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• Advice about replacing FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers

This article offers advice about replacing FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers - Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok breakers and discusses how to repair FPE StabLok Panels and circuit breakers for actual improvements in electrical safety. The FPE Stab-Lok website explains the fire and shock hazards associated with Federal Pacific Electric Stab-lok circuit breakers and service panels, provides a history of the issue, recounts research on FPE failures, and recommends replacement of the panels. For FPE Stab-Lok electric panel replacement, we offer list of licensed electricians who can perform an electrical panel replacement or repair. FPE-experienced electricians can be listed at no fee. The web author has no business, financial, or other connection with this product nor with its replacement.

Electronic copies and reproduction of this information at other websites are prohibited. Readers are welcome to make and distribute printed copies of our articles about FPE Stab-Lok equipment provided this web page is cited and provided that the content is not edited or changed. (Contact us to suggest edits, changes, corrections, updates). © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use the links at page left to navigate this document or to go to Other Website Topics. Green links at left show where you are in our document & website.

What is the Proper Repair for FPE Stab-Lok Panels and Circuit Breakers?

Homeowners and renovators who encounter these panels should replace the entire panel and circuit breaker set with new equipment. Panel replacement, can involve significant expense, typically $800 to $1200 depending on service size and other factors.

Do not simply replace individual FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers: first of all, there is no data suggesting that new stock, replacement FPE breakers, or "new old stock" FPE breakers found in storage somewhere perform any better than the ones already in the FPE Stab-lok panel. Second, there are other functional and safety concerns in the panel besides the breakers themselves. We've seen panel bus damage, panel bus meltdowns, and failure of breakers to remain secured in or onto the connecting bus itself.

See REPLACEMENT PANELS for some panel replacement alternatives that might reduce the repair cost.

Replacement Federal Pacific Electric FPE Stab-Lok Circuit Breakers

For several reasons I do not recommend attempting to "repair" an individual failed Stab-lok breaker by buying a replacement either from used stock, new stock, or "compatible" stock:

• The replacement equipment has not been independently tested and demonstrated to perform any better than the original materials
• Engineers involved in this research have explained that a good part of the source of product failure for FPE Stab-Loks was in the original design and its specifications. It appears that while there were some "on the fly" (and unapproved) changes from time to time on the manufacturing line for this product, there was never a redesign suitable to attempt to "design out" the product failure. One expert opined to me privately that he believed that the original product's price point in the electrical equipment market was at the low end, and that had Federal Pacific attempted a redesign they'd not have had a product they could sell at their price point.
• There are other hazards in the equipment besides the breakers, including bus and bus insulation meltdowns and shorts.

A few other warnings about things people try to reduce the hazards of FPE Stab-Lok Breakers:

• "Exercising" the circuit breakers by turning them on and off has not been shown to "un-stick" or in any other manner improve the probability of working properly, and conversely, such activity may in fact increase the chances of a future failure
• "Testing" circuit breakers by applying a load may give an instantaneous picture of the performance of individual breakers but it does not predict their performance when a real safety problem occurs (overcurrent) later. More important, except if performed by a very expert person, in-place testing is very dangerous, risking fires in the building being tested.

In sum, if you could replace all the FPE Stab-Lok equipment with (somehow magically obtained) all "new" FPE Stab-Lok equipment (found in a used-or new-old-stock warehouse for example) the risk level for the building would not be sufficiently different from before the replacement and would remain high: there remains a latent risk of fire from failure of these breakers to trip in response to overcurrent.

Replacement Federal Pacific Electric FPE Stab-Lok Panels is Recommended

For some cost and method alternatives when replacing an Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok Panel or "load center" see REPLACEMENT PANELS which describes conventional Option#1 - "remove and replace" the electrical panel and Option#2 - FPE Load Center Replacement using Cutler Hammer (CH) Adjustable Retrofit Kit

See Home Inspection Reporting Language and discussion for FPE panels but please return here and finish this article too!

Technical Reviewers

Particular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to the material. Content suggestions, technical corrections and content critique are invited for any of the content at our website.

• Note: as we didn't add this reviewers list until 2007, this list of technical reviewers is incomplete; we have received comments and suggestions regarding this topic, edits and remarks included, from engineers and management from the US CPSC, electricians (many listed at our page on field reports of FPE failures), home inspectors, licensed electricians, and electrical engineers, and even a few attorneys and real estate agents, since 1986. Technical review, critique, content suggestions, questions, or clarifications are invited and where a contributor wishes, credit and links will be provided to that source. Contact us to provide feedback.
• Dr. Jess Aronstein, electrical engineer, Poughkeepsie, NY, forensic engineering services, independent laboratory testing for various agencies
• Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop Associates, Toronto, Ontario. Mr. Carson is a home inspection professional, educator, researcher, writer, and a principal of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection and education firm. Mr. Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors
• Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator.
• Carl Grasso, Esq., Herzfeld & Rubin, New York, NY. Mr. Grasso is an attorney who managed a plaintiff's class action litigation against Federal Pacific Electric in New Jersey.
• William King, US CPSC Director of Electrical Engineering (Ret).
• Licensed Electricians: FPE Fire and Failure Reports includes electricians who have provided cases and photographs of field failures of FPE equipment at this website.
• Homeowners, Home Inspectors, Electricians: Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Panel Fires and other Failures includes anecdotal field reports provided by a range of contributors including electricians (and some home owners or home inspectors) who have provided cases and photographs of field failures of FPE equipment at this website.
• Daniel Friedman - principal reporter.
• Technical reviewers are invited to comment or ask questions - contact us

More Information about FPE Federal Pacific Stab Lok Panels and Circuit Breakers - The Reference List of Public Documents

• The Federal Pacific Stab-Lok Electric Panel Hazard Website Safety Information for Consumers. 1983
• Home Inspection Reporting Language and discussion for FPE panels
• How to Identify FPE Federal Pacific Stab-Lok Electric Panels - is yours one of these? ALSO: A History of the FPE Stab-Lok Issue.
• FPE FIRES: Failures continue: FPE breaker fails, results in fires: field reports
• Federal Pacific Electric Fires Waiting to Happen, Debate Waiting to Be Ended, detailed article
• Replacement Circuit Breakers for FPE Stab-Lok Electric Panels?> are not recommended
• Replacement Panels for FPE Stab-Lok load centers - options include conventional complete panel replacement and a less costly replacement of the panel interior load center/bus assembly
• 2007 Where is Federal Pacific Electric today? Leaving out some steps and omitting (for now) Exxon's role:
• There is currently no "FPE Corporation" to whom consumers can easily presently direct a complaint unless they participated in the New Jersey Class Action - see below
• An FPE attorney exists, apparently charged with protecting some un liquidated assets and apparently charged with sheltering intermediate owners and corporations (Reliance, Exxon, Challenger, Others) from litigation. I believe his efforts were behind the silly article that appeared in the IAEI magazine on this issue.
• Fifty FPE Field Failures Reported to US CPSC - 2006 letter from Dr. Jess Aronstein, consulting engineer
• FPE Class Action Lawsuit Results - 2002: New Jersey Judge's Summary Judgment for the Plaintiffs against FPE 8-15-2002 & 29 October 2002 - "FPE violated the Consumer Fraud Act because FPE knowingly and purposefully distributed circuit breakers which were not tested to meet UL Standards as indicated on their label and there is an ascertainable loss for which treble damages are recoverable;" as reported by the Superior Court of New Jersey. [Note: only very limited recovery rights were granted to homeowners and only in New Jersey. The case may still be under appeal as of January 2007].
• New Jersey Federal Pacific Electric Class Action Lawsuit Summary [provides little meaningful relief but supports claims about & against FPE.]
• A Canadian Federal Pacific recall in 1997 is documented here. There has been no "recall" in the U.S. though there is no doubt that the product is hazardous and should be replaced.
  Schneider Electric is the Canadian company which still makes a version of this equipment in Canada under the name Federal Pioneer (but see the Federal Pioneer Recall Notice for Canada.
• Electro-Mechanical Corporation, purchased the assets of a dry-type transformer facility from Challenger and in conjunction with that purchase, acquired the right to use the name Federal Pacific in connection with their products, excluding Stab-Lok circuit breaker products.
• HC Zang Agency in Buffalo, NY says that "Federal Pacific Company and Federal Pacific Transformer Company of Bristol, Virginia are in no way related to the old Federal Pacific Electric (FPE)" and offers to answer questions about the old equipment.
• Consumers should report FPE failures and inspection/reporting issues to the U.S. CPSC, and
• We request that you also report FPE Stab-Lok equipment failures, FPE home inspection or FPE hazard reporting issues to us
• 2007 FPE Stab-Lok TECHNICAL REPORT - an updated test report of independent testing (a large 1.2MB PDF file) using a larger pool of FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers than the older CPSC and Wright Malta tests found significantly higher failure rates of FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers, including a look at critical safety failures (breaker failed to trip at 200% of rated current or jammed) which found up to 80% failure rate for FPE Stab-Lok GFCI circuit breakers (n=4), 12% failure rate for double pole FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers (n=120), and a 1% failure rate for FPE Stab-Lok single pole circuit breakers (n=345).
• 2004 FPE Stab-Lok TECHNICAL REPORT - St. Louis ASHI Seminar including: Hazard Summary & Independent Tests confirms Stab-Lok failures
• 2004 FPE Update: Exxon Buys a Scandal Along With A Company Business Week Article 7/21/80 now available on line
• 2003 Federal Pacific Electric Breakers - an encyclopedic, non-prioritized inventory of FPE StabLok deficiencies by Douglas Hansen. [www.codecheck.com - Code Check] offers building code inspection guides for field use, and links on codes and failures.
• FPE Class Action Lawsuit Results: New Jersey Judge's Summary Judgment for the Plaintiffs against FPE 8-15-2002 & 29 October 2002 - "FPE violated the Consumer Fraud Act because FPE knowingly and purposefully distributed circuit breakers which were not tested to meet UL Standards as indicated on their label and there is an ascertainable loss for which treble damages are recoverable;" as reported by the Superior Court of New Jersey.
• 1999 The International Association of Electrical Inspectors (IAEI) published (6/99) an inaccurate article asserting that there is no hazard with FPE Stab-Lok equipment - OUR REPLY disagreed and cited authoritative data found here along with follow up notes.
• 1997 Schneider Canada Federal Pioneer circuit breaker recall
• Schneider Canada Federal Pioneer circuit breaker recall British Columbia Fire Commissioner's Notice and Warning
• Federal Pioneer breaker recall notice from the Canadian Electrical Safety Authority
• 2000 FPE breakers fail in lab test of field-supplied panel 10/00
• Challenger acquired FPE from Reliance Electric ca 1986.
• 1983 CPSC Investigation of FPE Circuit Breakers Safety Information for Consumers
• 1982 CPSC Calibration and Condition Tests of Molded Case Circuit Breakers, Final Report December 30, 1982, summary pages, indicating failure rates found for FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers
• 1982 Reliance Electric Co. SEC Quarterly Report: Note C. reports litigation between Reliance and UV Liquidating Trust and contends that "... improper and deceptive practices were employed for many years to secure UL listings for Federal Pacific's circuit protective products..."
• 1980 Reliance Electric Co. Press Release: improper practices improper practices used to obtain UL Listing for most of FPE's circuit breakers and notes testing which indicates "possible defects." 1980, Reliance Electric Co.
• 1980 FPE - Exxon Buys A Scandal Along With A Company improper practices used to obtain UL Listing for most of FPE's circuit breakers and notes testing which indicates "possible defects." 1980, Reliance Electric Co.
• FAQ: Website Credibility

• * Safety Hazards and Safe Inspection Procedures for Electrical and Home Inspectors at Residential Electric Panels
• Aluminum Wiring Information Website Aluminum Electrical Wiring Hazards and Repairs: in-depth authoritative info, photos, documents including selection of proper vs. ineffective repair methods. E.g.: Ideal 65 "Twister" purple connector fails in field and lab testing with aluminum wire.
• Ampacity of an Electrical Service: How to determine the electrical service size or ampacity entering a building
• Circuit Breaker, a bad one fails to trip failure at aluminum bus-to-circuit breaker connection - field report and photographs
• Electrical System & Wiring Hazard Inspection, Detection, Cause, Remedy, Prevention - Main Electrical Page
• Electrical Panels, How to Inspect in Buildings, safety for electrical inspectors, electrical panel, fusing, wiring defects, defective products. Inspection Class Presentation
• Lightning Strike Risk Assessment, Protection Systems & Services
• Multi-wire branch circuit inspection and defects


• Directory of Home Inspectors accessible via internet


• Carson Dunlop's Home Inspector's Home Study Course (DJF is a contributor and participant in this education project).

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