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Home > Archive > Electrical code Compliance > June 2005 > Newbie question
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| MikeS 2005-06-17, 11:28 pm |
| I just purchased a home built in 1960 that has a fuse box (not a
circuit-breaker type). Is there a way to tell how much the supply current
to the house is by looking at the box (60 amp or 100 amp, etc.)?
Thanks!
| |
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| > Is there a way to tell how much the supply current to the house is by
quote:
> looking at the box (60 amp or 100 amp, etc.)?
There should be a Main pull-out unit, probly near the top of the panel. If
it is approx 5-6 inches high (the pull-out part) it is 100 amp, if it is
only about 3.5-4" high, it is 60.
OR, turn off all the loads in the house and pull the Main...then read the
value of the main fuses, then put it back and turn your house back on, set
your clocks, etc.
| |
| phil-news-nospam@ipal.net 2005-06-17, 11:28 pm |
| On Sat, 5 Mar 2005 11:57:19 -0500 rieker5.nospam.ever@hotmail.com wrote:
|> Is there a way to tell how much the supply current to the house is by
|> looking at the box (60 amp or 100 amp, etc.)?
|
| There should be a Main pull-out unit, probly near the top of the panel. If
| it is approx 5-6 inches high (the pull-out part) it is 100 amp, if it is
| only about 3.5-4" high, it is 60.
|
| OR, turn off all the loads in the house and pull the Main...then read the
| value of the main fuses, then put it back and turn your house back on, set
| your clocks, etc.
It could be a split-bus fuse box. There could be as many as 6 pullouts
required to disconnect the power. The house I grew up in, in the 1960's,
built in late 1940's, had a fuse box with 4 pullouts, 3 for 240 volt stuff
(stove, dryer, A/C) and 1 for the 8 plug fuses below it, for lights and
regular outlets. I believe the amperages were 40, 40, 30, 30, so it would
have had to be well over 100 amps. But a smaller box in a smaller house
could well be 60 amps with a couple pullouts and 4 plug fuses.
If I were buying a house, having an old fuse box in there would thrill me
for two reasons. One would be for the project of putting in a breaker box.
The other would be for having an old antique. If only I could get the fuse
box my great-grandfather had. It had 2 cartridge clips for big fuses and
4 plug fuses in separate ceramic sockets, with everything open wired to
screw terminals. There was no disconnect; the cartridge fuses had to be
pulled from live clips. He had a little scissors gadget to do it.
--
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| Phil Howard KA9WGN | http://linuxhomepage.com/ http://ham.org/ |
| (first name) at ipal.net | http://phil.ipal.org/ http://ka9wgn.ham.org/ |
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| |
| Roy Q.T. 2005-06-17, 11:28 pm |
| The Voltage is the only thing constant in all Residential Systems., The
Current Supplied varies with The Load (what is actually ON your system)
Do you want to make sure you have the right type service conductors
inside your New house for 100 amps ? - Did you say it's 1960 Handyman
Special ?
you probably don't
If you want to know how much current your Fuse Box (dead give away) is
supplying with all your Household Appliances and Light on,
Place an Ammeter on both your Hot leads before the Fuses in the (you
reall need to change it) Fuse Box and whatever they read together is
your supply.
Looking at your Feed wires in your Panel Box should give you an Ideam if
they look almost like the Branch Circuit wires coming out, you do not
(shouldn't) have 100 Amps there.
=AEoy
| |
| hrhofmann@att.net 2005-06-17, 11:29 pm |
| Most boxes have a rating stamped somewhere on the box or the cover
(inside or out) or on the plastic housing holding the two main fuses as
described by another poster. Using an ammeter will only tell you the
current draw at the time youare measuring it, it is hard to figure out
how you would get all branches to draw their maximum and get to just
below the fuse-blowing limit without maybe going over. Looking at the
main fuses is usually the best method because the holde is sized
correctly for the rest of the box, and main fuses are different sized
to prevent the wrong fuses from being used. Only possible problem
would be if the original wiring was not heavy enough to handle the main
fuse size, you didn't indicate how the original house was wired, by a
reputable source or someone who just threw things together without
proper knowledge or building inspection.
H. R.(Bob) Hofmann
| |
| Jerry Shelton 2005-06-17, 11:31 pm |
| In 1960? I'm about 99.9% sure it is a 60 amp service
"MikeS" <sanchez@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:d0cg2l02h81@news4.newsguy.com...
quote:
>I just purchased a home built in 1960 that has a fuse box (not a
>circuit-breaker type). Is there a way to tell how much the supply current
>to the house is by looking at the box (60 amp or 100 amp, etc.)?
>
> Thanks!
>
>
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