Jury duty, interstate trash eats a tire, antiquated breakers

[Nads]

Well after four times of going to jury duty I finally got called up. It was for an armed robbery whilst using a mask.
After two hours of grilling, the jury pool got sent home because of a technicality. This waste of a day started at 8.00 a.m and ended at 4.00 p.m.
I did get to glean some insight into human behavior. And let me say that if I were at the mercy of some of my fellow yahoos, I'd be in deep shit.

Meanwhile during lunch break I walked home (I live four blocks from the vulture palce that is the Orange County Courthouse.) I had no power at my house from 9.30 p.m the night before. I got my '60 Chevy wagon to go hunt for this 1936 issue breaker.

On 1nterstate 4
there was a guy waving at cars from the side of the road, it was going into a blind curve and BAAAAAMMMM I hit the fucking giant metal thing he'd spilled from his pickemup. The car felt fine so I went on. After I found out that this 1936 issue breaker was sold carried by only one company in town I left. That's when I heard the bap-bap sound that spells split tire carcass. I babied the car home and got the '34.

I went to the other electrical place by my house, the Federal Pacific Stab Lok twin 100amp breaker was $225.
Ouch!, Double ouch! And the summbitch is made in Mexico.

I managed to replace the breaker, get power in my house and return to my civic duty in 1 1/2 hours.

Needless to say I had a very fucked up and expensive day.

The thing I'm most pissed about is that I have to buy a new tire because of some assholes carelessness with packing his overloaded truck.

Idiots like this ought to have their driver's license revoked.

[dixiedog]

when it rains it pours - Federal Pacific panels are JUNK!!! I swapperd the one in my house 2 yrs ago - try pricing a GFI breaker $115 for 15amp. Note to anyone looking at buying a house - avoid these panels, they are expensive to fix a lousy breaker, the whole design is crap, the prongs that stab into the panels bus bar wear out, get loose and overheat/short the breaker.

If you dont want to replace the panel, and you dont mind taking using used electrical breakers, look in the local trader rag and buy an old panel and breakers that someone has taken out of a house and use them as spares, usually goes for about $40-75 depending on amp rating. Check the breaker as above, clean the tips and stab in.

[Nads]

Thanks for the advice dixiedog, but I needed power like right now, so I had no choice. To be honest with you this is the first breaker I've replaced in my house in 15 years of living there. That's not too bad.
On top of all this all my wiring in the house is cloth wrapped. It appears to be in good shape, what I can see anyway, but I'm thinking it's time must be up soon.

Yeah this whole lark sucks, old house, old cars, old beer.
Dammitt why's everything old in my life?

[BELLM]

Damn Nads to bad you live so far from me, got one I would have given you for free! I hauled a 200 amp Federal pacific box around for years, saving parts for my dream house. Came time to build went after more breakers- found out I could buy a whole new 40 aspace box with main 200 A breaker & 20 or so breakers for what FP costs for one breaker!