# changing fuses to circuit breakers



## 747

How much would a electric contractor charge to replace the fuse box in my house with circuit breakers


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## stars13bars2

Why would you be changing???


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## 747

*because*

I cant tell you how many times i been in kitchen cooking diner had microwave going pushed down toaster and blew a fuse. Which isn't a problem if I have fuse. But last time had to drive 12 miles to wal mart to get it. Because live in small town no one carrys fuses any more someone told me it would only be 500 dollars I just wanted to see if he was correct. There are 8 fuses in fuse box


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## jbfan

Prices vary greatly by market. $500 might not even begin in my market, because if you needed to replace a fuse box to breaker panel, then yoou might also need to replace the service coming into your house. Too many unanswered question to give a good price.


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## DecksEtc

747,

Get yourself 3-5 quotes and judge accordingly. It's always a good idea to get references for the contractors too. Also, a lot depends on what they're doing for the $500.


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## Speedy Petey

If you have fuses, any knowledgeable electrican will automatically suggest a complete service change. If the service equipment is old enough to still have a fuse panel it is most certainly time to replace it all. 

Service change cost depends completely on location.
General ideas:
100 amp service - $750-$1500
200 amp service - $1200-$2500

California and the Southeast seem to be in the higher bracket. I have heard of 200 amp service changes in Cali going for over $3k. This to me is robbery, I don't care where you live.


In my area of NY 100 amps is around $800-$1000, with 200 amps in the $1200-$1400 range.

These numbers are typical replacements with no unforseen circumstances and/or extra circuit wiring.


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## marxlaws

ryaniniowa said:


> They actually make a screw in fuse that is a circuit breaker. It has a little reset built right into it. Granted it's not the cure for an overloaded circuit, but they are handy if you only overload it occasionally. You can get them at true value's or other stores in that line.


good call for the edison fuse problem. i have never seen them but they sound cool.


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## DonaldE.Kliros

747 said:


> How much would a electric contractor charge to replace the fuse box in my house with circuit breakers


In your area of Illinois I would suggest $1500.00 to $2000.00 for a 200-amp panel, which is what you need.

If you only have 8 fuses, that would tell me you only have 60- to 100-Amp service. That is a bit on the low side for modern electrical equipment.

It also tells me that you have the toaster & microwave on the same circiuit. This will blow the fuse almost everytime. May take a few minutes if you have slow blow fuses.

My microwave & toaster draws 21-Amps. If yours are similar that will blow a 15-Amp fuse. 

Your wiring is probably very old. I would not recommend you put any larger fuse in as that will not be good for the wire. You probably have AWG 14 wire in your circuit & that is only good for 15-Amps.

Don


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## 747

Thats exactly correct don its a 15 amp fuse and a 100 amp box. I moved the toaster to the utility room which is right next to kitchen it never blows there. Thanks everybody for your input....


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## Teetorbilt

It's always the toaster! Why is that? Amps? At what level? Maybe it all depends on the # of LED clocks on the circuit.


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## jnh4072

I have a question. You said the average for a 200 amp service is up to $2500.00. Does this include new Service entrance cable, panel, breakers? Or does that include using existing panel, exisiting breakers ? If not how much would you estimate for a home say with 30 Circuits, new 200 amp service cable, new panel,all brand new circuit breakers and adding 3 new circuits, that would include fishing wire in a crawl space...etc, tracing lines and labeling, also new backer board... and inspection fees? Thanks for the input.





Speedy Petey said:


> If you have fuses, any knowledgeable electrican will automatically suggest a complete service change. If the service equipment is old enough to still have a fuse panel it is most certainly time to replace it all.
> 
> Service change cost depends completely on location.
> General ideas:
> 100 amp service - $750-$1500
> 200 amp service - $1200-$2500
> 
> California and the Southeast seem to be in the higher bracket. I have heard of 200 amp service changes in Cali going for over $3k. This to me is robbery, I don't care where you live.
> 
> 
> In my area of NY 100 amps is around $800-$1000, with 200 amps in the $1200-$1400 range.
> 
> These numbers are typical replacements with no unforseen circumstances and/or extra circuit wiring.


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## mdshunk

JHN, I'm curious why a person who lists electrical as his contracting trade would need to ask. This is a pretty bread and butter install. Yes, everything you asked about is included in a service upgrade, minus the extra circuits. Unless you're in one of the notorious labor markets like Chicago or Cali, you can get all that work done for 1800-2200 bucks.


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