Federal Pacific panel replace tips

December 30, 2011, Friday I'm going to be assistant, replacing a FPE panel, tomorrow. From what I can figure, it means to switch off the power. Big breaker outdoors. Cut some drywall (flush mount) and then start taking wires off breakers, and off the neutrals and grounds.

Loosen the big feed wire, and move that to the new panel. Knock out enough punch outs, so as to feed the smaller wires. Start to put on the Romex connectors, feed the wires in. Put the grounds and neutrals on. Put breakers on, and connect the black wires.

Will need light and heat, as we'll be working indoors in the winter.

What else?

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

formatting link
.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon
Loading thread data ...

the load wires are out, remove the feed and grounding wires. If this is a sub panel, be sure to separate the grounding and neutral busses, and DON'T install the bonding jumper

Reply to
RBM

  1. Take two or three pictures before you begin.
  2. Label each wire, 1,2,3... And make a list, by number, of the size breaker to which it is attached.
  3. Extra care on 220v black pairs to get them together.
  4. You'll possibly need: a. A long extension to a neighbor or a fully charged drill or two b. Metal-cutting hole saw c. A nearby box store for misc connectors, buss extensions, and funny-looking things that live only in circuit-breaker boxes. d. A can of Great Stuff to smooth out any mistakes.
  5. After everything is in place, go back and re-tighten all the screws.

My son and I replaced a 200-Amp box on my house. The project was time consuming - about five hours since we'd never done this before - but very strightforward. A couple of weeks later we repeated the project on my son's house. This time it only took three hours since we (mostly) knew what we were doing.

Reply to
HeyBub

You should be able to run your furnace off that generator if it's got enough amperage. Take the cable that feeds the furnace out of the breaker box, wirenut a #14 cord on to it, and plug it in.

I see a lot of temporary romex made cords used at summer festivals and fairs. Since it's plugged in and temporary I dont think it violates any codes. Most of these cords at these events are made by licensed electricians anyhow.

Last summer our county fair was during a severe heat spell, and the farmers who had cattle were running around 120 fans in the barns. Mostly those big fans with half-horse or larger motors. The electrician was struggling to make all kinds of temporary cords, and he was not pleased. In fact he plans to install more permanent outlets in those barns before the next fair. I guess those 5 days of the fair, where he was on call 24/7 must have wore him out.

Those Mr. Heater infared heaters work well. I use one on my toolshed in winter. But they do need ventilation to be safe. My toolshed is

12X16, so it's not real big, but it's not insulated. But it stays pretty warm with that heater. I just start the heater an hour befoere I go in there to work.
Reply to
jw

in the box, so I don't think it's critical to

That, with the caveat that is it's a 12ga wire coming off a 15A breaker, don't assume you can safely replace it with a 20A breaker, there could be 14ga wiring downstream.

Reply to
Pete C.

in the box, so I don't think it's critical to

There shouldn't be. Unless you're prepared to uncover the entire wiring system, there could always be a chance that a smaller conductor was spliced to a larger one. If, when disconnecting the wires from the breakers, you find conductors mismatched to the breaker size, it would make sense to investigate the circuit

Reply to
RBM

Get everything ready to pull first. Disconnect all but the light where you are working and the furnace. Then do the disconnect and pull the panel. Get the panel in and the power back on. Hook up the work light, then the furnace, then the rest of the circuits. You only need to be out of power, and cold, for half an hour AT MOST.

Reply to
clare

It would be unnecessarily dangerous, and time consuming to pull all the cables, especially NM cables with bare ground wires, from a live panel.

Reply to
RBM

You should be able to run your furnace off that generator if it's got enough amperage. Take the cable that feeds the furnace out of the breaker box, wirenut a #14 cord on to it, and plug it in.

CY: I save old line cords from appliances, for reasons such as this.

I see a lot of temporary romex made cords used at summer festivals and fairs. Since it's plugged in and temporary I dont think it violates any codes. Most of these cords at these events are made by licensed electricians anyhow.

CY: I'm sure they are just fine. Ideally, they should be UF, which is ultra violent light resistant. But, they must work OK.

Last summer our county fair was during a severe heat spell, and the farmers who had cattle were running around 120 fans in the barns. Mostly those big fans with half-horse or larger motors. The electrician was struggling to make all kinds of temporary cords, and he was not pleased. In fact he plans to install more permanent outlets in those barns before the next fair. I guess those 5 days of the fair, where he was on call 24/7 must have wore him out.

CY: Wow, that'd a good reason for more power sockets. I bet they (cattle and man alike) went through a lot of water, also.

Those Mr. Heater infared heaters work well. I use one on my toolshed in winter. But they do need ventilation to be safe. My toolshed is

12X16, so it's not real big, but it's not insulated. But it stays pretty warm with that heater. I just start the heater an hour befoere I go in there to work.

CY: Mine is even less safe than a Mr. Heater catalytic. But, I figure Tim and I are non smokers, and we'll be in and out a lot, so we won't really be too badly exposed to monoxide.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Probably good idea to use 15s, unless proven otherwise?

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

formatting link
.

That, with the caveat that is it's a 12ga wire coming off a 15A breaker, don't assume you can safely replace it with a 20A breaker, there could be 14ga wiring downstream.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I"m not sure, but we'll find out tomorrow. That did occur to me, that the power feed might be too short. We'll see.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

formatting link
.

might need to replace this line.......

do upgrade to current grounding code, strap out water meter, 2 8 foot bonded ground rods etc

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

You know, that might work. Thanks for a good idea.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

formatting link
.

Get everything ready to pull first. Disconnect all but the light where you are working and the furnace. Then do the disconnect and pull the panel. Get the panel in and the power back on. Hook up the work light, then the furnace, then the rest of the circuits. You only need to be out of power, and cold, for half an hour AT MOST.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

You know, I'd probably have thought of that tomorrow. I'd rather use a propane heater and a strap on head lamp, and work on a "cold" panel. Rather than risk frying myself.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

formatting link
.

It would be unnecessarily dangerous, and time consuming to pull all the cables, especially NM cables with bare ground wires, from a live panel.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

HOW? You are doing it in the warm, with good light and you have at least half a brain.

Disconnecting and replacing the panel without the power disconnected (and locked out) might be dangerous -

Reply to
clare

I've done it several times - including the main panel at the dealership a few decades ago. Got the panel out while there was still light coming in the window - got the new one in and power on to one circuit with headlights shining in the window, and finished the rest with power on.

Reply to
clare

Only you know your capability and level of comfort. Go with your gut. I'm relatively comfortable working on a live panel, but I've done it often enough before.

Reply to
clare

Started the job about 10 Am. Tim had pulled all the wires off the FPE breakers, and pulled the bus bars out. Wires pointing in every which what direction. I loosened a bunch of wires, and slipped them out. The new panel box, I had to knock a few of the knock outs. Tape the big power feed wires, they were pointing in different directions. The panel box new is smaller, so I've got room to work.

The wires are now into the box. Some are too short. Some breakers are wrong, need a double 30 for the HWH for example.

We broke for lunch, and parts list. wire nuts, wire, and so on. I'll be going back to work in a few minutes. Gather some parts, and go back down the road. The job is actually going rather well.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

If you had half a brain, you'd do this more quickly and more safely, with the power to the panel disconnected. Google can give you information, but obviously, not experience

Reply to
RBM

No google involved - and LOTS of experience. Most of it good. I don 't like working in the dark (and or cold), so I do what I can with the power on, do as little as necessary with it off, and finish up with power on. Made it sixty years that way.

Reply to
clare

I was fortunate today. Working during dayligh thours. It did get cloudy, and cold. So, I set up my propane lantern, which provided some light and heat.

The panel went in, reasonably well. Start at 10 AM, and break for lunch about12:30. Finished about 5:00. I had to go home for parts after lunch, needed some minor things. And then had to get some wire for making wires longer.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

formatting link
.

No google involved - and LOTS of experience. Most of it good. I don 't like working in the dark (and or cold), so I do what I can with the power on, do as little as necessary with it off, and finish up with power on. Made it sixty years that way.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.