Insulation burned feeding panel?
Non-electrician here. I recently bought a house built in 1970. Having some work done and the electrician (who was subbed out by my GC, who I trust) found what he is calling "burned up insulation" on the service cable (see picture top right of panel). One of the reasons given is an unbalanced load on the left and right side of the panel (I will confirm that this is true, but have not yet). He said that we need a larget 30 circuit panel anyway (we are redoing our kitchen), and his recommendation is to replace the panel. I'm happy to pay for a new panel, as this is a safety issue, but what I'm confused about is why we can't simply rebalance the existing panel. I trust the electrician, but just looking for another opinion. Hoping for some help on the following questions specifically: Do you agree that the insulation appears burned (it does to me)? Why couldn't we simply rebalance the existing panel without replacement? I read that panels are typically good for 30-40 years, but what constitutes a "bad" panel? Does the explanation and recommendation pass the "sniff test"? Anything else you'd suggest asking the electrician before plunging forward with a new panel? Thank you! submitted by /u/Brave_Lifeguard_8122 [link] [comments]
Non-electrician here. I recently bought a house built in 1970. Having some work done and the electrician (who was subbed out by my GC, who I trust) found what he is calling "burned up insulation" on the service cable (see picture top right of panel). One of the reasons given is an unbalanced load on the left and right side of the panel (I will confirm that this is true, but have not yet). He said that we need a larget 30 circuit panel anyway (we are redoing our kitchen), and his recommendation is to replace the panel.
I'm happy to pay for a new panel, as this is a safety issue, but what I'm confused about is why we can't simply rebalance the existing panel. I trust the electrician, but just looking for another opinion. Hoping for some help on the following questions specifically:
- Do you agree that the insulation appears burned (it does to me)?
- Why couldn't we simply rebalance the existing panel without replacement? I read that panels are typically good for 30-40 years, but what constitutes a "bad" panel?
- Does the explanation and recommendation pass the "sniff test"?
- Anything else you'd suggest asking the electrician before plunging forward with a new panel?
Thank you!
[link] [comments]
