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Re: Pushmatic Panels
Typically, these panels end up in the FYI section of my report, IMO it's my responsibility to point out my clients these panels cannot be updated to modern safety standards, and that to do so is more expensive than in the case of a newer panel which can accept AFCI breakers.
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In my market, when I encounter these panels they are often upgrades of even older service equipment, and are often connected to at least some older rubber-insulated cloth-covered branch circuit conductors, and it's not uncommon for these in turn to be connecting to some knob and tube, or for there to be abandoned K&T and no easy way to tell if there may be some additional energized K&T buried somewhere in the walls and ceilings. (I have seen a few feet of energized or abandoned K&T turn into extensive wiring projects - around here no one who will now insurer K&T).
If either of these conductor types are present, you know that there's a good chance that there is deteriorated branch circuit wiring wiring downstream of the panel, that this wiring is going to continue to deteriorate, and that AFCI breakers are going to provide meaningful additional protection. For me that's still an FYI, but it's going to include additional explanation of my concerns.
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IMO, this is one of the general differences between working as a tradesperson and performing home inspections: in the first case you tend to be concerned about whether a given installation is compliant with the codes in force at the time it was performed, if it's functioning properly at the moment, and if there defects in the portion you observe while performing the service, as a home inspector your clients are not only concerned about these issues, but about potential future costs of upgrades and long-term reliability and safety.
This is similar to the difference between taking a used car to the mechanic to deal with a specific problem and taking the same car in to have it evaluated before you buy it, in the first case your question is "What do I need to do to fix this radiator leak?" in the second it's "How safe is this car to drive" and/or "will it run another 10,000 miles without major repairs?".
This produces a very different set of assumptions about your responsibilities to your clients and the sort of recommendations and supplemental observations you need to be making.
If you are an electrician called in to replace a malfunctioning circuit breaker you unlikely to hear from your customer a few years later that they are upset because you failed to explain to them that the service panel cannot support their new all electric kitchen, or that the insurance company will not insure their house because 4 feet of K&T wiring is visible in attic, or because an electrician called into change a light fixture points out that the insulation on branch circuit wiring in the outlet box is falling to pieces.
As home inspector you can be absolutely certain that you're going to get these sorts of calls unless you ask your clients what their remodeling plans are when you encounter a hundred amp service, or alert them in no uncertain terms to the possibility that "functional" knob and tube wiring is unacceptable to the insurance company, or fail to point out the maintenance and safety implications of older branch circuit wiring you observed in the service panel - including the fact that AFCI protection becomes increasingly important as wiring ages.
Last edited by Michael Thomas : 07-10-2009 at 08:33 AM.
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