Anyone replaced Fuse with Circuit Breaker?


I am considering replacing the stock 5 AMP fuses in my Classe CAM 200 monoblocks with either boutique fuses OR high quality circuit breakers that fit where the fuse holder goes. Has anyone tried circuit breakers on their amplification?
ryanvt

Showing 5 responses by hifihvn

The test that was provided by Magfan was for an aircraft. He said the company was saving money. I don't know anything about that guys light aircraft. I think Cessna used breakers the same year his plane was built.

It can get busy in a plane. So if a fuse blows, you need to locate the proper one, make sure you have the proper fuse in hand, and replace it. If your flying a little single engine like this guy was, you may be alone, and doing this in bad weather, in a busy pattern, plus an endless list would be plenty of reasons to want breakers in an aircraft.

Just for what it's worth, breakers go bad too. I remember a few years back, I was with a friend who was flying me to a non-controlled airport that was doing maintained work. They had no runway lights due to the maintenance. When he turned his landing lights on, nothing. We had to turn around and go home. The breaker failed in it.

Also, last year I had to replace the breaker for our home HVAC, as it was humming loud (a sign of overload, or tired), and tripping off at times. The replacement does have a slight hum, just like the original did since it was new. This is common for breakers. If anyone was in a breaker room for a large building, they no how noisy that can get, even causing the need for talking loud in some of them.

So how much noise do these add to the line? I wonder if anyone measured it?

His test (aircraft guy) wasn't conclusive for the fuse test, due to 100ms limitations on the test equipment.

How often does the fuses in your amp fail? I can't remember the last time I've needed to changed one.

With everything said, I have no desire to risk changing over to breakers. I don't see any info that says a breaker can react to the fast speed, that can save something from short peaks that can occur in our equipment, that a fuse that we forget is there, can also save a costly repair. No tests for added noise, that may result from a breakers pressure contact. Too many unknown risks, and possible added noise. If your blowing fuses on a regular basis, get it fixed. So, I'll pass. Why add a problem is what I think.
The OP of the thread amps have a setup similar to what I'm familiar with. The slow-blow fuse is on the back, for easy user replacement if needed. This one will handle the turn on inrush needed, especially more so to charge the power supply caps. The fuses that help protect the semiconductors inside the amp, has the fast-blo fuses inside.

Due to the 0.100 second resolution in our testing equipment, we were unable accurately to compare the response times of the devices to a massive over-current condition such as would result from, say, a short circuit. That is, when we applied 10 times the rated current, both devices reacted within 0.100 seconds. This time suggests that either device would be adequate in applications where the goal is to protect circuit power wiring as opposed to protecting the circuit itself.

What this person has written even seems to match with the amps protection, to a degree. In the article, he is mainly concerned with a fire (wire overload) in the plane from the way I read it. If something fails on the inside of one the aircraft's components, hopefully he has a second (radio for example) for backup, and can make it safely to an airport.
Link for the OP of the thread amps.[http://www.classeaudio.com/downloads/pdfs/archived%20manuals/CAM-200_Owners_Manual_v1_0.pdf]
Ryanvt, this is all new to me. I haven't heard of any breakers for audiophile gear like your speaking of. With the breakers I've seen, I don't see how they can make a more solid connection than a fuse whose connection is solid inside. No breaks in a fuse that can make noise. I wouldn't know where to begin on recommended a breaker to replace the miniature fuse in an amp, especially one that can maintain a more solid connection.

In the '60s or '70s, I remember companies started using breakers on TV sets. They called a lot of them "reset" buttons. These were mass production, and I imagine they tried to save every penny making them. Then about the time they went all solid state, they went back to fuses for some reason.

Even the new D'Agostino amp appears to have a standard fuse on its case back. Link [http://www.dagostinoinc.com/]

I would like to provide info if I could.
Magfan, I'm familiar with the dual magnetos required for piston powered planes. Double needed to stay flying if the other fails. I'm also familiar with different ram air turbines (RAT) needed for a lot of airplanes, for hydraulic and electrical power. I don't see how any of this will help the OP though.