Logo Electrical Services would like the consumer to be aware of the danger some breakers and panels pose to you and your family’s safety.

Being in the electrical industry for over 35 years, I can tell you first hand the FPE (Federal Pacific) Stab-Lok breaker is a fire hazard.

My first experience in finding out just how dangerous the FPE Stab-Lok breaker is; was while working in the field during the early ‘70s.  During this time there was no real information to warn against the potential dangers.   I came across a FPE breaker that would not trip.  It just completely failed to trip, this was alarming.  At the time, I thought it might have been an isolated incident.  Soon I began working on more and more of the FPE Stab-Lok breakers; not only did the same problem occur we encountered other dangerous effects as well.

A circuit breaker is designed to trip at its proper amperage rating.  I found most of the FPE Stab-Lok breakers would not trip until they reached from a 30% – 60% higher rating over their normal breaker’s amperage rating.

When a breaker fails to trip, it sends an extreme amount of power surging into a home’s panel and circuits.  When this happens, it cannot be stopped, the wires start to melt, and the panel can catch fire; causing great harm to you and your family.

I have found some of the same problems with Zinsco Panels and Breakers.  These breakers also failed to trip at their normal amperage ratings.  In some incidents the breakers have completely burnt.  On several occasions, I have seen where the breaker and buss bar have heated so intensely they actually became fused and the breaker could not be removed from the buss bar in the panel box. 

I highly recommend changing the Federal Pacific Stab-Lok or Zinsco Panels, and please use a licensed electrician to complete this project.

As an added note to the consumers who have Federal Pacific Stab-Lok or Zinsco Panels and have never incurred a problem – remember it only takes one short circuit, one time and you could become a statistic.