The fuse box is a metal box installed somewhere on the inside or outside of the home. It is installed by an electrician and has a hinged cover to keep the fuses protected. Most homes built before 1960 will have a fuse box, those built after have a circuit breaker box.

This box controls the electrical flow to your home. In the event of an overload, the fuse attached to that circuit will blow. This will cut power to every device on that circuit in the house. Most boxes have a main switch that will control power to the entire house.

There are three important things that you need to know about your box. You need to know where it is, what type of fuses your box uses, and if your main switch works properly. You should test your main switch at least three times annually to make sure it works correctly.

The inside of your box has several threaded spaces that resemble light sockets. These are called Edison sockets, and your fuses screw into them. Some fuses have an adapter called a rejection base snapped inside of them. The rejection base will only allow an S type fuses to be placed in that spot, whereas the larger T type fuses are screwed into the non-adapted sockets.

The most common fuses in homes nowadays are fuse types SL and TL. The SL fuse is a fuse with a rejection base already installed. The TL type fuse is a fuse with a regular Edison base. These work well for home use because they are designed to handle momentary power overloads caused by turning on household appliances.

When you blow a fuse, you need to unplug everything connected to that circuit. Go to the box and place a dry rubber mat on the floor to stand on to create insulation for your body. Put on a pair of thick leather gloves to avoid possible electrocution, open the hinged door and turn off the main switch for the house.

Using a flashlight, examine the top of each fuse. The top is made of glass. A blown fuse will either have the metal wire broken in pieces inside the glass, or glass that appears cloudy so you can’t see in. Remove this fuse, being careful not to touch the metal parts with your bare hands. Replace this with a fuse of matching amps. Turn the main power switch back on.

If you don’t want to mess with fuses, you can install mini breakers into the box. These turn each fuse into its own circuit breaker with a button on top. When a fuse blows, push the button to reset it. Your other option is to have an electrician replace your box with a modern circuit breaker.

It is virtually impossible that you don’t face electrical problems around the home from time to time. It could be a tripping breaker or a fused bulb, but sooner or later, there will be an electrical problem that you have to deal with. Now, most homeowners are adept at taking care of the small electrician work, i.e. taping up wires or replacing a blown fuse. However, there are certain situations where calling in a professional electrician is the best course of action. Yet, there are many people who don’t consider this an option, usually till it’s too late and they have no other recourse.

The reason for this hesitation is a few common myths about electrician work doing the rounds. It is true that there are some homeowners who have the requisite knowhow to take care of the electrical stuff around the home, but they are a rare breed. For the average Joe and Jane, it is a good idea to leave the work to a professional electrician service. However, since people tend to believe in the common misconceptions, calling an electrician is not a priority for them. They end up allowing time for the problem to exacerbate, which means greater expense, greater risk, and greater inconvenience

Now, surely you would be wondering what these abovementioned misconceptions are and if you perhaps believe in a few of them. Let’s take a look at some common myths about electrician work and debunk them:

As mentioned above, most people don’t reach out for the phone to call an electrician even when they see there’s a problem which requires an experienced hand. The myth is that they feel an electrical service would charge more if they called them over for an emergency. They instead hope that the problem isn’t major and the impact would be minimal. They wait for the sparking outlet to cool down or the tripping breaker to stop tripping before they consider calling in a professional. What this does is allow the problem to worsen, which means they have to spend more money to get it fixed later on.

Now, compare that cost with the charges of an emergency electrician service and you will see you got the short end of the deal. This is why it is important that you call up a professional electrician without delay and deal with the problem there and then. In fact, you give the electrician a better shot at fixing the problem by calling him in quicker

You might be all for the DIY movement and like doing things around the house but this doesn’t you put your safety at risk by attempting to fix electrical problems you have no idea how to deal with. One wrong move and you could end up causing more harm to the system than the actual problem did. Unless you are absolutely sure you know what to do, don’t ever attempt to fix an electrical problem at home. It would only meaning put your safety at risk. Not only this, you might end up causing damage to appliances or electrical outlets around the house. Just because it looks easy doesn’t mean its easy.

Granted, most homes today incorporate wood as a major building material. And you can probably bet your house on the fact that wood isn’t a good conductor of electricity. However, this doesn’t mean an electrical problem can not cause damage to your wooden flooring or fixtures. Keep in mind that a short circuit is all it takes and the entire room could be on fire. Just because your home is ‘wooden’ from all sides doesn’t mean you keep ignoring electrical faults, even if you have insurance!

This one is perhaps the most common misconception people have about electrician work. They aren’t prepared to listen to what the electrician is telling them about. Just because it’s your home doesn’t mean you know more about the electrical system installed than a professional whose bread and butter is fixing electrical problems. You might have your ideas about how the work should be done but you should trust the professional electrical service you have called in when it comes to electrical work.

These are only a few of the many misconceptions people have about electrician work. It might give you an ego boost to be able to take care of handyman jobs around the house but electrical work is intricate and potentially dangerous. So, it is in your best interests to leave it to the professionals

An electric conduit is electrical tubing used for protection and routing of electrical wiring. They can be made from a variety of materials, such as: plastic, metal, fiber and fired clay, all depending on the purpose it is being used for. It is generally installed by electricians at the electrical equipment’s installation site. The regulations governing the conduits’ use, form and installation details are specified by the US National Electrical Code (NEC).

Conduit is used as a general term to describe any system that contains electrical conductors. The conduit systems are installed for the following reasons:

To operate as pull outlets for the conductors that are being installed Make 90° bends in conduit runs

Types of Conduits

Conduit systems are classified based on the material used to make the tubing, mechanical stiffness and wall thickness. The material is selected for mechanical protection and corrosion resistance after taking into consideration the cost factor. There are special guidelines to be followed for wiring equipment in hazardous areas that need prior approval. Based on these factors, we examine a few prominent conduits:

Form 35/5/85 ex. Appleton LB400M

The Form 35 is used for malleable iron unilets as they have high tensile strength and ductility along with high corrosion and shock resistance. With the easy inbuilt rollers of type C (1-1/4” thru 4”) and type LB (1-1/4” thru 4”), these type of conduits help eliminate the damage when cable is pulled through the hubs. Form 5 has inbuilt rollers on all 11⁄4 to 4 C and LB bodies to facilitate wire pulling.

Form 7 ex. Crouse hind LB37

The Form 7 ex. Crouse hind LB37 is compatible with rigid and intermediate conduits for indoor as well as outdoor installation. It is made of cast iron or cast aluminium for a long life. It is extremely suitable for compact installations with rigidly threaded conduits of various shapes and sizes. The Form 7 has an exclusive snap tight and wedgenut cover attachment to provide clear, unhindered cover opening.

Mogul ex. Appleton BLB400m

The Mogul ex. Appleton BLB400m has a large body size that facilitates pulling of large and heavy conductors and are used as cast covers for providing additional wiring area. These are best used for pulling straight, 45° or 90° angle turns as well as for making taps and splices.

Form 8 ex. Crouse LB38

The Form 8 ex. Crouse LB38 is a 1” rigidly threaded conduit without cover and gasket made of Feraloy iron alloy. It is useful for indoor and outdoor use and comes in sizes ½” through 4”.

Form 9 ex. Crouse LB39