The fuse is only supposed to blow if some component on the board has failed in such a way as to cause the board to draw so much current that additional damage (and possiby a fire) would occur. In that circumstance just replacing the fuse would be pointless: it would just blow again immediately. Therefor they might as well mount the fuse on the board and save money.SteveHGraham wrote:Why would the board have to come out to replace the fuse? Right now all I have to do is open the case. That was the point of installing a fuse holder. I didn't want to dig that board out again.
I have all sorts of factory electronics in my house with fuse holders mounted on the front or back. Generally, the cheap crap (power supplies, battery chargers) is what comes with fuses mounted on circuit boards.
I don't understand what you're saying about fuses having to be mounted on boards in order to prevent damage. I assume I misunderstood what you said, because fuses mounted in fuse holders do a fine job of protecting circuits.
It's also possible that the authorities have decided that user replaceable fuses are unsafe.