HOOVER Ranger Broken Down...
- Thread starter jmurray01
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hooverbaby
Well-known member
There you go!..or should I say, there you blow...
Of Course, there is no harm in trying the lower rating of fuse but I doubt you will get away with it for long.
I might happen to mention that I do have 17th Edition Regs and also used to run a vac shop for 10 years. Sometimes, machines came in that didn't work with a fuse rating that was unsuitable. The only machine I can remember having a 3 amp fuse fitted as standard wasn't a vacuum but the relatively low powered Qualcast Concorde Lawnmower. Some of these only had a 280 watt motor and seemed to work ok with this fuse.
You also need to try moving the 2 speed switch where the tools fit in to see whether boosting the power blows the smaller fuse. You don't need the convertor to do this, just something to activate the lever. Try holding it in before pressing the power switch, again when it's running. I expect it's more likely to go at start up.
Stephen
Of Course, there is no harm in trying the lower rating of fuse but I doubt you will get away with it for long.
I might happen to mention that I do have 17th Edition Regs and also used to run a vac shop for 10 years. Sometimes, machines came in that didn't work with a fuse rating that was unsuitable. The only machine I can remember having a 3 amp fuse fitted as standard wasn't a vacuum but the relatively low powered Qualcast Concorde Lawnmower. Some of these only had a 280 watt motor and seemed to work ok with this fuse.
You also need to try moving the 2 speed switch where the tools fit in to see whether boosting the power blows the smaller fuse. You don't need the convertor to do this, just something to activate the lever. Try holding it in before pressing the power switch, again when it's running. I expect it's more likely to go at start up.
Stephen
I'd personally say a 3a fuse is inadequate for a two speed Senior, as the maximum wattage of the motor at 650 watts may cause the inrush current to be higher than the 720 watts a 3a fuse can take. But it is good practice to keep the fuse as low rated as possible. I run my Seniors on a 5a fuse - which I understand weren't in general use when the machine was current, with only 3 and 13 amp fuses in general use.
Many years back I was using a Dirtsearcher Junior, which suddenly cut out. I changed the fuse, but to a 13 amp one. Carried on cleaning, until there was a big BANG!, a few sparks flew out of the lamp cover and the electrics tripped. Turned out that there was a short in the lamp housing. The smaller fuse blew so fast it was like turning the machine off, the larger one caused drama! As Stephen says, in the event of a short, the fault will draw way more than 13 amps, blowing the fuse quickly anyway.
One thing this thread shows is that it's always a good idea to check the inside of a plug on old things if it wasn't moulded onto the cable. I work in PAT testing, and at least a fifth of items I inspect with plugs fitted by the consumer have some sort of fault. Wrong fuse, loose terminals, missing earth, I've seen enough to make me very cautious!
Jamie, your Senior was a fire risk if only a couple of stands of wire were connected to the live terminal of the plug. If, say, three quarters of the strands aren't connected it means that the connected ones are carrying four times the current they were meant to. This causes resistance, which in turn generates heat. The picture below was a plug powering an extension lead that I came across on a job. The live terminal was loose rather than missing connected strands, but it had a similar effect of generating resistance and heat - you can see the scorching round the terminal where it got hot!
Simon
Many years back I was using a Dirtsearcher Junior, which suddenly cut out. I changed the fuse, but to a 13 amp one. Carried on cleaning, until there was a big BANG!, a few sparks flew out of the lamp cover and the electrics tripped. Turned out that there was a short in the lamp housing. The smaller fuse blew so fast it was like turning the machine off, the larger one caused drama! As Stephen says, in the event of a short, the fault will draw way more than 13 amps, blowing the fuse quickly anyway.
One thing this thread shows is that it's always a good idea to check the inside of a plug on old things if it wasn't moulded onto the cable. I work in PAT testing, and at least a fifth of items I inspect with plugs fitted by the consumer have some sort of fault. Wrong fuse, loose terminals, missing earth, I've seen enough to make me very cautious!
Jamie, your Senior was a fire risk if only a couple of stands of wire were connected to the live terminal of the plug. If, say, three quarters of the strands aren't connected it means that the connected ones are carrying four times the current they were meant to. This causes resistance, which in turn generates heat. The picture below was a plug powering an extension lead that I came across on a job. The live terminal was loose rather than missing connected strands, but it had a similar effect of generating resistance and heat - you can see the scorching round the terminal where it got hot!
Simon
Whoa... Thank God I noticed it then!
I always check my plugs every couple of months to make sure the wires are all securely fitted and nothing is amiss, but I didn't check the Ranger's plug as I'd just bought it. I should have though.
I always check my plugs every couple of months to make sure the wires are all securely fitted and nothing is amiss, but I didn't check the Ranger's plug as I'd just bought it. I should have though.
vintagerepairer
Well-known member
What an interesting debate! Though i note the comments about a fire and all that go with it, I never did hear of such a thing from a vacuum cleaner. It is one of those things which could happen, but probably never did.
That said...I would always put 5 amp fuses in the cleaners I was repairing, sometimes a 3 amp if I could be sure it would handle it. As a rule, I found that Electrolux motors up to 550 watts would be fine on a 3 amp. The Hoover turbopower always used to say a 3 amp and I am sure the Turbomaster ran quite happily on such a fuse too. Electrolux always said 5 amp back in the day, but this changed around about the time the 100 was built. As per the instructions scanned here.
However all this talk of fuses passed the manufacturers by and most have always reccomended 13amp in any vacuum cleaner. What I find most in appropriate now is that for several years many new small appliances have beem fitted with 0.50mm flex and still have 13amp fuses. Things like hair curlers and tin openers. It is almost as though the fuse has no role to play in the current wiring. I suppose to some extent it hasn't now that so many buildings have RCD's. But then, so many don't.
That said...I would always put 5 amp fuses in the cleaners I was repairing, sometimes a 3 amp if I could be sure it would handle it. As a rule, I found that Electrolux motors up to 550 watts would be fine on a 3 amp. The Hoover turbopower always used to say a 3 amp and I am sure the Turbomaster ran quite happily on such a fuse too. Electrolux always said 5 amp back in the day, but this changed around about the time the 100 was built. As per the instructions scanned here.
However all this talk of fuses passed the manufacturers by and most have always reccomended 13amp in any vacuum cleaner. What I find most in appropriate now is that for several years many new small appliances have beem fitted with 0.50mm flex and still have 13amp fuses. Things like hair curlers and tin openers. It is almost as though the fuse has no role to play in the current wiring. I suppose to some extent it hasn't now that so many buildings have RCD's. But then, so many don't.
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