The Point of Fuses

MNtundraRet wrote:
The fuse is protecting from shorts on a circuit. Worn or cut insulation on a cable. A loose connection sparking.

A short could only draw max amps from the device or devices on that circuit right? Then wouldn't just having adequately sized wiring do the trick? The amp draw won't be forever, the device will fail eventually. I guess I'm just not getting this. I can see the point of a circuit breaker on a 120V circuit cause you can have many devices that can draw more than the wire rating. I can also see protecting inadequately sized wiring (which is common in RV's). But if I have big honking wire, it's not going to melt with a current draw under it's rating. At least I don't think it would but that's why I'm asking.