Had a 30-year-old Federal Pacific breaker finally let go in a 1970s panel I was updating last Tuesday.

It was feeding a kitchen circuit. Heard a pop, saw some arcing at the bus. Had to kill the main, pull the meter to be safe, and swap the whole panel. Makes you miss the simple screw-in fuses sometimes, even with all the safety gains. What's the oldest panel you've had to fully replace recently?

3 comments

3 Comments

mary_nelson7127d ago

Green chalk bus bars? That's terrifying.

gray_morgan27d ago

Just pulled a Zinsco panel from a 1968 split-level last month. The bus bars were so corroded they looked like they were made of green chalk. Homeowner was still using the original 40-amp double pole for a dryer.

pat_moore27d ago

Green chalk bus bars" sounds like something you'd find in a haunted house, not a home's electrical panel. That 40-amp dryer circuit must have been putting in some serious overtime for decades. Honestly, it's a miracle the whole place didn't turn into a science fair volcano.