What are glass fuses?

Glass fuses are types of cartridge fuses featuring a cylindrical glass body. The typical voltage rating of these types of fuses is 300VAC or less and is primarily used for protecting low-current circuits. Since they are made of glass, they are ideal for applications that aren’t usually exposed to high heat, thus ensuring that the glass isn’t shattered. Glass fuses possess a transparent body, through which the fuse wire can be checked. 

Types of glass fuses

Most commonly, four types of glass fuses are available. These are:

• Fast-acting glass fuses: These types of glass fuses are capable of opening within seconds as they are exceptionally sensitive to changes in current flow, hence the name fast-acting. 
• Time-delay glass fuses: These types of glass fuses are capable of tolerating temporary increases in current without opening simultaneously. 
• One-piece fast-acting glass fuses with Knob: These types of glass fuses feature a body and an insulating cap packed into a single housing unit. As they are fast-acting, they are highly sensitive to an increase in current. 
• One-piece time-delay glass fuses with knob: These types of glass fuses feature a fused body with an insulating cap, just like the one-piece fast-acting glass fuses. But unlike them, these can tolerate little changes in the current.

Applications

Glass fuses are used in a wide range of applications. These include:

• Consumer electronics 
• Instrument panels
• Automotive accessories 
• Small appliances