Panel issues on the Home Inspectors Report
#1 First the electric panel. This will be the most thoroughly inspected area of the house. There are a couple of problems that shouldn’t be accepted. I don’t use scare tactics to drive sales. I have 40 years as a licensed contractor in Arizona and it’s my goal to offer the best reasonable solution to any electrical problem. Some Panel models have lost its UL listing. There are two major brands. Zinsko and Federal Pacific both have a history of breakers that will not trip and thus a fire hazard. There is aftermarket breakers manufactured for these panels, but the prices are substantial, and it is usually a better decision to replace the panel. My price for changing an electric panel average $2,800.00 and up depending on the situation. I have dedicated a page just for panel pricing under the drop down called “Electric Panel Services” choose “Panel Upgrade Costs” for you to get a good idea what’s involved. Although we provide a free site visit, inspection, and quote for every job. In both cases the panel should be replaced due to age (more than thirty years) and maintenance reasons.
Zinsko Panel Federal Pacific Panel
Most panels installed before the seventies are more than fifty years old. Panels manufactured before then are much like the one pictured below. Beside all the conduits entering from every direction I think just the sight of it would scare off potential buyers and rightly so. Only the meter socket itself is raintight. Water runs through both sub panels. This wasn’t a code violation at the time. Our finished product would include a couple raintight junction boxes to incorperate several pipes into each box with a minimum of two pipes to feed into a new 200 amp all in one panel. The upgrade below cost $3,800.00
