DIYbanter - View Single Post - Question replacement of circuit breaker panel

wrote:

We have recently had problems with the electricity in our 25 year home
flickering on and off. Yesterday, electricity in certain parts of the
house was completely out. I could get it to come back on by shaking
the main switch on the circuit panel. Today, an electrician inspected
the panel and says the entire panel needs to be replaced. He showed me
where the interior of some of the breakers looked burned. The quote
for the work is $1200.

Can anyone offer an opinion as to whether this all sounds reasonable?
What is the xpected life of a breaker panel? The old panel is approx.
25 years old. Also, I live in the New Orleans area and I would expect
to pay a bit more for any type of service work in the post-Katrina
world.

Any opinions would be appreciated. Thank you.

The price does not sound unreasonable, particularly if you are in a high
demand area as you noted. Certainly you can do it your self for less,
but since you indicate you already had an electrician out I assume you
don't want to DIY.

Depending on what you have currently for a main panel and how full it is
an upgrade to 150A or 200A may be good to do at the same time. The cost
increase over just replacing a 100A panel is minimal.

Also note that per 1999 and newer NEC code all circuits supplying
bedrooms are required to have Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) type
circuit breakers. Not a bad thing to have considering you already
apparently had an arc fault condition, though the AFCI breakers won't
help if the fault is before them as in the case of the main breaker.

There is a fair amount of variation in quality among the various brands
of panels and circuit breakers. Square D QO series is pretty much the
top of the line, Square D Homeline, GE and Cuttler-Hammer are mid level
options.

Pete C.