This Homeowner in Bonneylake is considering selling and decided to upgrade the panel as well as add a couple circuits at the same time.
Often we are asked “is my fuse box safe”. For the most part fuse panels are safe, much depends on the age, the environment it is located in such as a basement that is always damp, how it was treated over its life, the biggest hazard in a fuse panel is human error, when the wrong size fuses are put in, when fuses are loose, or turned to tight, to loose can result in arcing, to tight can damage the contact point which will lead to arcing, arcing causes permanent damage and will progressively get worse, and can possibly even eventually lead to a panel fire if not attended to.
In the case of the customer in Bonney lake we found that 60amp fuses had acccidentally been installed on a 40amp circuit which could have lead to overheating electrical wire and connections.
The fuse box in the first picture is a 60 amp service. When we run accross these and a customer asks “should I replace my electrical service” the answer is yes, definitely. If you have a 100 amp service, we can do a load calculation and we will ask you some questions about your usage present and future and make a recommendation whether or not you should consider upgrading to 200 amp, if you are popping your main 100 amp fuse or breaker on occasion then the answer is yes. some older 100 amp services are prime candidates for replacement and deterioration can/ will cause future problems so at the point of upgrading a panel an assessment should be done to see if the exterior service equipment is deteriorated enough to warrant replacement at the same time.