abcarr
New member
- Location
- St. Charles, MO USA
Since I'm new here, I'll apologize in advance if my first post runs a little long.
My house, a 1,000 sqft. ranch with a basement, was built in 1964. All of the wiring is copper, but most of the circuits are just 2-wire with no ground. It has a small 6 space fuse box with 100 amp service that I'd like to have replaced with a breaker panel but remain at 100 amp service. Why stay at 100 amp? For two reasons; 1) I've been in the house for 22 years and the 100 amp service has always been adequate, even with 4 kids at home at the time we purchased the house. Now it's just my wife & I so I really don't see the need for a 200 amp service, other than for resale value, and I don't plan on moving any time in the foreseeable future. 2) The added cost. I've been doing quite a bit of reading on the subject (that's how I ended up here) and it sounds like in upgrading service (100 amp to 200 amp) there are a lot of added expenses as far as what has to be done to the rest of the electrical system, per the NEC, that otherwise don't apply when just replacing a fuse box. Am I correct in that understanding? Keep in mind that I'm not looking to get this done cheaply, but I am on a budget but want to stay within code. BTW, I live in the county and I've been on their website reading the building & electrical codes and it basically says to see the NEC.
So that brings me to my question. With just swapping out the fuse box for a breaker panel, what must I have done (to the rest of the system) to stay within code? I already know that a longer SE cable will be needed from the meter base into the house due to the location of the fuse box and how breaker panels are configured. The main lugs are lower in the panel so the existing SE won't reach. And speaking of the outside of the house, the lines coming from the pole to the house do not run through a weatherhead & mast. They are just attached to the house then run into the meter base. Will that have to be changed? I know it should be, but again, there's that added expense. Another thing I know I'll have done, if for no other reason than safety (and it's the code), is to have an outside ground rod installed. Currently my only ground is to an inside water pipe.
And finally, you may be wondering why, if the fuse box set-up has worked all these years why change it? Well, it just doesn't look very safe (although there haven't been any issues with it) and there is zero space left to expand if I want to.
Thanks in advance for any input and comments. And thanks for a great forum!!
My house, a 1,000 sqft. ranch with a basement, was built in 1964. All of the wiring is copper, but most of the circuits are just 2-wire with no ground. It has a small 6 space fuse box with 100 amp service that I'd like to have replaced with a breaker panel but remain at 100 amp service. Why stay at 100 amp? For two reasons; 1) I've been in the house for 22 years and the 100 amp service has always been adequate, even with 4 kids at home at the time we purchased the house. Now it's just my wife & I so I really don't see the need for a 200 amp service, other than for resale value, and I don't plan on moving any time in the foreseeable future. 2) The added cost. I've been doing quite a bit of reading on the subject (that's how I ended up here) and it sounds like in upgrading service (100 amp to 200 amp) there are a lot of added expenses as far as what has to be done to the rest of the electrical system, per the NEC, that otherwise don't apply when just replacing a fuse box. Am I correct in that understanding? Keep in mind that I'm not looking to get this done cheaply, but I am on a budget but want to stay within code. BTW, I live in the county and I've been on their website reading the building & electrical codes and it basically says to see the NEC.
So that brings me to my question. With just swapping out the fuse box for a breaker panel, what must I have done (to the rest of the system) to stay within code? I already know that a longer SE cable will be needed from the meter base into the house due to the location of the fuse box and how breaker panels are configured. The main lugs are lower in the panel so the existing SE won't reach. And speaking of the outside of the house, the lines coming from the pole to the house do not run through a weatherhead & mast. They are just attached to the house then run into the meter base. Will that have to be changed? I know it should be, but again, there's that added expense. Another thing I know I'll have done, if for no other reason than safety (and it's the code), is to have an outside ground rod installed. Currently my only ground is to an inside water pipe.
And finally, you may be wondering why, if the fuse box set-up has worked all these years why change it? Well, it just doesn't look very safe (although there haven't been any issues with it) and there is zero space left to expand if I want to.
Thanks in advance for any input and comments. And thanks for a great forum!!
