main panel upgrade cost

debiasio · 03-25-2011, 02:50 PM

Westinghouse. Judging by the box and its breakers, the electrician estimated the panel was put in in the late 70s early 80s.

There are a couple tandem breakers in the panel as well, and the panel isn't designed for it. Not up to code, but I get the feeling its a common occurrence.

jerseystyle26 · 03-25-2011, 02:56 PM

Haha yea theres ways to break the,little tab on the breaker to get a twin in the panel. Its definetly time to update your service. I would just completely upgrade it to a 200amp. Itll give you piece of mind to add new circuits in the future.

joed · 03-25-2011, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelcherr

The expense of a 200amp panel is replacing everything between the panel and the power company's line: Meter, wire, conduit, ground system.
I'd be suprised if the cost difference was less than $1,000. If your paying a pro.

NOT if you put a 100 amp breaker in it. It is still a 100 amp service and none of the service drop will need to be changed until the time he actually wants 200 amps. At that time the panel and all the branch circuits does not need to be touched. Only the breaker will need to be changed.

If you put the 100 amp panel in now then you will be discarding and replacing it with a 200 amp later.

Jim Port · 03-25-2011, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerseystyle26

I install panels all the time pal, switching to a bigger panel will be cheaper, less material and work.

Installing a subpanel should be a whole lot less labor than pulling twenty cables out of the old panel and moving them over to the new panel and properly identifying the circuits. You also would not need to arrange to have the meter pulled.

michaelcherr · 03-25-2011, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joed

NOT if you put a 100 amp breaker in it. It is still a 100 amp service and none of the service drop will need to be changed until the time he actually wants 200 amps. At that time the panel and all the branch circuits does not need to be touched. Only the breaker will need to be changed.

If you put the 100 amp panel in now then you will be discarding and replacing it with a 200 amp later.

OIC that clears it up:
You mis-spoke and meant a box rated for 200amps with a 100amp breaker.
If you put a 100amp breaker in a panel that could handle a 200amp breaker, you would refer to it as a 100 amp panel, not a 200 amp panel.
My apologies to the original poster: We've de-railed the post a bit.

jerseystyle26 · 03-25-2011, 04:41 PM

Pulling wires out and reconnecting takes a whole 20mins not that bad. Also pulling a meter is a job anyone can do that takes a whole 10secs. Go with a fully new higher amperage service upgrade. Itll cost you some but youll be thankful for it in the future. More space more power

Jim Port · 03-25-2011, 05:58 PM

Pulling a meter is certainly not a job that anyone can do. I doubt that a DIY has the experience, training or proper PPE to pull a meter. Also most power companies consider that tampering with their equipment and it is illegal.

<*(((>< · 03-25-2011, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerseystyle26

Pulling wires out and reconnecting takes a whole 20mins not that bad. Also pulling a meter is a job anyone can do that takes a whole 10secs. Go with a fully new higher amperage service upgrade. Itll cost you some but youll be thankful for it in the future. More space more power

Pulling the meter yourself, ummmmm don't do that!

Jupe Blue · 03-25-2011, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by debiasio

$650 to upgrade to a 100A 30 circuit panel, from a 20 circuit panel

$1500 to upgrade to a 200A service

Whether it's a good price depends on where you are located. In Portland a simple panel swap will run you $1100-$1500 depending on the size. Includes grounding and bonding to code and permits.

A complete service upgrade will run twice that.

So, $650 seems like a screaming deal to me.

Speedy Petey · 03-25-2011, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerseystyle26

Adding a sub panel you need to add a new service cable between the two panels,new panel connector,romex connectors,and also 2 new two pole breakers for your service cable. An upgrade to a larger same amperage panel all you need is a new panel maybe,new breakers depending on the type of panel you buy. So cmon you do the math silly.

I KNOW the math silly, and you are off your nut.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerseystyle26

Haha yea theres ways to break the,little tab on the breaker to get a twin in the panel.

Nice.

Sorry, we do not give advice on how to do things illegally here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerseystyle26

Pulling wires out and reconnecting takes a whole 20mins not that bad.

A full main panel?? What planet are you from?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerseystyle26

Also pulling a meter is a job anyone can do that takes a whole 10secs.

Sure. Anyone with the training and experience to know what to look for when doing this. Also, anyone who can legally do it, which is NOT just anyone.

So are you a handyman, or a carpenter who does electrical work?

jerseystyle26 · 03-26-2011, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speedy Petey

I KNOW the math silly, and you are off your nut.

Nice.

Sorry, we do not give advice on how to do things illegally here.

A full main panel?? What planet are you from?

Sure. Anyone with the training and experience to know what to look for when doing this. Also, anyone who can legally do it, which is NOT just anyone.

So are you a handyman, or a carpenter who does electrical work?

I didnt say do it, just pointing out that yes theres ways.to retrofit a twin into a panel where they dont go. And im an electrician.

Speedy Petey · 03-26-2011, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerseystyle26

I didnt say do it, just pointing out that yes theres ways.

OH PLEASE.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerseystyle26

And im an electrician.

pyper · 03-26-2011, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerseystyle26

Pulling wires out and reconnecting takes a whole 20mins not that bad.

Wow. You must be fast. It took us at least an hour to remove the old wires from the old box and sort them out. Took twice as long to get them into the new box. Some weren't long enough, so we needed junction boxes.

Next step (left for me) is to figure out what each circuit is for. Most of them had no label in the original box.

debiasio · 04-04-2011, 09:55 AM

My electrician and I recently discussed keeping the 100A service, but upgrading to the 200A panel, so it's one less thing to change out when/if we move to a bigger service. The price was going to be around $700. But this was going to be without pulling a permit.

Today he calls and explains that he's not comfortable doing the 200A panel upgrade w/o a permit, especially since I live on a main (highly visible) road. So he quotes me $1250 to upgrade my entire service to 200A. This sounds like a good price to me, and am wondering if I should just go all in for the extra $550. Thoughts?

michaelcherr · 04-04-2011, 10:04 AM

For a permitted job, that sounds like a good price to me.
If it were me I'd hop on it.
If you will be going 200 amp in the future: just do it now, you will save big bucks by not doing it in two steps.
The $550 will be more than re-couped when you sell.
I think for most homes people don't need 200amps, but the average buyer/realtor thinks they do.