Replacing Federal Pacific Electric Panel (Houston, Austin: sale, insurance, how much)

[Houston245]

Any electrician recommendations to replace Federal Pacific Electric Panel? If anyone has had this done, how much did it cost? Any specific questions I should ask the electrician?

House is 1950s inside the 610 loop. We are needing to replace because we can not get insurance since the panel has been recalled.

I've been able to find one price online for $1850 that includes new panel, main breaker, circuit breakers, grounding rods, grounding bridge, and grounding electrode conductor. Does not include permits.

Any insight would be appreciated. If you don't want to post contractors please feel free to DM me.

Thanks!

[bu2]

Originally Posted by Houston245

Any electrician recommendations to replace Federal Pacific Electric Panel? If anyone has had this done, how much did it cost? Any specific questions I should ask the electrician?

House is 1950s inside the 610 loop. We are needing to replace because we can not get insurance since the panel has been recalled.

I've been able to find one price online for $1850 that includes new panel, main breaker, circuit breakers, grounding rods, grounding bridge, and grounding electrode conductor. Does not include permits.

Any insight would be appreciated. If you don't want to post contractors please feel free to DM me.

Thanks!

Are you sure you are getting good advice on the panel being recalled?

Federal Pacific has been a known problem for decades. The fuses are probably all replacement parts that are not fire hazards. There's a lot of bad information out there.

I had a house with a Federal Pacific panel bought in the early 90s and we sold in the 00s and its been sold since. So it passed all the inspections. Our inspector (and electricians) explained the issues to us. The biggest problem has been that we could only find one place in town that sold the replacement fuses and they were expensive as Federal Pacific has long been out of business.

[ilikeme]

What ever you do, do not buy replacemt breakers for it. That's just asking for problems and no reputable electrician will install them. Get the panel replaced with a Square D QO or Cutler Hammer panel. My house came with a Federal Pacific panel and did pass inspection, but was heavily noted on the report about the dangers of it and that it should be replaced. I know about them before buying the house, so I was not surprised at all about it. It was one of the first things I had replaced.

[WRM20]

$1850 is not a bad price. My mother paid about that to replace her panel, Sylvania, I think, that had breakers that are no longer available. It takes most of a day, and your house will be without power while the work is done. The electrician has to coordinate with Center Point to remove the meter before they start and replace it after the work is done.

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by Houston245

Any electrician recommendations to replace Federal Pacific Electric Panel? If anyone has had this done, how much did it cost? Any specific questions I should ask the electrician?
Thanks!

I have a buddy with a license that did it for me 6 years ago, he bid $600 labor and went over his estimated hours and I gave him another $100. He was not particularly fast though and this was on a 2000 sf house, 3-2 with study and laundry room. In 2007 I had to take $800.00 off a contracted price on a sale in Austin for the same thing, after it was flagged by the inspector; the $800 for labor and material for the upgrade on a 2150 sf house was bid by a friend of the buyer.

The buddy with license is working for an independent contractor, and they will beat your quote by a significant margin I would think. There have been zero issues with the upgrade. PM me if you want more info.

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by bu2

The biggest problem has been that we could only find one place in town that sold the replacement fuses and they were expensive as Federal Pacific has long been out of business.

You can get the F.P. breakers for cheap on Ebay. I have a box of them I was going to sell on Ebay but the prices are so low it's not worth it to me. Any interest on my box PM me.

[Wirenut33]

Originally Posted by bu2

Are you sure you are getting good advice on the panel being recalled?

Federal Pacific has been a known problem for decades. The fuses are probably all replacement parts that are not fire hazards. There's a lot of bad information out there.

I had a house with a Federal Pacific panel bought in the early 90s and we sold in the 00s and its been sold since. So it passed all the inspections. Our inspector (and electricians) explained the issues to us. The biggest problem has been that we could only find one place in town that sold the replacement fuses and they were expensive as Federal Pacific has long been out of business.

Master Electrician here. This is bad information. Whomever told you this is misinformed. I have been dealing with these panels my entire career. The breakers were originally the worst of the problem, but the bus system is also a source of fire. The replacement aftermarket breakers have been proven not to solve the fire hazard. Insurance companies are forcing them to be replaced for good reason. See below.

Heating System Inspect, Diagnose, Repair

$1850 is a good price. Square footage is unimportant in the price. It's size of service, amount of circuits and difficultly factor.

Make sure whomever you used is licensed, insured and properly permits the job. (It is inspected by a city inspector). If you don't, for at fault if a fire happens.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by Wirenut33

Master Electrician here. This is bad information. Whomever told you this is misinformed. I have been dealing with these panels my entire career. The breakers were originally the worst of the problem, but the bus system is also a source of fire. The replacement aftermarket breakers have been proven not to solve the fire hazard. Insurance companies are forcing them to be replaced for good reason. See below.

Heating System Inspect, Diagnose, Repair

$1850 is a good price. Square footage is unimportant in the price. It's size of service, amount of circuits and difficultly factor.

Make sure whomever you used is licensed, insured and properly permits the job. (It is inspected by a city inspector). If you don't, for at fault if a fire happens.

They didn't say anything much different than you did. FP panels were not great, but the risk was very small as long as you didn't have the original breakers. There was a lot of stuff out on the internet at the time that made it seem like FP panels meant your house was doomed to burn down any minute.

What seems to be new is the insurance companies objecting.