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In Reply to: Wire used inside fuse? posted by Jim Ricketts on February 28, 2007 at 02:59:16:
Here is the link to PS Audio fuses. They use copper for the actual fuse element.Not sure about the Cryo Parts fuse elements. U could call Lee at 1-877-849-0400 and ask him.
Cheers,
~kenster
Follow Ups:
re. copper-based or silver elements in fuses:I work for Ultra Systems, the importer for the HiFi-Tuning silver/gold fuses.
At the risk of sounding biased... keep in mind that these elements are not operating in a vacuum, and will oxidize over time. Silver oxide is a good conductor, so this is not so much of an issue with the silver element fuses from HiFi-Tuning (the only ones, I think), but copper oxide is a good INSULATOR and a very bad conductor. I wouldn't suggest paying much for a fuse with a copper-based element because after a few months of existence (maybe the months before you buy it:-) it will degrade.
I noticed in the insert that comes with the Isoclean fuses that they recommend changing the fuses every six months - credit them for being straight about this, however unrealistic it may be.
This sounds like a legitimate point, but I would guess that the generic fuses that most equipment have use copper, and these seem to last indefinitely. So if the outer layer of the copper oxidizes and then acts as an insulator, I would think that would leave most of the conductor protected by this layer, and the remaining unoxidized copper would impart the character of the metal to the sound. Despite the skin effect, I would think that the oxidized copper shouldn't be much different than a covering of insulation.
I'm not so sure this corrosion is sonically benign. Aside from the fact that Isoclean themselves seem to think it is a performance problem, from personal experience with some poorly terminated copper speaker cables that started to turn a little green on the wire surfaces near the ends, I believe that the sound is likely to degrade too. (With those cables the connection to the spade - a high pressure crimp - was clear of oxidation. It was only the unsealed naked conductors after the connection which were oxidizing. The same sort of surface oxidation you will get on the fuse element I think.)
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