I need a old style pull out 60A fed. pacf. braker at a better $$$

Wish I had one Eric, it would be on it's way to you. But I remember that set-up. The house I grew up in. Changed a few of those fuses myself.

I see the seller in the listing you posted said it will NOT interchange with the range pullout, so be aware if you go for that $24 one.


Maybe if the fuse holder contacts are identical on the $24 one, you can chip out the potting material covering the screws and unscrew them from the bakelite pullout base and swap them on your original base. It's all gambling at that point though.

Eric, sounds like you could use a panel upgrade?

in the mid 1980's, our 2 bedroom house in Long Beach built in 1926 was wired in knob and tube wiring. One of the previous owners had the panel upgraded. In this case, the panel was outside. The electrician installed a new panel, can't remember, may have been a 120 Amp panel next to the old. Removed the fuse panel cover with the fuses and used the old box as a junction box. Then connected new wires to the old from that old box to the new.

Didn't rewire the whole house, just the new panel. If this is possible on your house then costs may be more affordable?

GallopingGhostler wrote:Eric, sounds like you could use a panel upgrade?

in the mid 1980's, our 2 bedroom house in Long Beach built in 1926 was wired in knob and tube wiring. One of the previous owners had the panel upgraded. In this case, the panel was outside. The electrician installed a new panel, can't remember, may have been a 120 Amp panel next to the old. Removed the fuse panel cover with the fuses and used the old box as a junction box. Then connected new wires to the old from that old box to the new.

Didn't rewire the whole house, just the new panel. If this is possible on your house then costs may be more affordable?

This sounds like a great idea, I was thinking of doing an upgrade to mine. Too many sub panels. Do not want to lengthen existing wires to make them fit in the new panel. So then the old panel is just gutted from the fuses or breakers and Marrettes used? There are some new push in connectors available now. Still a couple hundred bucks for a new panel with breakers, but it is an upgrade. Maybe Getback could try cleaning the terminals and use some of the connector grease. Might be different from the dielectric grease. IDK. Be careful in any case.

aspeed wrote:Do not want to lengthen existing wires to make them fit in the new panel.  So then the old panel is just gutted from the fuses or breakers and Marrettes used?  There are some new push in connectors available now.  Still a couple hundred bucks for a new panel with breakers, but it is an upgrade.  Maybe Getback could try cleaning the terminals and use some of the connector grease.  Might be different from the dielectric grease.  IDK. Be careful in any case.

Problem you run into is possibly damaging (breaking) the wires that were anchored to the panel (all non-metallic sheathed wires must be anchored to the box, usually the clamps at hole where they entered) when removing the box. Each situation is different.

This type work is best done by a licensed professional electrician, which is also probably required by your authority having jurisdiction (I.e., city building safety department). His cost estimate would outline his approach in this repair/upgrade.

Around here we are allowed to do our own electrical, but are definitely not allowed to do anyone else's without a license.We can get an inspection done if we want. I have done quite a bit on my own houses from scratch on an old Mennonite house with no electricity to many new build garage shops. Replaced some of those old fuses too. None left now unfortunately.

If that panel is the main disconnect for the house (it looks like it) you can't work on it without disconnecting the power at the weatherhead by the utility. Federal Pacific is banned by the the National Electric Code, nobody can sell these anymore.
Looks like eBay is the only shot. Are there any old hardware stores in your area?

Is it similar to this one?

crankbndr wrote:Federal Pacific is banned by the the National Electric Code, nobody can sell these anymore.

Their Stab-Lok line of breakers and panels is the trouble equipment when it comes to Federal Pacific. Their fuse panels are not a problem, except for being old and outdated at this point.

There is a company that still makes and sells aftermarket breakers that fit the old Stab-Lok panels, even though the design of the busbar is also considered a defect, not just the internal design of the original breakers.

Many insurance companies won't insure a house that has a Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panel. It's becoming more common for insurance companies to refuse to insure houses that still have an old fuse panel, and especially knob and tube wiring.

We had a few houses with aluminum wiring that were hard to get insurance for, and home inspectors made a big deal about it. Scared a few buyers away for nothing. They just needed pigtails using a # 63 Marrette with copper wire going directly to the receptacle or load, to pass code. I think I still have a box of Stablock breakers and a few other old ones. Using just Square D now. Probably the last house now.

Thanks for the clarification on the panels Boss. I believe those are 100amp service? Maybe put a 150 amp disconnect where the box is now and feed a new breaker panel next to it? At any rate it will be costly upgrade, made worse by bidenomics.
I have seen new panels with the main disconnect in the top of new breaker panel.

getback wrote:Thanks guys , Doug that is the way my setup is also I have a main flip switch box next to it with 2 60a fuses to break the currant going to the main ...I have a question on the fuses in the pull out the Range pullout had a 40A and a 60A in it , is the diagram showing a 31-60 mean 30A and 60 Amp fuses ??? THe term. that was burnt/got hot had the 40A in it .

Eric, your best bet would be to get a licensed electrician to look at your panel situation and get his inputs to replace your panel, and if necessary, any additional rewiring required in the house. I say this, because of the age of your panel, the difficulty in finding replacement parts, and overall electrical and fire safety.

Because of the Amperages involved, wiring will get warm, but it shouldn't get hot. Getting hot tells me that possibilty the wiring is overloaded or you have a bad electrical connection at the fuse connection area.

I think that the 31-60 means that the electrician sizes the fuse to be used from 31 to 60 Amps, based on what he sized the range/oven circuit to and the model of range that was used. It should be replaced with the size he labeled to use. If he specified 40 Amp fuses, then those should be used.

On the other hand, your other fuse block is for your general 120 Volt circuits for everything else but the range. The smaller screw in fuses protects each of the 4 branch circuits.

!00 Amp panel:

You have a serious safety issue.

I don't know the answer Eric. No electricians on this forum??

getback wrote:I have a question on the fuses in the pull out the Range pullout had a 40A and a 60A in it , is the diagram showing a 31-60 mean 30A and 60 Amp fuses ??? THe term. that was burnt/got hot had the 40A in it .

Typically both fuses in your range pullout should be the same size. It depends on the gauge of the wire feeding your range receptacle as to what it should be fused at. 40 and 50 amps are usually what you see for the range. It's possible someone blew a 40 amp fuse and replaced it with a 60 amp fuse just to keep their Thanksgiving turkey baking. Maybe assuming the existing 40 amp would blow if there were to be a fault with the 240 volt appliance. HOWEVER, a line to ground fault on the line now improperly over-fused at 60 amps could result in a fire.

Is the pullout labeled "range" actually feeding just the stove/range, or is it feeding other loads via a subpanel, etc.?

If the load was at or near the limit for the 40 amp fuse, it would normally get pretty warm, if it exceeds the limit for a set time period (as according to the fuse's time-current curve), it will eventually blow. The terminals inside your panel should not be getting hot, and should definitely not be burning. Excessive heat and burning occurs when terminals are dirty, corroded, loose or worn. Burning contacts can enter an avalanche situation where micro-arcs heat the terminals beyond a point where they experience thermal fatigue and lose their spring contact tension, loosening up further, creating more arcing, pitting and carbon buildup and getting even hotter. This is how you can get a loose terminal on the side of a receptacle to glow red hot without it even tripping the breaker.

What you need to do is determine if the "burnt" female contact inside your panel is loose and compromised. The other 3 contacts may still be providing enough tension or grip for you to believe it is making good contact, but that 4th blade on your pullout may not be making as solid of a contact as it should be, thus resulting in more arcing and burning (even with your new pullout you got off eBay).

getback wrote:Well That didn't fix it and the blocks looked good ,, if I pull the fuse block out of the right side where would I ck. for electric power on the legs ? Going with the pic Dough sent and there both mains , I read as much as I could check about checking fuses but nothing about the block >> i read if its 2 mains Its split-sub panel and that's not right  https://structuretech.com/old-fuse-panel-60-amps-or-100-amps/  which legs to check ?? the right side is not working i presume    

Eric, by split, I think you mean that both main breakers are fed from the incoming. Reading the diagram, the "Range" or other load branches from the two top socket terminals on that block.

You described your house as having also modern circuits mixed with this outdated 1950's panel. Is this 100 Amp Panel the main for incoming power? Or, you already have a modern, main circuit breaker panel of say, 169 Amp or 200 Amp service? This panel is now a sub panel, fed off a main panel? The block labeled "Range" now serves a subpanel with other general circuits?

With incomplete and fragmentary information, it is hard to make heads or tails of your situation. My gut level feeling is you need to get a licensed pro to look at it. May be he can do something short term to fix the problem, to buy you more time so you can schedule replacement.

I'd hate to see personal harm to you or your loved ones, or property over a potentially unsafe situation.

Might be time to call an electrician.

Do you have a multimeter and can check for voltage across both terminal lugs and/or female openings in the fuse block (with your pullout removed) on your panel? Also check both from line to ground. Should have ~240 volts across the two lines, and ~120 from line to ground/neutral on both.

Check for loose wires on the lugs too, including on your neutral bar.


Can you post any pictures of this setup?

Be careful.

I have wired the four car garage, shed, and more than a few small appliances and lights but I draw the line at anything over 110.

Time to call in an electrictian pardner and get a modern 100/200 amp system installed. I would hate to see you turned into a crispy critter trying to cope with that outdated system.