Alarming Keywords: elderly [easily taken to the cleaners], mother in law [female], handyman [is this person an electrician?], no electrical problems [if it works, don't fix it].
Get a picture of the electrical box including neutral bar and post it on the internet if possible. Or electric company may examine it for free. Or have a qualified electrician check out electrical box.
What other work is this person doing for your mother in law and what is he charging her?
My elderly mother in law lives by herself in a 1920s vintage house in NJ. A handyman doing some minor repairs for her said the neutral bus bar in the circuit breaker had corrosion on it and should be replaced. I live across the country so can't look at it or evaluate the situation. However, there are no electrical problems/symptoms in the house.
What are the risks/consequences of just leaving it alone? Can she wait until (and if) electrical problems begin? Is this a fire hazard? She's planning on selling the house soon anyway.
S1
Along the same lines - what was a handyman doing in the panel to start with? Is he qualified to replace the neutral bar? I would suspect a scam. Does she know anyone else that could look at it - like member of a church?
Bud--
With it being NJ you need to seek a licensed electrician. As a tip, I would always suggest seeking BBB listed people with sat standings.
Oh, and what eveyone else said too. ;)
later,
tom @
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