FPE Panels......Again

[Les]

FPE Fuse box is not a bad device. How it is wired in the photo is problematic. The concern with FPE is the breakers and the panel box. In my opinion fuse panels are not necessarily problematic. Remember the notorious electric chair has a fuse, not a breaker!

[crusty]

I agree that the name FPE as it associates to fuses is not a generally accepted red flag but IMO fuses are. I am of the opinion that unlike wine electrical equipment never gets better with age. I have no knowledge of the reputation that FPE had in the days when it was producing fused panelboards but the few I have run across were the best looking fused panelboards I have ever seen.

But, I always recommend that the client consider upgrading to a more modern panelboard. The problems with fused installations has nothing to do with performance of the fuses but with the ability of the system to meet current need (which is probably not the case here.) Overfusing and double lugging are key issues I find with fused panelboards and are indicators of the inadequacy of the system to meet the demand on it. The typical lack of a separate equipment grounding terminal bar is also a problem, unless of course it is the main panelboard. Changing fuses is a lot more hazardous and inconvenient than tripping a breaker. One needs the hands of a surgeon to remove some of those deadfront covers without arcing off a fuse. God I hate it when that happens.

This is not a bad installation in my opinion as far as the equipment itself goes, for a fused panelboard.

Outside of the obvious problems that you cited the BIG deal in this picture is that air conditioning breaker. That my friend is the thing to be feared. I did not take the time to blow up and edit your pic but that logo and orange tipped breaker makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up before I get out of the truck. That is your enemy. That is the dreaded FPE "Stab Lok" breaker.