Would a properly sized fuse prevent a fire from happening
if you fired up a hotplate, and placed it in contact with a
curtain?

This is a common misconception about fuses and fire protection.
They are pretty good at preventing power cords, wall outlets,
and house wiring, from burning, but do little for problems like
the bad RIFA capacitors.

The RIFA capacitors will quite happily light up the printed circuit
board, while not blowing a reasonably sized fuse. ?I have seen them
burn clean through a FR4 circuit board... If it had been G10, there
would have been more than just smoke.

I have seen power transformers that caught fire without blowing the
fuse when the rectifier shorted.

Fuses save the house wiring, and the power cords, but not much
else is certain.

-Chuck Harris

Dave_G0WBX via Groups.Io wrote:

So don’t rush out replacing all your 250 V nominal equipment (which will

be almost all of your equipment), but do rush out to get rid of the

crazing 1980s' RIFA capacitors (inside a golden clear plastic blob with

lots of cracks) that we are talking about, even when they are inside a

Schaffner line filter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cant help thinking that a power lead with a correctly rated fuse in the

plug will reduce the damage, and certainly the fire risk.

For the non UK readers, we have HRC fuse cartridges in our power lead

plugs, that go into the wall socket. ?Saves a lot of embarrassment

sometimes, unless you get it very wrong...

Might not stop the "Bang"! ?But sure reduces the fire risk.

Regards.

Dave B.