Came across my first FPE panel. It appears someone tried to mitigate the FPE issue by converting it to a main only, installing a new panel right next to the FPE, and splicing the old circuits to the new. In the process, they discarded the dead front as there’s no room for it in the FPE panel with all the splices. I’m calling the panel out - for many reasons, though the main is that the main disconnect is still FPE stab-lok. Not that it’s any of my biz, but it’s a mystery to me why they didn’t just replace the FPE with the new panel instead of stubbing it like they did. My question: There are two pieces of equipment that I’ve never seen before inside the panel. Can anyone identify these for me for future reference?
From what I can see, you still have an active FPE panel. I can’t believe there was any money saved by doing it this way!
Not good. It’s a hack. It obviously works… but that’s not how it should be.
Those are insulated multi wire splicers.
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Yep, the main is still active.
Thanks Simon.
Man they sure went to a lot of trouble. It would have been easier to install a new panel.
I’ll hazard a guess to why someone did that crazy “work”. They didn’t want to, or know how to, pull the meter to kill power to that panel. So they turned off the existing disconnect and only worked downstream of that. Is the house a flip or handyman special?
You can use it as a junction box but you can’t modify it.
I’m sure that you called this out!