[kingoftown1]

Double post

 

[rsbrsvp]

Did you see my series of posts a couple of pages back? Which included copper and titanium slugs, and the practicalities of obtaining a titanium slug.
Based on some comments at Audiogon, I would expect titanium to perform in the same ballpark as silver, with maybe different characteristics.

I've not yet found a silver slug online, and the recent Aliexpress link only took me to a general page, with no silver slug in sight. Not that it bothers me much, as I'm perfectly content with titanium, as it's much cheaper and much less prone to tarnish.

Try cutting and pasting: Xangsane HiFi pure silver fuse silver in the Ali express search engine.

I do not think I saw the info on how to obtain the titanimum slug.... Are you referring to McMaster-car dowel pins. Could you kindly give me the exact product and link where to order them? ALso- I just dont get how to place the order. It seems I have to have a rod cut to a certain size. I'd appreciate the details....

 

[TheAttorney]

Try cutting and pasting: Xangsane HiFi pure silver fuse silver in the Ali express search engine.

I do not think I saw the info on how to obtain the titanimum slug.... Are you referring to McMaster-car dowel pins. Could you kindly give me the exact product and link where to order them? ALso- I just dont get how to place the order. It seems I have to have a rod cut to a certain size. I'd appreciate the details....

Thank you for the Ali Express link. I can now see it. [Edit: they also have rhodium-plated sliver, which may tempt me]

The UK Ebay link for the titanium rod is here. If you're ordering from outside the UK, I guess that shipping will no longer be free, and may not even be available.

I clicked on "Contact Seller" to message them to request what I wanted: 3 off 6.4x25mm.
They messaged me back that yes they can, and they added an extra option into the length drop down field to match that order. If you select "6.4mm" in the diameter drop down, you will see that my special option is still there in the length field, but greyed out. So I just selected 6.4mm diameter, then the special length option, then the order went through as normal.

The ready-cut slugs arrived a few days later, so all I had to do was file off some slight burring across the cut edges.
If you have the necessary cutting equipment to cut through titanium, you can just order one of the standard lengths (minimum length 100mm) and cut them yourself. But as the ready-cut versions cost no extra, it was the obvious choice for me.

The same supplier also does the 5mm and 6mm diameter rods for fuse sizes other than the UK-specific ones.
[EDIT: I've since checked that the "large" internal fuse diameter is 6.3mm, same diameter as the UK fuse, just different lengths]

 

[rsbrsvp]

So- as standard small fuse is 5 x 20 right? So I'd order the 5mm diamater, than choose a length - say for example 200mm and have them cut it into 20mm pieces which would be 10 pieces. I'll hace to contact them to ask if they will cut it for me into 10 pieces????

 

[rsbrsvp]

Funny; I just found this on google:

Titanium is not a good conductor of electricity. If the conductivity of copper is considered to be 100%, titanium would have a conductivity of 3.1%. From this it follows that titanium would not be used where good conductivity is a prime factor.

So I guess, if titanium sounds so good as a fuse it is NOT due to its conductivity....


Silver has the highest electrical conductivity of all metals. In fact, silver defines conductivity - all other metals are compared against it.

Graphene is another material that has low resistivity. With a resistivity of 1 x10-8 Ωm, graphene is a better conductor than any silver, or any other metal on the periodic table.

Though silver wire is roughly 7 percent more conductive than a copper wire of the same length, silver is a significantly rarer metal than copper. Combined with silver's tendency to oxidize and lose efficiency as an electrical conductor, the relatively minor increase in conductivity makes copper a more sensible option in most scenarios.

 

[rsbrsvp]

I would like to ask more about the saftey concern of sluggos.

First- we already addressed that a proper power conditioner, isolation transformer will add protection.

Second- I have a fuse in my home in my fusebox that all my equipment is connected to. So does everyone else. Wont that fuse jump if there is a problem? And if so- isn't the fuse in the appliance just another extra protective stem which is "extra credit" rather than obligatory.??

Third- all of us who use audiophile fuses bump up the fuse we use because audiophile fuses overreact to current and blow to easily. So- when we need a 3 amp fuse and use a 4 amp fuse- which is common practice;- isn't this also limiting our protection?

I'd appreciate technical minded people to address these issues if possible.

 

[Jake2]

I would like to ask more about the saftey concern of sluggos.

First- we already addressed that a proper power conditioner, isolation transformer will add protection.

Second- I have a fuse in my home that all my equipment is connected to. So does everyone else. Wont that fuse jump if there is a problem? And if so- isn't the fuse in the appliance just another extra protective stem which is "extra credit" rather than obligatory.??

Third- all of us who use audiophile fuses bump up the fuse we use because audiophile fuses overreact to current and blow to easily. So- when we need a 3 amp fuse and use a 4 amp fuse- which is common practice;- isn't this basically also limiting our protection?

I'd appreciate technical minded people to address these issues if possible.

I’m not super technical but from my reading on this topic the short answer is, I believe, even with a power conditioner including upstream voltage surge and over-current protection, by removing a current limiting fuse set at or near the maximum level the component can safely operate you are removing a safeguard against an internal fault/short in the component in the scenario where the current would have exceeded the fuse’s limit and the safe operating limit of the circuitry in the component potentially causing damage or a fire, but not high enough to trip the conditioner’s much higher current rated fuse.

I have a power conditioner with non-sacrificial surge protection (a magnetic breaker I believe) with current capacity up to I believe, 15 amps. A 15 amp cut-off is a lot different to a 3 amp fuse. And yes, putting in a slightly higher rated say 4A fuse is reducing the fuse protection a bit but nowhere near as much increasing the effective current limit by 3-5x or more to whatever the lower current limit of your conditioner or circuit board fuse is.

Very low probability for most components (apart from maybe tube amps), but potentially super high consequence.

 

[rsbrsvp]

my isolation transformer has no fuse... but i get the point.

how about the fuse in my home fusebox? wont it jump if my component is overloaded?

 

[ThanatosVI]

I would like to ask more about the saftey concern of sluggos.

First- we already addressed that a proper power conditioner, isolation transformer will add protection.

Second- I have a fuse in my home in my fusebox that all my equipment is connected to. So does everyone else. Wont that fuse jump if there is a problem? And if so- isn't the fuse in the appliance just another extra protective stem which is "extra credit" rather than obligatory.??

Third- all of us who use audiophile fuses bump up the fuse we use because audiophile fuses overreact to current and blow to easily. So- when we need a 3 amp fuse and use a 4 amp fuse- which is common practice;- isn't this also limiting our protection?

I'd appreciate technical minded people to address these issues if possible.

If the fuse in your fusebox is not more lenient than the Device connected would require, it does offer protection.
I.e. if the Device requires 1.6A slow blow and you're fusebox has 1.6A slow blow your're save.

As for going up a size, ALWAYS discuss this with the manufacturer of your Device.
Most are fine, because that parts survive more current and they just used the fuse value noteable above what the Device needs.
If however a manufacturer chose something very close to the point of failure you can't go a size higher.

 

[rsbrsvp]

Got it. So the fuse in my fuse box is 16A- meaning it gives me pretty much no protection for a component with a 1 amp. fuse.

Is that correct?

 

[rsbrsvp]

Is the possibility of fire in a component with a slug greater than being hit by a car when crossing the street, or having a sudden heart attack?

In other words- how low or high are the odds of a problem? If they are in the category of "similar to getting into a fatal or paralyzing car accident" and I get into a car every day, then I see no reason to worry. After all- I'm not planning to stop driving. If the odds of a component fire are higher- then I need to consider by how much.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Got it. So the fuse in my fuse box is 16A- meaning it gives me pretty much no protection for a component with a 1 amp. fuse.

Is that correct?

It basically saves the wiring in your house from starting to burn, but that's about it. At least to my understanding.
You should have a ground fault circuit interrupter in your home which should trigger first anyways. (I'm not sure which countries use those, but Germany does)

Is the possibility of fire in a component with a slug greater than being hit by a car when crossing the street, or having a sudden heart attack?

In other words- how low or high are the odds of a problem? If they are in the category of "similar to getting into a fatal or paralyzing car accident" and I get into a car every day, then I see no reason to worry. After all- I'm not planning to stop driving. If the odds of a component fire are higher- then I need to consider by how much.

How often did a fuse blow for any device in your home, in your life?
Odds are of course small, but when it happens there is a chance to end in catastrophic failure.

 

[Jake2]

I read some comments on another forum re anecdotes from repairmen about quite a number of expensive repairs to tube amps where fuses had been removed. I’m guessing the houses survived in those cases. Intuitively I’d think delicate circuitry, circuit board traces and/or lower gauge wires and solder is more likely to quickly burn or melt right through - acting as a very expensive fuse - than carry so much current for so long that it heats up much heavier gauge AC wiring to the wall and in the wall. Which fuse box fuses should protect anyway. But then some things might, y’know, explode or insulation on thinner signal cables might start to smoulder… who knows.

Anyway the greater - if still very low - probability to my mind is expensive and extensive avoidance damage to a component.

But then these are just third hand anecdotes and amateur speculations so take em all with a pinch of salt.

 

[TheAttorney]

So- as standard small fuse is 5 x 20 right? So I'd order the 5mm diamater, than choose a length - say for example 200mm and have them cut it into 20mm pieces which would be 10 pieces. I'll hace to contact them to ask if they will cut it for me into 10 pieces????

Yes, that is mostly correct. But note that each cut wastes some of the rod, so you might only get, say, 9 pieces in practice.
Better to not worry about the starting length and just message them the number of pieces that you need. So just say: I need 10 pieces of 5mm dia. by 20mm length, and let them work out how they will achieve that.

10 seems a big number to me - even if this was only used as an example. As per the recent advice about safety, I would proceed with caution when bypassing any component's internal fuse (unless you add an SDFB). The probability of a serious issue is small IMO, but the impact could be high. And a low probability/high impact risk is still overall a risk to be taken seriously. Which is why all my fuse-bypass advice relates to a UK wall-plug fuse, where bypassing a (typically) 13A fuse is no risk at all when the component's much lower rated fuse (e.g. 1A) remains in the same circuit.

 

[rsbrsvp]

Yes, that is mostly correct. But note that each cut wastes some of the rod, so you might only get, say, 9 pieces in practice.
Better to not worry about the starting length and just message them the number of pieces that you need. So just say: I need 10 pieces of 5mm dia. by 20mm length, and let them work out how they will achieve that.

10 seems a big number to me - even if this was only used as an example. As per the recent advice about safety, I would proceed with caution when bypassing any component's internal fuse (unless you add an SDFB). The probability of a serious issue is small IMO, but the impact could be high. And a low probability/high impact risk is still overall a risk to be taken seriously. Which is why all my fuse-bypass advice relates to a UK wall-plug fuse, where bypassing a (typically) 13A fuse is no risk at all when the component's much lower rated fuse (e.g. 1A) remains in the same circuit.

I have no need for 10 fuses- but the 200mm rod is just 2-3 more pounds in cost than a 50mm rod- so it is basically free...

It basically saves the wiring in your house from starting to burn, but that's about it. At least to my understanding.
You should have a ground fault circuit interrupter in your home which should trigger first anyways. (I'm not sure which countries use those, but Germany does)

I live in Israel- and you better believe I have a ground fault circut. It is quite sensitive to shorts. When an appliance in my house has a short- it jumps and jumps fast.