[Johnson] Ranger fuses

[Glen Zook]

The NEC (National Electrical Code) is the document on
which the vast majority of local building codes are
based in the United States of America.  It is
published by the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) which is an association that the members come
primarily from the insurance, construction, and fire
fighting arena.  These people are definitely
"professionals" in their areas of expertise.

Basically the NEC says NOT to fuse the neutral unless
the device (circuit breaker) ALSO breaks the "hot"
side at the same time.  Now there is a provision for
certain types of electric motor wiring that does not
apply to any other form of wiring and thus can be
ignored for the purpose of fusing amateur radio
equipment.

The members of the NFPA, through the various technical
committees, have formulated a standard for electrical
wiring that has been "fine tuned" for MANY decades. 
The result is that the vast majority of governmental
agencies have adopted the NEC as "the" standard for
which all electrical wiring within their jurisdictions
must meet.

Insurance companies also recognize the NEC as being
"the" standard which must be enforced in order for the
policies written by them to be honored.  There are
clauses in the "fine print" of insurance policies to
this end.  To put it bluntly, if an item wired such
that the provisions of the NEC are not met results in
damage or death then the insurance policy is null and
void and will not "pay off" in the event that the
damage or death can be reasonably traced to the
non-compliance with the NEC.

Through extensive testing the NFPA has determined that
the neutral should NOT be fused and have incorporated
this into the NEC.  The insurance companies have
determined that the NEC will be the standard by which
they will honor claims.  The vast majority of
governmental agencies have declared that the NEC will
be the standard by which their building codes are
governed.  Therefore, although certain amateur radio
operators can "argue" as to the "logic" of fusing both
the "hot" and "neutral" leads from the 120 VAC mains,
this should not be open for discussion.

Fusing of the neutral lead IS a VIOLATION of the
National Electrical Code.  Fusing of the neutral IS a
VIOLATION of most building codes.  Fusing of the
neutral CAN result in the INVALIDATION of your
insurance policy if something were to happen. 
Therefore, in my opinion, the "ifs and ands" that a
few persons are proposing for the placement of a fuse
in the netural wiring are pretty much negated.

To put it bluntly:  Follow the NEC if not for any
other reason but to protect your pocket book
(insurance policy) in case of something going wrong. 
The NEC says NOT to fuse the neutral and the building
codes and the insurance companies agree.

Glen, K9STH

Web sites

http://home.comcast.net/~k9sth
http://home.comcast.net/~zcomco

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