What fuse for Behringer effects?

T

tyebillion

New member
Hi, I have two Behringer effects units: a Tube Composer (compressor) and an Ultragraph Pro (equalizer). I have muddled up my power cables, some have 5amp fuses and others have 13amp fuses. Does anyone know what fuse would be suitable for the Behringers, I am guessing that they should be 13amps? By the way I am in the UK which has 220–240 V/50 Hz power supply.
Thanks.
 
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A 5amp fuse you might find in a power amplifier. A 13 amp fuse? In a welder perhaps?

Try 0.5amp (500 milliamp) for the Tube Composer, 0.315amp (315 milliamp) for the Ultragraph Pro. These pertain to 220 or 240V supply.

I'm not guessing here. I just got these values from Behringer's online documentation for each product.

Paul
 
Arcaxis sounds about right to me. UK power cords have fuses in the actual plugs that are rated quite a bit higher than any internal protection for a piece of gear.

As somebody said, there should be some kind of rating on the back of the gear to indicate how much it draws. If it's in amps, great. If it's in watts, divide that number by 240 (as in 240 volts). So, if something says 500 watts, divide that by 240 and get just a shade over 2 amps (which is likely a lot higher than most bits of rack gear).

The standard fuses for UK mains leads are 3, 5 and 13 amps. Go with the lowest you can get away with--most audio stuff will run easily on 3 amps with 5 amps needed just once in a while. The reason you may have seen a 13 amp fuse in a plug is, frankly, laziness by manufacturers. Thirteen amps is highest normal rating and is often put into plugs as sort of an "all purpose" fuse even though it would only provide the most limited protection. As somebody else said, pretty much the only audio gear needing a 13 amp fuse would be an amplifier--13 amps represents a shade over 3000 watts.

So...short answer...try a 3 amp fuse and if that happens to blow move to a 5 amp.

(For the pedants in the audience, I know that, in theory, the UK is now on 230 volt power as a compromise with Europe. I've also never seen a supply that had been adjusted down from 240...and even 250 volts is not unheard of.)
 
I think it's pleasant to see that everyone in this thread is really trying to help a guy out :) And it's great that there isn't any post with some internet asshole saying "Behringer sucks".
 
Ah, thanks Arcaxis and Bobbsy for clarifying the situation regarding UK power cords!

In that case, based on the fuse ratings for the actual equipment, it would seem that 3A would be fine for either unit.

I wonder if the plugs require fast or slow blow fuses?

Paul
 
godchuanz said:
I think it's pleasant to see that everyone in this thread is really trying to help a guy out :) And it's great that there isn't any post with some internet asshole saying "Behringer sucks".
Click to expand...

That is because Behringer gear does not actually suck. Well, you get what you pay for anyway. This isn't Gearsluts. It's Home Recording. We make due with what is within our own budgets.

:)
 
PRHunt said:
I wonder if the plugs require fast or slow blow fuses?

Paul
Click to expand...

Well, neither in the sense that we'd specify fast or slow blow fuses for the internal protection on a piece of gear.

There's a whole British Standard (BS1362) about the fuses and their characteristics, including the breaking time vs. current. For example, on a 3 amp fuse, the times are:

0.02–80s at 9 A,
< 0.1s at 20 A,
< 0.03 s at 30 A.

Yeah, it took a while to get used to the UK system when I first moved there! However, working on the TV side of things, it was great to suddenly be able to plug in enough lights to do a shoot even in a domestic situation!
 
Ok, let's see if I can nail this one!

The fuse in a 13A plug is there SOLEY to protect the cable in the event of a short in the appliance. The maker of the equipment is free to sort out his own fusing.

There are two main IEC detachable leads in use. The most common 3pole "kettle" lead and the bi-pin "figure 8" lighter 2 core lead.
Now, in fact the former is only rated at 10 amps! This is academic for audio kit however since even a ripsnorting 1500W per chan amp would never pull 13A from 230volts. In any event we all know IEC leads vary in construction, some are VERY heroic!

The 2core leads are rated at 5amps as rule but in practice if fitted with a 13A fuse they are well able to carry the fault current and in fact when even a 5A fuse blows it takes out a 16A breaker in the board. So I fit 13A fuses in kettle leads and 5 amp in the 2 cores (and the "clover leaf" jobs that you get for laptop supplies).

Cable fusing worries me not a jot but don't mess with earthing!

Dave.
 
Though for the paranoid amongst us, best practice is to protect the cord with a fuse of the smallest acceptable amperage.
 
Agreeing with others, for the most part: assuming it is, in fact, a fuse on the main line from the wall outlet to the transformer, it's essentially impossible that 5 amps (or 3, for that matter) is too low.

Five amps at 240 volts = 1200 watts. No effects box requires anything close to 1200 watts from the wall. If they did, each one would need to be on its own circuit (in the US) to avoid blowing the main fuses.

Yes, an effects box might draw 1 amp from its transformer at 12 volts (or so). That's 12 watts, which is a far cry from 1200. True, the transformer in a wall wart is pretty inefficient, but if it were losing 1188 watts you'd burn yourself if you touched it, and it would probably set the carpet on fire. That's more than a normal hair dryer, and about the power of a small stove burner. Using a figure at the high end of what's possible, a very inefficient transformer might lose as much as 80% of the power it draws: to get 12 watts, it'd need 60, which means it would draw 1/4 of an amp. If a 5 (or 3) amp fuse blows at 1/4 of an amp over any period of time, there's something wrong with it.
 
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