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The fuse is matched to the size wire in the circuit the breaker/fuse it is protecting. For instance, a 20 amp breaker/fuse is used in combination with AWG 12/2 wire. A 15 amp breaker/fuse would be used with AWG 14/2 wire. If there is too much current flow in the circuit caused by either overloading the circuit or by a short in the wires the wiring would overheat and catch fire if not for the breaker/fuse. The breaker/fuse is designed to detect this and to trip or blow and shut off all power flowing to that circuit and prevent a fire. This is why you should never install the wrong size fuse. Put a 20 amp fuse on a 15 amp circuit and it would not protect the circuit as it should.

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12y ago

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