Basic Fuse question

mhanlen1

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I want to buy some new fuses today for my Atari Power supply and I want to make sure this is ok. I tried asking this question in an older thread but no one replied.

The fuses called for are 3amp 250v 3AG and a 7amp 250v 3ag (both slow-blow). What does the 3ag refer to? I noticed that radio shack fuses don't have these labels. Is it just fine to buy a 3amp 250v to replace a 3a 250v 3ag in a slow blow? Also 3 of the fuses are rated the same according to the manual, but look different- as some have coils and some have straight wires inside them. Is it ok to mix and match or buy one or the other?

My gut tells me that a 3a 250v slow blow from radio shack will do the trick regardless of wether the wire is straight or coiled or if it's denoted 3ag. Am I right?
 
I want to buy some new fuses today for my Atari Power supply and I want to make sure this is ok. I tried asking this question in an older thread but no one replied.

The fuses called for are 3amp 250v 3AG and a 7amp 250v 3ag (both slow-blow). What does the 3ag refer to? I noticed that radio shack fuses don't have these labels. Is it just fine to buy a 3amp 250v to replace a 3a 250v 3ag in a slow blow? Also 3 of the fuses are rated the same according to the manual, but look different- as some have coils and some have straight wires inside them. Is it ok to mix and match or buy one or the other?

My gut tells me that a 3a 250v slow blow from radio shack will do the trick regardless of wether the wire is straight or coiled or if it's denoted 3ag. Am I right?

The 3AG refers to nothing more than the physical "size" of the fuse...and not all fuse manufacturers use this standardization.

3AG = 1 1/4" x 1/4" fuse
8AG = 1" x 1/4" fuse
GMA= 20mm x 5mm fuse

Above is some of the more popular one, but there's more.

Edward
 
Cool. Does it make a difference what the internals of the fuse look like, as long as all the values match... 3a 250v slow burn?

Well, in arcade terms....generally...No....as long as you use what the manufacturer calls for in regards to time-delay fuse...or normal blow fuse.

I've seen some of the Midway 6803 pinballs state not to use a MDL type time-delay fuse, but to use a MDQ time-delay fuse. Fuses can get quite confusing....there's many variations....time-delay, normal blow, slow blow, fast blow, ultra fast, and many others....and the terms might not be consistent from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Edward
 
Thanks for the info. I replaced all the fuses, because it looked like they had been mixed and matched over the years... and I think there was an incorrect one as well. The manual called for slow-blows so thats what I bought at Radio Shack
 
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