>Now, we can argue over whether 80% is the right efficiency value... it could be lower. The PSU label says 6.5A input is required, but that amount of current draw implies either a &lt;50% efficiency (which is quite poor for this kind of PSU) or would only occur for abuse/surge scenarios like starting very large motors. Such short-lived inrush events generally won't trip a fuse unless you do something dumb like lock the rotor. And none of that applies to the small microstepping-driver stepper motor systems we're working with here. This PSU should not draw more than 4A in normal 3D printer use.</p>

<p>Looking at this on the other end -- how much damage will 10A do versus 4A? Lots. If the short is in the 12v system, and the PSU's short protection doesn't trip in (because it's a cheap knock-off) you would roughly multiply the AC fuse current times 10 to get the DC current. And 40A is a downright scary amount of current! Depending on wire gauge, putting 40A through heatbed wiring may make it smell and smoke. Whereas putting 100A through heatbed wiring will almost certainly start a fire. </p>

<p>You're much safer with a 4A or even 6A fuse for this PSU than a 10A fuse. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T05:09:11.123Z
Should also point out a 1-star review on the switch's Amazon entry that said it melted after an hour at 4.5A... Although it seems like a lot of different switches are sold under this listing. I actually have one of these from this exact Amazon listing  in a printer right now, and the wiring to the onboard switch is very small. I would trust the main terminals to 10A but not the lighted switch part.
Ryan Carlyle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T20:57:56.007Z
So another words, with the fuse we're using the fuse to prevent power spikes coming in from the wall outlet that might send too much DC power to the heatbed and electronics and catch them on fire?   So you don't think the switch is safe?
leeand00
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T21:01:37.163Z
Most often, the fuse is there to kill power in case there's a short in your mains wiring between the switch and PSU, which may be quite destructive before your home's circuit breaker trips. Or the fuse may trip if the PSU fails and starts drawing excess current. Having an oversized fuse may allow the switch to melt down without tripping any kind of protection.
Ryan Carlyle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T21:04:46.747Z
MOST of the time, shorts in the printer's wiring will be caught and stopped by the PSU's built-in over-current protection. You shouldn't really rely on that though if you're buying clones rather than name-brand PSUs (like the MeanWell that this PSU is copied from).
Ryan Carlyle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T21:06:06.933Z
The switch should be fine for 4A, I'm putting around 2.5-3A through it without any issues, but I don't know if I would trust it to 10A.
Ryan Carlyle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T21:08:16.303Z
Another words don't wire the PSU up to anything that pulls more electricity than the 3D Printer will?  Because the printer only draws about 4A (or is that the PSU?)
leeand00
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T21:54:32.200Z
The printer will pull up to 29A at 12V DC from the PSU. I don't know your component specs (particularly the heatbed) so I can't calculate the exact draw. Realistically, you can probably hook up 20-25A worth of load to the PSU and it should be fine. (Depends a bit on the PSU build quality.) THEN, in order to provide up to 29A @ 12VDC to the printer, the PSU will draw up to 4A @ 120VAC from your house wiring. The input and output POWER are the same (less conversion efficiency losses)... but the current and voltage are different.
Ryan Carlyle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T21:56:04.657Z
If your printer only needs ~15A to run everything, the PSU will only draw ~2A from your house wiring. It's just a converter. It drops voltage and raises current.
Ryan Carlyle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-22T01:57:46.873Z
I went to an autoparts store and got a 4A fuse for my switch.  But I think it's DC since it reads 32V on it and there's no spring inside, it doesn't perfectly fit in the fuse cabinet inside the switch.  I was reading that there are AC and DC fuses, so I guess the need an AC one, since the power is coming in from the wall outlet via the switch as AC.  Right?
leeand00
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-22T05:29:20.933Z
You need a fuse rated 125v or higher. If the fuse says 32v, it's probably only rated to 32v.
Ryan Carlyle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-22T05:33:41.047Z
And an AC fuse right?
leeand00
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-22T06:23:12.623Z
If I'm not mistaken, any fuse you find rated to 125+ will be intended for AC. DC circuits over 24v are pretty rare.
Ryan Carlyle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T04:38:42.443Z
2016-01-21T04:38:42.443Z
Ryan Carlyle
<p>Wondering if <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Crown-Bolt-10-Amp-Up-to-250-Volt-AGC-Fuse-71648/203537223" rel="noreferrer">this fuse</a> is safe to use in <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B00511QVVK" rel="noreferrer">this switch/plug</a> to turn on /off a <a href="http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B007KG0ZYI" rel="noreferrer">12V DC 30A Power Supply 360W Power Supply</a> that will power a RAMPS 1.4 board for a Prusa i3 with an external led display that contains an SD Card Reader.</p>

<p>I found the <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:31659" rel="noreferrer">suggestion to use it here</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-20T16:00:42.340Z
What's with the down vote?  You be troll'n?
leeand00
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T04:41:58.360Z
It's really not a 3d printer question, it's an electrical engineering question that just happens to be about a 3d printer.
Ryan Carlyle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T20:32:42.113Z
@RyanCarlyle oh, well somebody move it to the Electrical Engineering Stackexchange then...no that's a bad idea, this site is in beta and needs the help.
leeand00
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T20:50:10.543Z
Fair point. Maybe the question could be "Is this fuse a good choice for my RAMPS Prusa i3?" or something like that :-)
Ryan Carlyle
<electronics><prusa-i3-rework><switching-power-supply><ramps-1.4>
Is this fuse a good choice for my Prusa i3's power supply and RAMPS 1.4?
leeand00
# Is this fuse a good choice for my Prusa i3's power supply and RAMPS 1.4?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-01-20)

Wondering if [this fuse](http://www.homedepot.com/p/Crown-Bolt-10-Amp-Up-to-250-Volt-AGC-Fuse-71648/203537223) is safe to use in [this switch/plug](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B00511QVVK) to turn on /off a [12V DC 30A Power Supply 360W Power Supply](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B007KG0ZYI) that will power a RAMPS 1.4 board for a Prusa i3 with an external led display that contains an SD Card Reader.

I found the [suggestion to use it here](http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:31659).

**Tags:** electronics, prusa-i3-rework, switching-power-supply, ramps-1.4

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: What's with the down vote?  You be troll'n?  
> **username_1**: It's really not a 3d printer question, it's an electrical engineering question that just happens to be about a 3d printer.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 oh, well somebody move it to the Electrical Engineering Stackexchange then...no that's a bad idea, this site is in beta and needs the help.  
> **username_1**: Fair point. Maybe the question could be "Is this fuse a good choice for my RAMPS Prusa i3?" or something like that :-)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-01-21. Score: 9 | Accepted answer

**No, do not use this fuse.** The current rating is too high to be reasonable for your printer. It will "work" in the sense that your printer will get power, but it won't provide anywhere near as much protection as a lower-rated fuse.

10A is a lot of current for mains voltage. Depending on what else you have plugged in, there is a fair chance your home's 15A breaker will trip before this fuse does, which kind of defeats the point of having it.

Even for "fast" fuses, it takes a significant amount of time for them to blow when conducting their rated current. The internal fusible link has to heat up and melt before the fuse stops conducting. The less the overload current exceeds the rating, the longer that takes. A 10A fuse conducting a 10.5A short might take 30 seconds to trip. In the meantime, your printer is melting. Lower-rated fuses will trip faster for the same short and thus provide better protection.

*You need to size fuses as small as possible for the required current draw if you want to have any hope of rapidly cutting off an excessive-current event.*

I would recommend a 4A fuse in the USA for this 350w power supply. (Note: the listing title says 360 but the photos show 350.) I use 4A fuses in several printers with 120v / 350w PSUs and they do not trip. But you can do the math for yourself:

350 watts / 120 volts / 80% efficiency = 3.64A

The smallest fuse you can find that is larger than this value is what you should use.

Now, we can argue over whether 80% is the right efficiency value... it could be lower. The PSU label says 6.5A input is required, but that amount of current draw implies either a <50% efficiency (which is quite poor for this kind of PSU) or would only occur for abuse/surge scenarios like starting very large motors. Such short-lived inrush events generally won't trip a fuse unless you do something dumb like lock the rotor. And none of that applies to the small microstepping-driver stepper motor systems we're working with here. This PSU should not draw more than 4A in normal 3D printer use.

Looking at this on the other end -- how much damage will 10A do versus 4A? Lots. If the short is in the 12v system, and the PSU's short protection doesn't trip in (because it's a cheap knock-off) you would roughly multiply the AC fuse current times 10 to get the DC current. And 40A is a downright scary amount of current! Depending on wire gauge, putting 40A through heatbed wiring may make it smell and smoke. Whereas putting 100A through heatbed wiring will almost certainly start a fire.

You're much safer with a 4A or even 6A fuse for this PSU than a 10A fuse.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Should also point out a 1-star review on the switch's Amazon entry that said it melted after an hour at 4.5A... Although it seems like a lot of different switches are sold under this listing. I actually have one of these from this exact Amazon listing  in a printer right now, and the wiring to the onboard switch is very small. I would trust the main terminals to 10A but not the lighted switch part.  
> **username_0**: So another words, with the fuse we're using the fuse to prevent power spikes coming in from the wall outlet that might send too much DC power to the heatbed and electronics and catch them on fire?   So you don't think the switch is safe?  
> **username_1**: Most often, the fuse is there to kill power in case there's a short in your mains wiring between the switch and PSU, which may be quite destructive before your home's circuit breaker trips. Or the fuse may trip if the PSU fails and starts drawing excess current. Having an oversized fuse may allow the switch to melt down without tripping any kind of protection.  
> **username_1**: MOST of the time, shorts in the printer's wiring will be caught and stopped by the PSU's built-in over-current protection. You shouldn't really rely on that though if you're buying clones rather than name-brand PSUs (like the MeanWell that this PSU is copied from).  
> **username_1**: The switch should be fine for 4A, I'm putting around 2.5-3A through it without any issues, but I don't know if I would trust it to 10A.  
> **username_0**: Another words don't wire the PSU up to anything that pulls more electricity than the 3D Printer will?  Because the printer only draws about 4A (or is that the PSU?)  
> **username_1**: The printer will pull up to 29A at 12V DC from the PSU. I don't know your component specs (particularly the heatbed) so I can't calculate the exact draw. Realistically, you can probably hook up 20-25A worth of load to the PSU and it should be fine. (Depends a bit on the PSU build quality.) THEN, in order to provide up to 29A @ 12VDC to the printer, the PSU will draw up to 4A @ 120VAC from your house wiring. The input and output POWER are the same (less conversion efficiency losses)... but the current and voltage are different.  
> **username_1**: If your printer only needs ~15A to run everything, the PSU will only draw ~2A from your house wiring. It's just a converter. It drops voltage and raises current.  
> **username_0**: I went to an autoparts store and got a 4A fuse for my switch.  But I think it's DC since it reads 32V on it and there's no spring inside, it doesn't perfectly fit in the fuse cabinet inside the switch.  I was reading that there are AC and DC fuses, so I guess the need an AC one, since the power is coming in from the wall outlet via the switch as AC.  Right?  
> **username_1**: You need a fuse rated 125v or higher. If the fuse says 32v, it's probably only rated to 32v.  
> **username_0**: And an AC fuse right?  
> **username_1**: If I'm not mistaken, any fuse you find rated to 125+ will be intended for AC. DC circuits over 24v are pretty rare.  

---

