I have a 30+ year old FPE 200 amp main panel attached to my house. During the last few years, I've had 2 electricians on separate occasions tell me that I should replace the FPE panel due to being a fire-hazard. Upon googling, I've read alot of such stories about FPE. Unfortunately, the cost estimates that these electrician gave me were more than I wanted to pay for this job. I've priced a comparable main panel, main breaker and circuit breaker, so I think the main part of the estimates is labor cost.
I'm not an electrician, but I'm a electronic technician with a good understanding of AC power. It doesn't seem like rocket science in swapping out a panel. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I recently built a workshop and added and auxiliary panel to this main panel, so I'm somewhat familiar.
Here's my basic plan:
- Have the local utility company disconnect the power at the meter.
- label the individual hot wires for each circuit.
- pull the main panel off and install a new panel.
- Attach the circuit neutral and ground to the bus bar.
- Attach the individual circuit hot wires to the individual breakers.
- Attach the main feed wires to main breaker and ground to the bus.
- Have the local utility company reconnect power.
I will also check with the code enforcement to see about a permit and inspections. I'm guessing that this entire job could be done within a few hours, pending delays from inspectors and utility company.
Did I miss anything?
Rob