Probably beating a dead horse...

[D.Rater]

...here but;1) got lazy connecting devices,didn't have volt tic on me so touched stipped ends to determine power or not.Got a nice spark,ready to
install receptacle,when I remembered it's Federal
Pacific stab lock panel (remodel job w/ little marked on directory),so I used 'gator clip / bulb
rig and sure enough the circuit was still hot.
2)A couple weeks ago, builder/cust. was working his remodel on his own home, when his helper hacked through the dishwasher feed but the good 'ol FP bkr. held just fine.Both panels already marked for replacement.Just more fuel to the FP fire.

 

[davedottcom]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

Yep, been there, done that!

Does anyone know how the "New" Federal Pacific "replacement" breakers are? (Made by Connecticut Electric) I can't imagine the new replacements are the same poor quality.

Dave

 

[mdshunk]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

Originally posted by davedottcom:
Does anyone know how the "New" Federal Pacific "replacement" breakers are? (Made by Connecticut Electric) I can't imagine the new replacements are the same poor quality.

Whether their good or not doesn't interest me. FPE panel changeouts have been a pretty good cash cow over the years for me, and I'd sort of like to keep it that way. I really was never interested in investigating the American Electric or Conneticut Electric replacements.

 

[celtic]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

...there is also a concern with the bus at the point where the CB makes contact - the CB makes contact at a right angle with not much surface mass making connection.

See:http://www.codecheck.com/pdf/electrical/240overcurrent/FPE Article from DH - Nov2003.pdf

(I hope that link works with the "%20"'s in it...if not, you can find it at codecheck.com)

 

[davedottcom]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

Originally posted by mdshunk:
Whether their good or not doesn't interest me. FPE panel changeouts have been a pretty good cash cow over the years for me, and I'd sort of like to keep it that way.

I hear that! I actually wish there were a lot more old FP Panels around here!


Dave

 

[Ken9876]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

Zinsco isn't much better. Years ago the Zinsco and Federal Pacific bandit ran around here rampant.

 

[mdshunk]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

Did a panel change a few weeks ago that said "SEARS" on it. I never knew that they made panels. That was a first for me. Took the Westinghouse style 1" breakers.

 

[redfish]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

Sometimes it's actually cheaper to change the panel than it is to replace a couple of high dollar FPE breakers! SCARY!

 

[mdshunk]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

Originally posted by redfish:
Sometimes it's actually cheaper to change the panel than it is to replace a couple of high dollar FPE breakers! SCARY!

Uh-huh. I had a customer waiting while I special ordered a 20 amp GFI federal breaker to replace one that went bad. They called a day or two later and said that if it was going to take any longer, I might as well change the panel. I guess you know what I did then...

 

[aelectricalman]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

Oh, did I say trilliant "stinks" also?

{Moderator's Note: "Bad word" replaced with "less bad word."}

[ June 30, 2005, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: charlie b ]

 

[mdshunk]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

People rag on PushMatic, but that is my all time favorite residential panel. It is, I believe, the only bolt on residential panel. The gutter space does get a little messy since each pole is on a different side of the panel. If they started making PushMatic tomorrow, I'd install it next week.

 

[steve66]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

Did a panel change a few weeks ago that said "SEARS" on it. I never knew that they made panels.

A long time ago, you could order an entire house out of the sears catalog

[ June 30, 2005, 08:22 AM: Message edited by: steve66 ]

 

[George Stolz]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

There's an old Sears house that happened to be on the historic registry. When a developer bought the farm to build on it, they had to leave that structure stand.

Kinda weird seeing a 70-year-old kit home in the middle of a bunch of new houses.

 

[problemsolver600]

Re: Probably beating a dead horse...

wired a sun room with it's own 20 amp lighting and outlet circuit, and a 240V 20 amp baseboard heat. ITE pushmatic, two separate 100 amp disconnects on top of the two columns, and had to move one 20 amp breaker from the top right hand column right hand side to the middle of the left side of the right hand column to accomodate a 240v breaker. Around noon the client came into the room in a robe with soap in her hair. Seems I had just moved one of the two pump breakers to the same leg as the other.
By the time I left, there was one more 240v breaker in the panel. The pump had wired to the top left breaker on the left side, and the top right breaker on the right side.