CB related threads

[NL7W]

Agreed. I'd also look at a sub-panel for garage and or ham shack.

In fact, as soon as summer rolls around, I'm adding a lockable manual transfer switch (200 Amp Main, 200 Amp Auxiliary, double pole/double throw with a center off position) for manual genset hookup, to include a sub-panel to strictly feed my ham-shack and office. It just so happens that my ham shack and office are conveniently located on the inside wall, opposite the AC entrance. I'll upgrade the house ground at that time, also.

Steve,

Absolutely replace the entire panel. Circuit breakers are rated not only by the size of contacts and trip device rating but also the speed at make and break. Slow moving contacts during seperation could easily cause a failure and fire.

Odds are your panel is a typical old 100 amp service. Replacing the panel will require a 200 amp service and a lot bigger box.

K2WH

[K8ERV]

You just need some jelly to go with the peanut butter and they should work fine.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[NC5P]

I have installed new services with a homeowners' permit. To be honest, I would rather have a GOOD electrician do it instead. The issues I ran into had to do with code cycle changes. Not every jurisdiction adopts the newest code book and exactly at the same time. To make matters worse, they may adopt some of the code book but stay on the previous one for other sections. Tell him about your plans for the transfer switch and he can get that put in at the same time. It's more work to come back later, tear stuff out and rebuild it. If you want sub-panels later that should be brought up as well. Despite what some realtors say you cannot have "too much" electrical capacity. That doesn't cause fires and it doesn't use more energy. I don't know how many times I've heard that. I actually had a neighbor in MN call the city and complain when I upsized the service there. He was worried it would burn down the neighborhood.

Be careful who you hire, there are some outstanding people out there in the field but there are also a few duds who don't take pride in their work.

[K9STH]

There are certain brands of breaker panels that are not only no longer in production (and replacement breakers made by other to work in these panels cost between 3 and 5 times what similar breakers for newer panels cost), which are known for failures with the breakers closed, not open.

Other brands, like Zinsco, have a tendency for the breaker connections to the buss bars to become welded and thus require a substantial effort to even remove them. I know this problem very well, my main breaker box is a Zinsco as are the majority of breaker boxes in subdivision.

Glen, K9STH

[NM7L]

Not an electrician, but depending on local codes, if a panel replacement is needed to replace the breakers (or if Federal Pacific or Zinsco which need to be replaced anyway), you may be looking at a service upgrade to please the inspector.

Or Sylvania, who bought out Zinsco in the early 1980s & prolonged the Zinsco crappy design for several more years.

On a side note: I bought my home in 2008; it was built in 1968. Prior to purchase I realized that the service panel installed was a Zinsco panel; so when performing the pre-purchase inspection & walkdown I invited an electrician to pull breakers in that service panel to check for bus bar pitting due to arcing caused by the surface tension between the breaker & bus bar degradating over time. When the electrician pulled the feeder breaker for the kitchen cooktop we realized that arcing had pitted the bus bar connection / breaker connection so badly that you could hear the arcing within the panel when the cooktop was placed on high. So...a panel changeout was in order.

My wife went to the city permit office to get a permit for changing out the panel (plus, the city runs the utility that would pull our meter to deenergize the panel). Upon reaching the window & stating her need for a electrical service panel changeout permit the person at the window asked "What kind of panel do you have?". My wife replied, "I don't know, but it starts with a 'Z'." City gave us our permit for free since it was cheaper to issue a permit than what it would cost to send a fire crew to your house to extinguish the electrical fire.

[VK6ZGO]

Old Circuit Breakers are a work of art,compared to modern ones--OK they may have the good stuff inside,but they don't look the part!
Most of the ones in Broadcast sites have an indefinite life,but probably around 30 years would be getting there---50 years might be stretching a point a bit!
I don't know much about Domestic ones,though!

73,VK6ZGO

[KB3PXR]

Or Sylvania, who bought out Zinsco in the early 1980s & prolonged the Zinsco crappy design for several more years.

On a side note: I bought my home in 2008; it was built in 1968. Prior to purchase I realized that the service panel installed was a Zinsco panel; so when performing the pre-purchase inspection & walkdown I invited an electrician to pull breakers in that service panel to check for bus bar pitting due to arcing caused by the surface tension between the breaker & bus bar degradating over time. When the electrician pulled the feeder breaker for the kitchen cooktop we realized that arcing had pitted the bus bar connection / breaker connection so badly that you could hear the arcing within the panel when the cooktop was placed on high. So...a panel changeout was in order.

My wife went to the city permit office to get a permit for changing out the panel (plus, the city runs the utility that would pull our meter to deenergize the panel). Upon reaching the window & stating her need for a electrical service panel changeout permit the person at the window asked "What kind of panel do you have?". My wife replied, "I don't know, but it starts with a 'Z'." City gave us our permit for free since it was cheaper to issue a permit than what it would cost to send a fire crew to your house to extinguish the electrical fire.

Wow! I like that, that city was thinking proactively there giving a free permit to prevent a future fire. With what little studying I've done with electrical, the best standard I found here in the US (I've studied British a little too) was the Chicago code where all wiring has to be done in Metalic Conduit. I still live with my parents, but I may get the house someday and I hope to have the money to re-wire the electrical system Chicago style. I would also want to buy the other half of the duplex as well.

[WB2WIK]

It's already a 200A panel (since all houses here have central A/C and that's 50-60A right there). The breakers are Square D I think...have to go look. I've replaced a few over the years, and added a 240V 20A dual pole breaker when I installed 240V service to the ham shack when we first moved in, so that one's pretty new and "snaps." Some of the older ones seem to "work," but they don't "snap." They're all easily replaceable, takes two minutes.

I didn't want to run out and buy maybe 8-10 breakers just for the sake of them being new. But it might be a good idea.

[K8MHZ]

Wow! I like that, that city was thinking proactively there giving a free permit to prevent a future fire. With what little studying I've done with electrical, the best standard I found here in the US (I've studied British a little too) was the Chicago code where all wiring has to be done in Metalic Conduit. I still live with my parents, but I may get the house someday and I hope to have the money to re-wire the electrical system Chicago style. I would also want to buy the other half of the duplex as well.

I have done houses 'Chicago style' in EMT on new builds. It's a PITA and expensive. I can't imagine the effort that would go into installing pipe in an existing structure with the walls all covered. The headers above the walls have to be drilled such that you can slip a 90 degree bend through it from the bottom because there isn't enough room above the header to work in. And that's just one issue.

[WB2WIK]

Is your house wired with copper or aluminum? Just curious.

It's all copper. I think they used aluminum for a brief period of time in the 70s and then stopped. This house was built in the late 50s and all "add on" wiring has always been copper.