Circuit Breakers or Fuse panel?

[58limited]

I haven't had time to read all of the responses, so I'm responding to the original post. I had similar problems in college. I rented an old run-down farmhouse that had a whopping four fuses (not counting the 230V breakers for the stove and water heater), but I was able to work around that and rarely blew one. There was a small fuse box inside that had two push breakers, when one blew you just pushed it to reset. The other two were modern breakers located in a box outside.

 

My current house, built in 1936, has the old screw-in fuse panel as well as an extensive breaker box in the garage, obviously an upgrade - a 70 amp breaker powers the original box and the rest of the breakers power anything that was added at a later date. I have dropped several outlets and phone lines down the walls myself, adding a few more breakers. The main breaker outside is 200 amp. The original wiring should be replaced, it is cloth and falls apart if messed with too much, but it is in conduit so as long as I don't have to disturb it I plan to leave it alone for now. When I decide to change the light fixture in the guest room, I'll have to replace the wires in that room - I looked in the ceiling box and it will be a mess to disturb. The ceiling boxes are the junction boxes for each room, if I have to rewire one I'll have to rewire the entire room. I've already had to rewire the breakfast area. I'll rewire the house some day, just not in the near future.

 

[circlew]

Grounded systems

According to the limited research I was able to do, the 1947 NEC (National Electric Code) was the first to require any grounded receptacles. At this time, the requirement was applicable only to laundry rooms. The receptacle used was the now obsolete NEMA 10 series in the 15 amp configuration. In 1951, the code recognized the new NEMA 5-15R grounded receptacle, which is the current standard for 15A 125V rated receptacles.

The 1956 NEC required grounded receptacles also in garages, basements, and outdoor locations. I'm still trying to find out when they became required in kitchens, but believe it was by 1959.

The 1962 code was the first to require all branch circuits to include a grounding conductor.

The educational wing of the church I belong to was built in 1959, and all receptacles have always been the grounding type. It's a masonry building, so all wiring is in metal conduit, which serves as the grounding method.

The information above is from various online sources, and therefore I cannot guarantee complete accuracy. On my next trip to the downtown library, I'll see if they have copies of the old code books, so I can verify this info.