Went to a job in a 1970s apartment block and saw a real mess with the main panel

The building manager in Tacoma called me to look at some flickering lights, and when I opened the main electrical room, I found a bunch of double-tapped neutrals on the old Federal Pacific panel. This is a known fire risk, and the whole setup looked like it hadn't been touched since the Carter administration. How do you guys usually break this kind of news to a property owner who just wants a quick fix?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscarcooper18d ago

Reminds me of a place I worked on last year... same panel, same mess. The owner just kept asking if we could "tighten a few screws" and call it a day. Had to show him a picture of a melted bus bar from a similar job to get him to listen... some people just don't want to hear it until you make it real for them.

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phoenixh7418d ago

Ugh, that's so true, @oscarcooper. I get the wanting to save money, but a picture really is worth a thousand words sometimes. It's not just about loose screws, it's about the heat build-up over time that you can't see until it's way too late. Showing that melted metal makes the danger something they can actually picture.