30 amp fuse for 60 amp panel? Old service panel, pics

[icough2getoff]

I have this old service panel and I'd like to add another light but I'm concerned that the fuse in my panel is only 30 amps. I've already blown it twice without the extra light. One of the circuits goes to an outlet that I wont be using so I was going to replace it with a circuit I'd run to my growroom.

Is anyone familiar with this kind of service panel? I want to know if there's a way to add another fuse so that one wont blow if my total load goes above 30 amps. I may just try to get a pot friendly electrician over here if I have to but I'm curious if anybody here has knowledge on this.

 

[homerjay]

What a mess...No it's not that bad. Where are you located? State. I am in Colorado and would be more than willing to help you out if you are a legal grower.
That's the best you're gonna get from me on that one...Call an electrician. All my years as an electrician I have only met a few that were not right after work.
If your in NM I can point to a few also.

 

[icough2getoff]

Thanks homerjay, I think you're probably right. I live in CA but thanks for the offer of help. I have a friend that knows a pot friendly electrician so I'm gonna try to get in touch with him. I would sleep better knowing it gets done right.

 

[Marquis de Sod]

that top panel is bbq'd bro and absolute crap. you are running with one phase fused and it looks like the other phase bypasses the fusebox altogether and looks like it goes to the neutral bar so it must only have one hot going to it, ie the second phase is not a second phase at all but an insulated ground, so you have a nuetral, a insulated ground and one hot.

the one hot in the lower panel is jumped from one hot lug (busbar) to the other so what you have is everything running one the one circuit: 30Amps max. since you are blowing this circuit (fuse pops) you might be s.o.l. depending on what you have feeding the top box. you probably need a whole new over head feeder with two hots to give you 240V and or twice as many circuits. if possible you can take that insulated ground and in your service, or whereever in the hell it comes from, if you can unhook it from the ground bar (it prolly aint hooked up to anything) you can reconnect it to the second phase. if you can do that. then you can take that "ground" wire off the bottom panel, undo the jumper from phase to phase in that bottom panel and hook up that wire to it. that will give you 240. that means you basically get another 30amps of 120V power. you may have to splice on a short wire to reach that lug but it might be doable. you have to see what the other end of that "ground" wire is connected to in the main panel.

if the wires are good, (but there probably is a reason they disconnected that second phase, like a short in the wire somewhere) you could just yard out that last fuse, turn that box into a junction box and run 3 new wires to the bottom panel as i described. then getta nother double breaker for the left side and you have two new 120v circuits.

if you are tripping this by adding anything. don't add it. a new subpanel starts at about $1500 so start keeping your plants in veg longer = mo $$.

oh yeah, if you want to buy me a couple of tickets from sea-tac to cali i would be glad to fly down there. haha.

 

[PharmaCan]

that top panel is bbq'd bro and absolute crap. you are running with one phase fused and it looks like the other phase bypasses the fusebox altogether and looks like it goes to the neutral bar so it must only have one hot going to it, ie the second phase is not a second phase at all but an insulated ground, so you have a nuetral, a insulated ground and one hot.

the one hot in the lower panel is jumped from one hot lug (busbar) to the other so what you have is everything running one the one circuit: 30Amps max. since you are blowing this circuit (fuse pops) you might be s.o.l. depending on what you have feeding the top box. you probably need a whole new over head feeder with two hots to give you 240V and or twice as many circuits. if possible you can take that insulated ground and in your service, or whereever in the hell it comes from, if you can unhook it from the ground bar (it prolly aint hooked up to anything) you can reconnect it to the second phase. if you can do that. then you can take that "ground" wire off the bottom panel, undo the jumper from phase to phase in that bottom panel and hook up that wire to it. that will give you 240. that means you basically get another 30amps of 120V power. you may have to splice on a short wire to reach that lug but it might be doable. you have to see what the other end of that "ground" wire is connected to in the main panel.

if the wires are good, (but there probably is a reason they disconnected that second phase, like a short in the wire somewhere) you could just yard out that last fuse, turn that box into a junction box and run 3 new wires to the bottom panel as i described. then getta nother double breaker for the left side and you have two new 120v circuits.

if you are tripping this by adding anything. don't add it. a new subpanel starts at about $1500 so start keeping your plants in veg longer = mo $$.

oh yeah, if you want to buy me a couple of tickets from sea-tac to cali i would be glad to fly down there. haha.

That one wire that looks like it is bypassing is actually bonding the disconnect with the panel - and I use those hardware terms with a great deal of reservation.

What I want to know is where that piece of romex beside the boxes goes??? Straight to the service drop or meter????

Yup, time for a new service - drop, meter, panel - the whole shootin' match. Piece of cake to install though. It's all surface mount. Driving the ground rods would be the hardest part of that job.

$1,500 would cover the upgrade. It's less than a day's work, and that's if you stopped a lot to take bong hits. Maybe even less than $1,500 - depends on how good was the smoke you had on hand.

What part of California do you live in?

PC

 

[VenturaHwy]

Good eyes Marquis de Sod,
I used to live in Sea Tac, wish I still did...

Needs a whole new service.

 

[icough2getoff]

Thanks for the responses guys. That piece of wire that looks like Romex is actually the phone drop (looks like different wire compared to most phone drops around here). I live in SLO county. Damn, $1500 is a little more than I was hoping to spend but I guess it could be worth it in the long run. I might try to get my property management to send someone out after my current grow. I'm a little nervous calling them about it but I suppose I could just tell them the wiring is old and I keep blowing fuses. I wonder if that would be enough to get an electrician out and decide it's time for that kind of upgrade.

 

[PharmaCan]

Actually, if you go up to the top of the service drop conduit and take off the weather head you should find a round gizmo that goes over the top of the conduit with the neutral wire running through a lug with a screw that screws into the neutral wire. It's a way old way of using the PowCo neutral as a ground for the service equipment.

Then, if you look close at the photo, there are only two wires coming down and out of the service drop conduit. See how the end of the third wire is frayed? That's because it's stripped there. That third wire goes into the fitting on the bottom of the drop conduit then goes to the neutral bus. So, you only have a single phase service.

PC

 

[PharmaCan]

Thanks for the responses guys. That piece of wire that looks like Romex is actually the phone drop (looks like different wire compared to most phone drops around here). I live in SLO county. Damn, $1500 is a little more than I was hoping to spend but I guess it could be worth it in the long run. I might try to get my property management to send someone out after my current grow. I'm a little nervous calling them about it but I suppose I could just tell them the wiring is old and I keep blowing fuses. I wonder if that would be enough to get an electrician out and decide it's time for that kind of upgrade.

SLO County - I know it well. We have a family home in Los Osos.

An anonymous tip to the building department would get that thing red tagged. However, after taking a closer look, the upgrade could be a tad more expensive. That romex that is running inside of conduit is a no-no and would have to be replaced. Not as big a job as it might sound, but still would take time and some materials.

PC