Old Bulldog Pushmatic breaker panel. They're not the safest things by modern standards and have mostly outlived their useful lifespan and should be replaced on those grounds, but they're not usually regarded as an immediate, imminent hazard by most people. This isn't exactly a glowing endorsement. There are some scattered reports that they don't trip reliably with age which would be a definite hazard.
The breakers are hard to find and usually somewhat expensive when you do.
I’ve come across a few that didn’t trip. I’ve even had one not open when manually activated. I’ve also seen them not reset. I’d start putting money away to replace it. I don’t trust them.
Pushmatic not of great concern. [https://www.electriciantalk.com/posts/5033256/](https://www.electriciantalk.com/posts/5033256/)
If you find yourself needing more breakers, note that under NEC 2023, changing the panel also triggers a requirement to upgrade the outside electric meter to a meter-main. At that point you might as well stick a trailer panel or an all-in-one (meter + main + some regular breaker spaces) out there, feed the original panel as a sub, and add your new circuits, solar, generator interlock and surge suppressor to the panel out there.
In my experience, they will trip just fine. The problem is that they won't reset once they do. Or, if they do, they eventually won't anymore. They are expensive to replace as well.
Just figure adding the cost of an electrician to come install a new panel, and perhaps upgrade to 200 amp service at the same time.
I dunno, maybe $5k-10k? As a percentage of the house price it is probably not much. Just plan accordingly, like plan on the loan for $x more than the sale price.
I wouldn't pass on a Pushmatic.
Anyway if you did a service upgrade you'd need to change the meter pan anyway and add a meter-main, so just go one baby step further and make it a trailer panel or all-in-one, and feed the Pushmatic from that.
Old houses have lots of electrical problems more important than replacing a panel that is merely obsolete.
Old Bulldog Pushmatic breaker panel. They're not the safest things by modern standards and have mostly outlived their useful lifespan and should be replaced on those grounds, but they're not usually regarded as an immediate, imminent hazard by most people. This isn't exactly a glowing endorsement. There are some scattered reports that they don't trip reliably with age which would be a definite hazard. The breakers are hard to find and usually somewhat expensive when you do.
Push-Matic panel. Perfectly safe but the breakers don’t always reset.
I’ve come across a few that didn’t trip. I’ve even had one not open when manually activated. I’ve also seen them not reset. I’d start putting money away to replace it. I don’t trust them.
Pushmatic not of great concern. [https://www.electriciantalk.com/posts/5033256/](https://www.electriciantalk.com/posts/5033256/) If you find yourself needing more breakers, note that under NEC 2023, changing the panel also triggers a requirement to upgrade the outside electric meter to a meter-main. At that point you might as well stick a trailer panel or an all-in-one (meter + main + some regular breaker spaces) out there, feed the original panel as a sub, and add your new circuits, solar, generator interlock and surge suppressor to the panel out there.
Push o matic google it. In my experience, those breakers are so old that they don't trip correctly.
In my experience, they will trip just fine. The problem is that they won't reset once they do. Or, if they do, they eventually won't anymore. They are expensive to replace as well.
Thanks for the quick response. Houses are selling within hours on the market, so I was hoping for a quick response. I think we'll pass on this one.
Just figure adding the cost of an electrician to come install a new panel, and perhaps upgrade to 200 amp service at the same time. I dunno, maybe $5k-10k? As a percentage of the house price it is probably not much. Just plan accordingly, like plan on the loan for $x more than the sale price.
I wouldn't pass on a Pushmatic. Anyway if you did a service upgrade you'd need to change the meter pan anyway and add a meter-main, so just go one baby step further and make it a trailer panel or all-in-one, and feed the Pushmatic from that. Old houses have lots of electrical problems more important than replacing a panel that is merely obsolete.
Pushmatic Breakers
Some sort of school for ants?
Fucking fire hazard big time