Sylvania subpanel question

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chetwynd

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Northern California
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General Contractor with electrical and plumbing classifications.
Hi guys - how much do I need to be concerned about this Sylvania subpanel from the 1980s? Clean install, but my options for swapping it out for Square D QO or Homeline are limited by the fact that I only have 11" of width unless I want to rip the wall apart - which I don't.

What are my options for making it "safer" according to the bad reputation these panels seem to have?

I need to add a 20 amp single pole breaker to this subpanel - what kind of breaker do I use given these are discontinued? (assuming I don't replace the whole thing)

Thank you!
 

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chetwynd

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Location
Northern California
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General Contractor with electrical and plumbing classifications.
Still researching...I guess it's a Zinsco piece of crap. So, let's talk about my options. If I wasn't limited to 11" width, I'd swap it out with a Square D panel and be done in 2 hours. The width is the issue. Any suggestions? Thank you.
 
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jim dungar

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Wisconsin
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PE (Retired) - Power Systems
chetwynd said:
Still researching...I guess it's a Zinsco piece of crap. So, let's talk about my options. If I wasn't limited to 11" width, I'd swap it out with a Square D panel and be done in 2 hours. The width is the issue. Any suggestions? Thank you.
Click to expand...
About 40yrs ago the UL wire bending spaces changed, forcing load centers to their current 14" width.
 
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chetwynd

Member
Location
Northern California
Occupation
General Contractor with electrical and plumbing classifications.
jim dungar said:
About 40yrs ago the UL wire bending spaces changed, forcing load centers to their current 14" width.
Click to expand...
I see, interesting. I'm looking at the possibility that I don't have a narrow stud bay, that I just have a normal stud bay with furring strips to make it narrow enough to mount the panel to both sides....in which case I could open the wall and rip out the strips and just use a standard width panel. Was hoping to avoid the mess.

I probably wouldn't bother with this but I do plan to sell this house at some point and I don't need any issues from home inspectors.
 
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chetwynd

Member
Location
Northern California
Occupation
General Contractor with electrical and plumbing classifications.
Ok, let me ask you this. This panel looks pretty clean, but at some point I may sell the property and don't want to run into any home inspector issues where a buyer insists that I replace it. Other than the off chance that I have a bad one, would you replace it?

One thing to note is that the heaviest loads (two AC units, a pool pump, EV charger) are all wired directly to the main panel on their own circuits. Everything in this panel are minimal-load circuits other than the electric dryer and oven.

It would be a pain to replace, so would you?
 
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jim dungar

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Wisconsin
Occupation
PE (Retired) - Power Systems
chetwynd said:
Ok, let me ask you this. This panel looks pretty clean, but at some point I may sell the property and don't want to run into any home inspector issues where a buyer insists that I replace it. Other than the off chance that I have a bad one, would you replace it?

One thing to note is that the heaviest loads (two AC units, a pool pump, EV charger) are all wired directly to the main panel on their own circuits. Everything in this panel are minimal-load circuits other than the electric dryer and oven.

It would be a pain to replace, so would you?
Click to expand...
A real estate home inspector can only make suggestions. It is your insurance I would be concerned with.
Get an estimate for a replacement, offer that amount of discount to any buyer that raises a question.
 
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