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"Federal Pacific" Breaker box kellyj00@gmail.com 11-07-2006
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Posted by Mike O'Donnell on November 8, 2006, 12:08 am



> I'm glad I asked. You guys are amazing!
>
> How much should I expect to pay to replace just the service panel and
> all the breakers? (I don't do stuff that can kill me alone) Also,
> what brand and size should I replace it with? It's a 200 amp now,
> should I spring for a 200 this time around?
>
> Thanks again gents!
>

I few years ago I replaced our 1967 Fed Pacific 100A panel with a Square D
"Q0" series with an upgrade to 200A service. I did the work myself and it
ran around $500 (including the local permit and inspection). I live in
central Ohio (Westerville) any their codes allow the homeowner to do the
work on their own house. A neighbor contracted basically the same work in
their house to an electrician and it was about $1,200. In both cases is
was essentially a swap out of the panel and re-attaching the existing
circuits the new panel.

By the way, in no way am I suggesting that having a pro do the work is a
waste or anything. I have some experience (nothing this big before, though)
and did a lot of research and felt I could do the work. My neighbor didn't
feel comfortable taking something like that and to him the cost was
reasonable (the pro also did the work in about 4 hours, my job took all
day..)

Mike O.



Posted by Pete C. on November 7, 2006, 10:43 am


scott21230@gmail.com wrote:
>
> Any electrical panel with breakers that old should be considered
> suspect, irregardless of brand. If you could just replace the breakers
> with new ones, you would be perfectly fine. However, that's not
> economically viable in your case, so replacement is probably a good
> idea.

Not at all. In addition to unreliable breakers, the FPE panels, at least
the "stab-loc" ones suffer from a truly atrocious and inadequate buss
attachment connection. Even if the breakers were prefect, the buss
itself is a threat.

>
> Having said all of that, I have one fo these panels, and I have
> replaced many of my 1962 breakers with newer ones made in the 80's and
> I am perfectly fine with the panel. I have also tested all of my
> breakers and they all work fine. The single pole breakers are as good
> as any others their age. The two pole FPE breakers are the ones that
> are notoriously bad. And unlike almost all the other FPE bashers, I
> actually have an electrical Engineering degree and actually know what
> I'm talking about.

See above comments. Perhaps you don't have a "stab-loc" version, but if
you do and think those bus connections are OK then your engineering
degree is either in an unrelated field or should be revoked.

Pete C.

Posted by Chris Lewis on November 9, 2006, 12:50 pm


> Any electrical panel with breakers that old should be considered
> suspect, irregardless of brand. If you could just replace the breakers
> with new ones, you would be perfectly fine. However, that's not
> economically viable in your case, so replacement is probably a good
> idea.

Actually, it is quite viable. While "Federal Pacific" "legacy
replacements" in the US are quite expensive, "Federal Pioneer"
in Canada is no more expensive than any other breaker, and cheaper
than many [+].

If you live near the border, or find a mail/Internet order source,
it's quite doable.

The Federal Pioneer breakers are fully approved to US standards.

[+] I think somebody's making a fortune shipping Federal Pioneer
to the US and making a fortune off people who don't know any better.
--
Chris Lewis,

Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Posted by Tom The Great on November 7, 2006, 4:02 pm


On 7 Nov 2006 05:42:26 -0800, "kellyj00@gmail.com"

>I have a 200-amp capable "Federal pacific" breaker box in my 44 year
>old home. I've been told by a home inspector that the box is
>unreliable and the breakers "can occasionally no-trip and could
>potentially cause a fire" This, obviously, scares me.
>
>The breakers aren't the cheapest or super-easy to find, but I haven't
>had to replace any in the year or so I've lived in this house, the unit
>seems reliable. Also, the breakers have tripped a few times as the
>circuits have around 8-10 receptacles on a few runs in some cases.
>
>I'm considering doing some remodeling, including the addition of can
>lights (about 20 of them) and a few receptacles...all on new runs as
>the breaker box isn't much more than half full.
>
>Should I consider replacing the service panel and breakers to a current
>model like a Square D as part of this remodel? After all, it doesn't
>make much sense remodel a house that's going to just burn to the ground
>anyway.


IMHO:

If this was my house, and knowing how easy it is to just change out
the service panel, no upgrades, I would do it.

But that is me...

tom @ www.Consolidated-Loans.info


Posted by hallerb@aol.com on November 7, 2006, 4:33 pm


I have one of those FPE stab lock panels and have personally seen a no
trip, the short eventually exploded. I was stunned....

Replacement is at the top of my to do list, awaiting some bucks


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