General Electric Co. type 9397 fuse block with Weber 12A fuse
date: label: date made
content: ca 1901
name: label: maker
content: General Electric Company
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: A ceramic base with a medium screw fuse socket. Molded on top: "G. E. Co. / Cat. 9397", "3A / 220V". A screw-in fuse is mounted in the socket, and has a brass shell, ceramic housing, and brass top with mica window. The mica is scratched, the fusible link appears intact. Stamped on top ring: "G. E. Co. U.S.A. Pat'd. Aug. 29, 11 Aug. 19, 19 / 125V / 12A."; "12" stamped on base contact. This early 20th century fuse block was designed to protect a single circuit in a power system or a radio setup. It was found holding a 12 amp, 125 volt fuse also made by GE that features a then-standard medium screw base adopted from Edison’s incandescent lamps. Refinements later in the century altered the sizes of the holders so that only fuses of a specific rating could be used, thereby preventing users from circumventing the safety feature by installing a replacement fuse of higher rating rather than fixing the core malfunction. Note that this block is rated for 3 amps at 220 volts whereas the fuse is 12 amp, 125 volts. The former equals a 660 watt load, the latter 1500 watts. The fusible link is intact so the status of the downstream circuit would have been in serious jeopardy.
label: Description (Brief)
content: An electric lighting system is just that–a system–and it requires multiple components to function safely. Fuses are important components in these systems, providing a point of controlled failure in the circuit that protects users and equipment from damage in case of malfunctions. Fuses (first designed by Thomas Edison for his lighting systems) are deliberately designed to be the weak spot in a circuit, so that they fail and cut power in the system before a surge can cause damage. They are also designed to be accessible and easily repairable so that service can be quickly restored once the root cause of the malfunction is corrected. Electricity (in the form of lightning) has been known to be dangerous since antiquity, and the development and adoption of electrical safety systems was critical in gaining public, investor, and underwriters’ acceptance.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2023.0177.13
label: accession number
content: 2023.0177
label: catalog number
content: 2023.0177.13
objectType: label: Object Name
content: fuse holder
label: Object Name
content: electrical fuse
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 2 in x 1 1/2 in x 2 1/4 in; 5.08 cm x 3.81 cm x 5.715 cm
label: Measurements
content: base: 2 in x 1 1/2 in x 1 1/2 in; 5.08 cm x 3.81 cm x 3.81 cm
label: Measurements
content: fuse: 1 1/4 in x 1 1/4 in; 3.175 cm x 3.175 cm