How to open the old, rusty panel to add breaker

[Ray Zhu]

Need some help.

I am thinking of adding breakers to the the old, rusty panel, and but not sure how to open it without causing damage. Some pictures of the box below

There is a knob near the center bottom, both does not move easily.

Thanks in advance!

 

[WorthFlorida]

No go here fore that panel is beyond its useful life. I would hate to see what the interior must look like and the connections on the buss for the breakers are probably equally bad. Any recommendation on this forum is to replace the entire panel. By chance are you near salt water?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

While common in some places, I'm not a proponent of having your breaker box outside. FWIW, you're supposed to have covers on those open spots. They're just plastic pieces that pop in, but they can help keep insects, moisture, dust, etc. out of the box while keeping curious fingers from getting shocked.

 

[WorthFlorida]

This probably is a mobile home site.

 

[hj]

In AZ almost ALL panels are outdoors.

 

[Jadnashua]

In AZ almost ALL panels are outdoors.

I realize lots of them are outside, but I'm not a fan of having to go outside to reset a breaker. At least in AZ, it may not rain or snow regularly most places. Even there, though, they can rust, not counting get dust and sand inside which doesn't help the electrical connections or the cover and case.

From the looks of it, there's enough rust on the hinge that it's going to take some force to open the thing up. A shot of penetrating oil might help make it easier after it sits for awhile.

 

[Norcal01]

While this is a old thread, that panel is a old Challenger, and they have been gone since 1994-95, just like their predecessors, Zinsco, and Sylvania, their 3R panels rusted badly because they were cheap garbage. The OP can grab the knob on the dead front & put a screwdriver between the edge of the front & inside of the box, then pry it out while pulling on the knob, being very careful not to stick the screwdriver too far inside since one cannot see behind it.