Which fuse for my lathe - Clarke cl300m - 5A or 2A ??

[raynerd]

Hi

After finding this site a few days ago I have been bashing my Clarke Cl300m more than ever. I was doing nothing unusual today, gave it a 5 hour rest and then when I went back to it, fired it up tried to drill some brass, it jammed up and knocked off! I opened the fuse cover and it seems the fuse is blown, or at least I hope this is all that is wrong!

So now I need to find a fuse - I pulled the old one out and it says on it, as far as I can make out: F3.15AL250V

This doesn`t mean anything to me and it is much smaller than any other fuse I have seen or replaced - so where next, to the manual:

http://www.clarkeservice.co.uk/manuals/lathes/cl300m.pdf

It is a pdf - so do a search for fuse and you will find on:

1. page11:  1 x Spare Fuse - 2amp, glass type
2. page11:  ....3-Jaw chuck and a spare 2 Amp fuse....
3. page12: The fuse in the plug must be replaced with one of the same rating (5 amps) and this replacement must be ASTA approved to BS1362.

So is it a 2 or 5 amp fuse I need? I am totally confused and more importantly, is the fuse definately the case or could I have caused more damage?

Chris

[raynerd]

5A in the plug!!! I am a 

[ja2on]

Did that fix it ?
don't forget there is a fuse in the control panel and one in the plug

[Darren]

F3.15AL250V is a 3.15A fuse rated at 240 volts, probably a slow blow type, but I'd have to look that up to be sure..

The plug has a 5A fuse, but it wouldn't hurt if you only have a 3A. Prop be ok with a 13A too but I wouldn't if they say use a 5A

Did you get it going again?

[Darren]

I forgot to say, smaller is always safer unless you are a life support machine.....that is, just to get going again don't be afraid to try a smaller fuse if it's all you have.

It might blow, it might not, usually not. Just don't go bigger as it may hurt the electronics if a fault develops

[raynerd]

Not got it going again yet because I haven`t got a repacement (it is not new so the spare it tells you about in the manual is not present), I`ll be shooting to the shop first thing tomorrow to get one. I have never seen a 2A fuse so small and at least not had to replace one! Only fuses I have changed are car fuses and plug socket fuses.

This would make sense that the controller fuse has blown, I can still hear the "normal" very low buzzing produced even when the speed controller is off (I presume this is normal), just no response from the control panel.

Fingers crossed that I haven`t shorted any of the circuit.

It is 11pm here now and I can`t wait until tomorrow, need to know if it is OK - any household electronics use a 2A fuse I could "borrow" ??

[Darren]

Not normal house stuff I'm afraid, they tend to be used in electronics as they have quite different properties to house plug fuses.

Don't be tempted to try the wrong sort here. I assume you mean a little clear glass type, quite small.
It's a common size so you should find somewhere that has one.

Just to rest your mind so you can sleep tonight.
As the fuse has blown, then it's done it's job. You prob caused the motor to draw a large current by stalling it. This large current can damage the electronics hence the need for a fuse. The fuse blew, so protecting the electronics as it was designed to do.

I'm sure your lathe will be ok 

[raynerd]

Cheers - I will sleep better now! I`ll go to Maplin electronics tomorrow and hopefully pick one up there.
I`ll be sure to let you know.

Chris

[John Hill]

The advice is good and you should be asleep by now!

Using a higher amp fuse is like screwing the safety valve down!  Be sure to get a spare or two, if the fuse blew under load or while starting it was doing its job.

Fuses do age to a degree so there might be nothing at all wrong but if the new fuse blows immediately it would be a good idea to find out why.

The Artful Bodger

[raynerd]

Yea, just can`t sleep thinking about this lathe 

lol, in all seriousness - I am looking at Milling machines regarding my other post in the Machine Shop forum  ! I am getting obsessed!

Right, i`m off to bed!

[HS93]

My X1mill is the same the 2amp fuse is on the output side of the speed controler and is the two amp as it protects the out put of the circuit board from overload ( the motor also have overload protection that cut in and is re set after re start) but the 2 amp one is extra protection , I have had my mill stop several times but only poped 1 fuse. the plug fuse feeds the speed controler so is to protect if there is a problem in the speed controler it's self

Peter

[websterz]

My mill tends to pop a fuse about once a week. I get a bit heavy handed I'm sure.  I buy the little 5 amp fuses in a box of 100 on Ebay. It costs me $10.00, shipping and all, airmail from China. 100 fuses last a long time! 

[raynerd]

Hi

Just got back from the shop and I am pleased to say -  back up and running again!

Darren was obviously correct in saying it was a 3.15A fuse in there but as per the instruction manual I have replaced it with a 2A fuse and it seems to be running with no problems. I guess I would rather blow fuses at 20p a pop than blow the circuitry!

Thanks for all helping me out! Mucho appreciated.

Chris

[Darren]

Bravo..

Good to see you up and running again,

Did you sigh a relief 

[sbwhart]

Well done that man 

Stew

[John Swift]

Hi Chris
          the fuse rating confusion will be because the manual will have be adapted from a machine intended for the US market

 US lathes with a 300w 110v motors are protected by a 5a fuse (motor takes 2.7A )
CL300M lathes have a 300w 230v motor , the motor current will be  1.3 A   

while  a 1.6 A is available , using a fuse of 140% of maximum motor current is less likely to suffer from nuisance fusing