Originally Posted By: kleonard This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I inspected an 80 year old home yesterday and found this very nice looking electrical panel at the second floor hallway. It is complete with skeleton key lock & viewing window.
Request input from dedicated sparkies or anyone who just wants to chime in.
Originally Posted By: roconnor This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Great pic … I love it too!
IMHO there is nothing wrong with an older fused panel itself. Some electrical professional say that the older fuses are actually more reliable than breakers (does FPE ring a bell ... lol.)
The problem is that the typical 60A fused service panel capacity usually just isn't enough for a modern home, and they tend to have potentially serious problems with double lugs and overfusing (or even worse the old penny in the socket trick). I have seen overloaded fused panels with melted wires and such that I can't believe didn't burn the house down (yet!) ... 
I would usually look for a panel with 100A minimum, or 150A for a somewhat larger home (and that upgrade should be considered). But assuming a small home without a lot of modern equipment or HVAC load, and no indications of overloading, I would at least recommend that the Type-S Fuse Adapters be installed. These are special adapters inserted into the fuse socket that will only then accept the correctly sized Type-S fuse ... helps to prevent the "Harry Homeowner" fix, so they will hopefully call a sparky when things start getting overloaded and fuses start blowing ...
Just my 2-nickles.
-- Robert O'Connor, PE
Eagle Engineering ?
Eagle Eye Inspections ?
NACHI Education Committee
I am absolutely amazed sometimes by how much thought goes into doing things wrong