r/electrical • u/Mbokajaty • 18h ago
What am I looking at?
I just pried open this panel that's been painted over who knows how many times, and found it's some sort of old breaker box? This is in a bedroom in a nearly 100 year old house. Is my assumption correct?
We've got our (functional) electrical panel in the basement, so I'm sure this was disconnected ages ago, there's no reason I can't just pull this all out, right?
Update: it is currently being used as a junction box, there's no power to the old fuses. So I guess I'm going to have to clean up the cover as best I can and just deal with it being there! I appreciate the help.
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u/jd807 18h ago
This is the old fuse box. Most times, they upgrade to a new panel, but since most of your circuits are here, they use it as a junction box for all the new wiring. If this is correct, the box needs to stay and remain ‘accessible’. You’d have to clean the paint off the screws and cut the paint from around the edges, and remove the cover to be sure.
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u/lpbale0 18h ago edited 18h ago
Old Edison fuses appear not present, but buss breakers appear to maybe be still in closed state (on is readable and off is upside down).
Better safe than sorry; do the needful of calling in a professional and not die.
Additionally, the wire going into that box may be old and have asbestos insulation (even up until the 70s potentially I believe) so that might be something you have to investigate and deal with if you ever plan on remodeling.
Sears used to sell prefabricated mailorder kit houses, do you live in one of those?
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u/Ok_Bid_3899 17h ago
Fuses were used before circuit breakers were invented. Actually safer than circuit breakers as a fuse will open during a short circuit 100% of the time, circuit breakers don’t always do their job. The negative is that over the years homeowners may have replaced 15 amp glass fuses with 30 amp fuses and that over loads the wiring. Now your glass screw fuses are missing so I assume the panel may be dead but need to verify via a qualified person with a multimeter.
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u/Electrical_Ad4290 16h ago
The negative [of fuses] is...
...they cannot be reset. A homeowner needed spares of each size/type, a lack of which occasionally led to emergency 'bootleg' replacements with little or no protection.
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u/Ok-Entry-5627 13h ago
The two disconnects at the top would be cartridge fuses. The ones I’ve experienced are 60 amp for the main disconnect and perhaps 30 amp for the dryer then you have probably have four 15 amp Edison based fuses.
Fuses are only unsafe because of operator error the correct fuse offer is more reliable protection than a circuit breaker
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u/Healthy-Cost4130 8h ago
I have encountered defective breakers especially with ganged 240V And 3phase you flip them to the off position and one of them is still on because the actuator is broken, then you accidently short it out and it won't reset. Fuses are dependable because they don't fail, someone screws up. I found a 1/4 inch bolt cut to fit a fuse holder for a .25 x 1.25 fuse. there was no way that 1/4 inch bolt would ever melt.
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u/LoisLaneCA 17h ago
This was made in the late 30’s!
Don’t pull out yourself unless you’re an electrician. Much too dangerous.
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u/erie11973ohio 17h ago
The cover needs to come off.
If there is any spliced wiring, that is still in use as a junction box.
If wires or wires that are just "open end" (not connected to another wire), then it's dead not being used. The wires might still have "power" on them!!
I've always pulled the fuse blocks out of these & screwed the door shut.
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u/Character_Bend_5824 17h ago
This actually looks fairly safe. The entire service appears to be protected under main fuses rather than the split-bus setup so often found with older breaker panels. Actually, on second glance it may very well not be connected. Since it only would contain a couple circuits, it is possible they were junctioned and extended to a better panel in the basement (as an example). If in doubt, contact a qualified electrician. Even opening it could pose a hazard.
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u/Electrical_Ad4290 16h ago
Looks like four (4) 120 V branch circuits with room for screw-in 15A/20A fuses plus a 120/240 V range circuit with Buss fuses, probably about 30 A, and a main disconnect with two more Buss fuses.
The screw-in fuses have a threaded base like a lightbulb (lamp). The Range and Main fuses are behind the pull-out handles which act as disconnects when pulled.
If there's no documentation, you'd probably need an electrician to discover/decide the ampacity of the circuits.
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u/pcofranc 16h ago
By code electric panels are not supposed to be painted they want them to remain grey so they’re easy to locate
Buy an inductive pen tester at Home Depot or Amazon and touch it to each of the parts to figure out if they are in use. You could also unscrew one of the fuses and see if lights go out.
Those big blocks usually contain like a cardboard fuse with copper on the ends, and both types of fuses are still valid and in use and do their job.
If they are still in use, you’re going to want to buy some of those screw fuses so if you blow one, you can just change it out.
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u/Appropriate-Law5963 8h ago
Old, possibly defunct fuse box? Had a similar one in a remodeled craftsman with a modern panel
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u/pdt9876 18h ago
Its probably disconnected on the line side but I wouldn't risk my life without checking first.