electrical panel-main breaker

[acooke]

take a look at this electrical panel and main breaker. do you think it should be up graded?

[Paul W. Abernathy]

Albert,

I believe we would need more information to make that comment.

What is the Service Size, Any pictures of the inside, any issues that stand out from your inspection that we can't see in the picture.

What condition is the SE Conductors going outside, the look of the meter can itself and so on.

We can speculate on it but need additional info from you to make a good statement on it......but then again others may have some opinions for you.

[Marc D. Shunk]

In my opinion, fuses provide superior protection over the typical residential main breaker. In my own home, I ordered a Square D NQOD style panel with a main fuse pullout and breaker slots for the branch circuits. The presence of fuses alone does little in my mind to sway me towards recommending an equipment change.

[Paul W. Abernathy]

i think the question is in my mind, are they asking if the service needs to be upgraded for other reasons....not just if they are fuses as I am with Marc on that one.......nothing wrong with fuses but the panel may offer limitations to the potential expansion of a new client may need or want and would then be justification for a service upgrade but in itself it may not technically be needed based on the fact it has fuses.

We need to know the rating of this service and so on to determine this and the intent of the client for the need of a potential service upgrade.

Fuses themselves are an EXCELLENT OCPD and remove the current very fast versus a standard breaker which can be in some cases 6 times the amapacity rating of the OCPD before it clears.

[Marc D. Shunk]

I am sorta curious what brand panel that might be. Paul, do you recognize it? My gut feeling is Challenger, but I didn't know them to make a fused main breaker panel. It's not really a panel I recognize. Might be real old Westinghouse.

[Paul W. Abernathy]

marc I believe you are right...looks like a Westinghouse to me.