Fuse box problem...not in a home in TV

[billethkid]

we have a second home that is 20+ years old.
the hot water heater is electric. In addition to having a breaker in the main panel, there is a fuse box in the laundry room where the heater is locater. Takes two of the old screw in 30 amp fuses.

The last couple of years there has been intermitant blowing of one of the 30 amp fuses...always the one on the right side. This past month a fuse was blown two days in a row.....blown fuse was very hot. The second day blown again fuse was so got it blackened the socket. I have left the fuse out until I get back to get it repaired. All the wiring and screws are tight.

1: ANy thought what might the system blow the same fuse and get so hot in the process?

2: can the fuse box in the laundry room be eliminated and just use the main breaker as we do here in TV?

3: If a fuse box has to remian for whatever reason, is it a do it yourself project to do so. It looks pretty simple and straight forward.

Thoughts/suggestions will be appreciated.

btk

[mulligan]

You (or an electrician) need to look at whatever is on the circuit the blown fuse controls. Something is causing it to blow. For example, if the washing machine is on the circuit, you may want to change to a slow blow fuse (easy fix), or maybe there is a short somewhere (not so easy). If you are not absolutely sure about the fix, please use a licensed electrician so we don't read about your house fire.

[getdul981]

Sounds like the fuses are dedicated to the water heater. If so, one of the heating elements is probably shorted out and causing the fuse to blow.

[Topspinmo]

Not big fan of the screw in fuses. corrosion and age of the circuit maybe your problem? If nothing else is on that circuit Another possibility would be the water heater heating coil is pulling too many amps for the fuses or you may have corrosion?. Most elect. water heaters are on 220V circuit I agree with Mulligan not for the novice handy man.. Seek licensed electrician.

[leftyf]

I agree with the others that the water heater element is bad. I would also replace the screw in fuse box with a disconnect box with breakers if the water heater is a long distance from the main electric box. If it's close to the main electric box, eliminate the screw in fuse box.

[l2ridehd]

There are a few possibilities.
1. First verify that nothing else is attached to the fuse box. The dryer maybe?

2. If the fuse box is really dedicated to the water heater only and the breaker in the electric panel is dedicated to the water heater only and is also 30 amp, the old screw panel can be eliminated.

Perhaps when the breaker panel was installed and eliminated an older fuse panel the wire run for the water heater was run only to the fuse panel. At one point many years ago, some electric companies used to have two meters on homes with one dedicated to hot water which was a lower rate. That may be why there is a 30 amp 220 fuse box next to the water heater.

Now if anything else is connected to the fuse panel or the breaker, I would split that off and install to a new breaker. Then also eliminate the fuse panel. The circuit you describe with a 30 amp breaker feeding a 30 amp fuse panel has no value and is a bit of a hazard. If possible you may want to replace the wire from the fuse panel to the water heater with a new 10-3 romex line.

If you have any electrical experience at all, you can do this. It is really fairly straight forward. Just make sure breaker is off and using a very simply tester that no power is present any where your working.

[billethkid]

Thanx for the responses.
Last summer when the fuse was blowing and because the unit was still in warranty they sent me a new bottom element which I installed. then a few weeks later fuse blows again. They sent me an upper element.

So both elements are less than a year old.

The hot water heater is on a dedicated fuse block in the main panel...double fuse block. Which only feeds the fuse box in the laundry room to which the hot water heater is connected.

I am tempted to either change out the fuse box for a modern one or eliminate the box all together. While I can do basic wiring etc. I am not comfortable with 240 so I will get an electrician in to help me decide whether the laundry room fuse box can be eliminated. Best I can determine there used to be a code in the past where there had to be line of sight to the fuse box for the heater......or something like that.

Thanx again.

btk

[l2ridehd]

Depending on the state/county where you live, that may be the case. But it should be a throw switch, not a fuse box. 240 is nothing more then two 120 circuits coming off opposite sides of the main feed from the power company. So that double breaker in your panel is just two 120 circuits. You shouldn't according to code, but you could run two different outlet circuits off that breaker. If you find two different off opposites sides of the panel 120 circuits in your home and measure the voltage between the two hot sides of those standard outlets, you would measure 240 volts.

So if you replace that fuse box, replace it with a double pole throw switch, not another fuse box. You can even buy a single 30 amp breaker panel if you really want the circuit double fused. However there is no reason to do that.

[Topspinmo]

I am skeptical that many heating elements are going bad, I have experienced any going bad on my elect. water heaters in 40 years. They rust out the bottom first or fill up with crap from the water I have saved several heating elements for old water heaters thinking I may need them but so far I haven't. I would have electrician inspect the wiring set up. probably pulling too many amps for the circuit or corrosion reducing the ampere flow thus busting the screw in fuses is my guess