Pushmatic breakers

[jeff43222]

Someone hired me today to put in a new dryer circuit/recp. The bad news is that her main panel is an old Bulldog pushmatic. There's an existing 240V breaker labeled "dryer" in the panel, but I didn't see any evidence of a dryer receptacle being hooked up anywhere. I didn't get a chance to crack open the panel and peek at the size of the dryer breaker (conveniently not listed anywhere on the outside).

I'm wondering if it's still legit to put a new circuit in such a panel, and if so, where might I find an appropriate breaker? Personally, I'd prefer to swap out the panel with something a little less classic, but I could tell from the reaction to my quoted price on the dryer job (an audible gasp/infarction) that I needn't bother suggesting a panel upgrade or a second subpanel (existing one is full).

[infinity]

Bulldog Pushmatic breakers are still available at some supply houses. Or if you can't find them locally they're available on the Internet. Just do a Google search for ITE Bulldog Pushmatic or take a look at this link:

http://www.electricsupplyonline.com/prod/ite-pushmatic.php