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Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Panel Fires and other Failures: Anecdotal Field Reports of Failures involving FPE Stab-Lok Equipment FPEaPedia © Enter your search terms Submit search form   Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com

• 134 Field reports of Federal Pacific Electric FPE Stab-lok electrical equipment failures, 2003-2005

This document provides anecdotal field reports of Federal Pacific FPE Stab-Lok equipment fires, overheating, trip-failures, burnups and other dangerous failures as they have been sent to me - Daniel Friedman. Readers are cautioned that these are anecdotal field comments and while some of the reports are from electricians or home inspectors, the expertise of people reporting and their ability to know for sure just what went wrong in their electrical panels varies. Readers of this article should also see Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Panel Fires and Failure Photos (Separate Document) Photos involving FPE Stab-Lok Equipment, and The Federal Pacific Electric FPE Panel/Breaker Hazard Summary - the main FPE Hazard Website. © 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.

FPE FAILURE REPORTS - Federal No-Trips: Anecdotal FPE Failure Email Reports from Electricians, Home Inspectors, Building Owners, Others

Below are excerpts from email received by the author, indicating FPE equipment failures in various locations. Accuracy Warning: the reports below include observations from people with a wide range of expertise, from none to expert. No on-site confirmation of these reports was made except that some correspondents contributed FPE Stab-Lok equipment for further testing by Dr. Aronstein.

People who have FPE field failure cases to report and other professionals and inspectors who can contribute text descriptions, photographs or actual failed equipment are invited to contact the author.

1. Denver CO FPE failure report 30 May 2005 - FPE Breakers - Hazardous?

   On March 22, 2004 there was a service call that I had to perform in the South Denver area. One of the upstairs bedroom circuits was out. While troubleshooting, I needed to find the correct breaker and kill it, so of course I did this the way many electricians do so, by trying to short that circuit out. The first time I tried doing this by directly crossing the neutral and hot conductors of a 14 gauge copper romex cable. Sparks flew everywhere for about a full second, but then I found the circuit still alive! So I stripped off some more insulation from the two conductors and tried it again. This time I could see the copper drip and explode, as I held the two together for a longer period and still again the circuit did not trip! Again I tried doing this two more times and though I had welded away over 1 1/2" of copper from both conductors, the circuit was still on! And this is a bedroom circuit for a child!

   I went down to the electrical out in the back yard and found this place to have a FPE panel and then I knew why the circuit was not tripping, as this is not my first experience with FPE panels and the breakers not tripping.

   My previous experience was with a 2 Pole 30 Amp circuit breaker not tripping and causing a fire. This time, it was a 1 Pole, 15 Amp single breaker that was failing to do its job. Usually a circumstance like this is still a tough sell as far as convincing the homeowner NOW is the time service change. There are too many people who still want to wait until an actual "problem" occurs, but what are they waiting for, the house to burn down?

   The entire housing community of this service call all have FPE panels, as there are many neighborhoods with thousands of homes all having FPE panels originally installed when they were built here in the Denver Metro area. Back in the 1970's they were one of the, if not the, most popular panel used by electrical contractors in this area of the country. Since this was a rental unit, the management company was able to convince the homeowner that this panel needed to be removed ASAP. Once it was removed, I sent the complete guts and all of the breakers intact to Dr. Jess Aronstein in New York so that it could be thoroughly examined to find out why the breaker failed.

   Several summers earlier I had a service call in the Polo Grounds area of Denver. When I arrived at this residence I found that the dryer circuit was in a dangerous condition. Somehow a metal spoon had gotten into the dryer and then ended up getting across the heating element, causing a direct short. Rather than the breaker shorting out, the receptacle over heated to the point that it actually caught on fire and burn the receptacle and outlet box enough so that the fire actually stopped the short and then fortunately the fire burned itself out! The panel was a small FPE load center that was located near the middle of the house in the kitchen of all places! And this one small load center was the only breaker panel for the entire house! A very dangerous situation that was cured by a complete service change where the new electrical panel was moved to the exterior of the house.

   Robert Mitton - Denver, CO

   Mike Holt's Comment: The failure rates for these circuit breakers are significant, see the CPSC study. For Additional information about this problem, visit the excellent website http://www.inspect-ny.com/fpe/fpepanel.htm managed by Daniel Friedman http://www.inspect-ny.com.

2. Virginia Fpe failure report - I am a EE here in Virginia who has worked on a friend's house here who has FPE circuit breakers. I discovered several of the same problems and tested the same symptoms as noted on your website. Even the panel box does not fit with new or old breakers. We are set to replace the whole thing. Since this is in VA, it would be appreciated if you could mention that it has been found here on your website. Maybe we could begin to find how many in VA were affected. -- RR to DJF, 5 Sept 2005
3. St. Louis, MO. FPE failure, fire, + Aluminum Wiring - I bought a house in Crestwood Missouri (Suburb of St. Louis) back in 2001. The house was built in 1972. We had the house inspected and it was noted that it had aluminum wiring. I didn't like it but I thought.....no big deal. Then I started hearing stories but what really woke me up was a co worker of mine came home with his wife and kids from a week long vacation to their house which just burnt down. The fire dept was there cleaning up. The cause was aluminum wiring. Recently I had to replace my dishwasher. When I went to disconnect the old one I found that the aluminum house wiring connection to the old dishwasher was burnt and melted. The entire yellow cap was almost completely gone. So I decided to start replacing my aluminum wiring. I replaced the circuit for the dishwasher without any problems. About a week later I started checking into replacing the rest of the wiring. I didn't like how all the wires in my main panel were like a bunch of spaghetti. I decided to get on the internet and went to Google. I typed in "electrical panel wiring" and your site was the second one on the list. I couldn't believe it! Not only was the aluminum wiring not a good thing but now my Federal Pacific panel and breakers are not a good thing. Thanks to you site I will be getting some bids to have my Federal Pacific Panel replaced. It's a shame that the inspector didn't mention anything about the federal pacific panel. He did at least let us know about the aluminum wiring. Would we have bought the house had we known about the FP panel? Probably but we would have replaced it much sooner. -- Bob L. to DJF 16 Aug 2005
4. FPE Single Pole Breaker Questioned - I called FPE American and they told me that the design of the newer breakers have not changed. They also claimed they are approved and safe. Then when I really started asking questions they were a bit hesitant to say anymore. What I don't understand is the failure of any regulatory agencies to order recalls or issue an order prohibiting future sales or of any product liability law firm to file a class suit.. -- Michael Z. to DJF 30 July 2005
5. Fire Extinguisher for FPE Electrical Panels Offered - Our company manufactures and distributes around the world the FirePro fire extinguishing systems that include in their range special stand alone (autonomous and automatic) fire extinguishers for use, specifically, inside electric panels. Indeed, to date, we have a number of real life examples where a fire initiated inside a panel was extinguished with our systems and most importantly prevented its spread outside the panel . Therefore, I would suggest that this could be a fine solution, at very low cost, to the problems faced with the FPE panels. I would kindly refer you to our website at www.firepro.info for more detailed information about FirePro. -- Harry Economides, Director Sales and Marketing Div.,FirePro Systems Ltd [NOTE: the proper repair for FPE electric panels is to replace them, not to install a fire extinguisher in the panel -- DF.]
6. Florida FPE breaker failures - I am a residential and service electrician in Jacksonville, Fl. The experiences of my colleagues and myself confirms your claims about FPE breakers. It is our intention as a service oriented company to take advantage of this knowledge to encourage our customers to have their panels upgraded, namely to Square D type QO panels and breakers. Mr. Friedman in your expert opinion and extensive experience " are the claims you and I hold have any legal ramifications if applied in a commercial sense? have you looked at that aspect? I humbly await your reply. Eric K. to DJF - May 2005
7. Virginia Federal Pacific Panel Failure report - I felt compelled to thank you for the info here on the problems w/these circuit breakers. I had found out for myself these things do not work. I was fortunate there was no fire. Had I not been there when it happened, there probably would have. It does not trip. I was going to replace it, when I found they charge around $80.00 for the 2poll 40C. Since its my Moms house, and she is not going anywhere, I'm considering replacing the whole panel. For double or so that, I could have all new hardware, and peace of mind. I think we could use a class action suit here in VA as well as the one in NJ. Richard S. to DJF - March 2005
8. Missouri Failure report - St. Louis We have a Federal Pacific Circuit Breaker Box in our home and we are intermittently losing power. Do you have any information about these boxes or any info concerning a recall on these boxes? to DJF - March 2005
9. Sarasota FL The condo I'm in the process of buying near Sarasota has an FPE panel, which I'm trying to get the condo association to replace. Do you know an electrician in the Sarasota or Bradenton area who is familiar with this problem and knows what to look for? T. Chang to DJF - 3/05
10. New Jersey - Electrician opinion on FPE I never knew a thing about the problems with these circuit breakers, which were installed in my parents' NJ house. Apparently neither did any of a number of electricians over the years - until one today who went to look at the panel saw "Federal Pacific" on the box and said, "Get rid of it." I am NO expert in this stuff, and I'm confused about which of these circuit breakers are bad. All of them? The one in my parents' house was installed around 1965. It doesn't say anything like "Stab-Lok" on it, although the breakers themselves are exactly like the double E type breaker in Figure 6 of this article on the problems with FPE Thank you for the info on your site. I never would've known about this if it weren't for the electrician; and I never would've known about all the problems with this company and the NJ class action suit if it weren't for you. Debby C to DJF - Feb 2005
11. Challenger breaker burnup report - I recently had a challenger circuit breaker jam and the end result was that it burned up all the wires on that circuit. Luckily we were at home and I ran to the breaker box and tripped all the breakers when I smelt the smoke. The bad thing is that it burned all the wires on that circuit in the attic and the walls and smoked the house up real bad. I had a licensed electrician come out and check everything in the box and walls and he couldn't believe the breaker did not trip. Since then I had the electrician run all new wires and changed the receptacles, since the wiring was in the walls I had to settle for running conduit around the inside of the walls and it is not very pretty. My question is? How do I contact the manufacture directly to see what can be done about the failure of their product? I really don't feel comfortable at all now since reading your article. I searched the internet for challenger electric with no results. Ronald D to DJF - Feb 2005
12. Denver, CO Federal Pacific Electric Stab Lok Failure Report - I am replacing my FPE (Federal Pacific) panel at my residence at 8 am MT on December 29, 2004 (i.e., ASAP). I confirmed that it has Stab-Lok breakers. I found your web article RE: FPE breakers. Thank you very much for this info!
    
    A couple of days ago we smelled an "electrical" smell in our basement. It could have been our tread mill machine, which, by the way, has a 15 amp fuse rocker switch built into the tread mill machine itself. My wife said the treadmill no longer raises when you turn it on, perhaps indicating a problem with the motor that raises the tread mill platform. We've since unplugged the treadmill and haven't smelled the electrical smell since. We also have two outlets that don't function in our basement guest bedroom (outlets that on the same wall where the treadmill machine was located in the adjacent room). So, we tripped OFF-ON all the 15 amp and 20 amp FPE breakers at the panel - one at a time - hoping to find a tripped breaker. No such luck. There must be some other problem. Also, I expected to have to reset our electric digital clocks in our upstairs bedroom (that have no battery backup) after switching all the 15 and 20 amp circuits OFF and back ON. However, the clocks continued to function - without requiring resetting - as if no power failure had occurred. That was too weird.
    
    Thanks for your reply. The electrician replaced the FPE panel with a GE panel.
    
    Your experience that overheating occurs at the connections seems to be validated by my experience today: The old FPE panel showed melted plastic insulation around a wire attached to the ground lug, if I remember correctly. Also, after removing all the FPE breakers, two breakers showed a slight browning by the silver connector. Perhaps this FPE melting and browning was related to the situation where the clocks continued to function - without requiring resetting - as if no power failure had occurred, when I flipped all the 15 and 20 amp breakers OFF and back ON. I guess I can't say for sure.
    
    The vertical rise motor in the treadmill doesn't raise the treadmill like it used to, so that motor is probably malfunctioning.
    
    The previous owner(s) had wired a GFI backwards in one of the bathrooms, causing the outlets in the room next door to not function, yet the bathroom GFI still had power when the outlets in the room next door that were wired to the GFI did not have power.
    
    Thanks again for your reply and your website. Your website - and our replacement panel - provides peace of mind for our family. Your website is a real service to mankind. I'm serious! I thank you sincerely.
    
    What was funny is that a homeowners insurance auditor (a representative of our homeowners insurance company) showed up at our doorstep today - per chance - and I had the opportunity to explain to him about the hazard of FPE Stab-Lok breakers, thanks to your website. He had never heard of that hazard/risk. I asked if he could bring this up with the insurance company - since homeowners that replace their FPE panels should get lower premiums due to lowered risk.
    
    Do you happen to know of any insurance companies that offer lower premiums for houses that don't have FPE panels? Bob W to DJF - Jan 2005
13. Colorado - Electrician FPE opinion - I recently purchased a home and I'm in the process of adding a home spa. I contacted a licensed electrician to perform the electrical hook up. During our phone conversation he asked me what type of electrical panel I had. When I told him Federal Pacific he hesitated a moment and said "there have been a number of problems associated with this type of panel". To make a long story short, I had my home inspected in September of this year (2004) by an ASHI inspector. Should he have noticed this and brought it to my attention?] I work in the Aircraft maintenance business and when we have components with a high failure rate we change them before an accident happens. Gary G. to DJF - Dec 2004
14. Georgia,FPE Failure Report - Atlanta I have a home in Atlanta that has an 200 amp FPE panel and began experiencing problems several weeks ago with the circuit to my den. My home was built in the 1940s. At any rate my problem was I overtaxed a circuit and the power was cut to this part of the house. With the thought that I had 'tripped' the circuit, I go to the service to reset but guess what? it wasn't tripped! a flip to the off position and back on didn't restore power. in fact it took a good 30 minutes or so for the power to 'self-restore'. I figured I would not be able to find the circuit breakers for reasonable and assumed it was time to upgrade the service box but discovered the circuit breakers availability at home depot. I guess I'm back to plans to change the service box out and hopefully real soon!!!! At any rate, thanks for the information on the FPE line. E Anthony S. to DJF - Dec 2004
15. California Severe House Fire Report - I just found and read your articles about faulty circuit breaker boxes. They were very interesting to me as our house in Madera California burned down in Oct of 1980 due to a faulty Reliance/Exxon circuit breaker. (It didn't trip.) Our fire inspector was Sam Garza who found the problem. Our insurance company (Farmers) ended up winning a lawsuit against Reliance/Exxon, the builder, and General Electric because of the fire at our house. (It had to be completely rebuilt.) Thank you for your report and work. Sincerely, Wendy D. to DJF - Sept 2004
16. Massachusetts Condo Replaces FPE panels, FPE Failure Report - I presented information on the FPE problem to the condo association's annual meeting. The trustees voted to mandate replacement of all FPE breakers on the premises. Of the 25 units in the complex, a manual audit found that 21 of them had FPE Stab-Lok breakers at that time (not counting mine which had already been replaced). The association arranged for a group buy at a discount with a local electrical service company, and all the remaining FPE breakers will be gone by this May.
    
    In addition, the electrical service company that performed most of the replacements reported that last week they removed FPE breakers in a home in a neighboring town after the homeowners noticed a dimmer switch smoking. The FPE breaker had failed to trip, and the owners summoned the fire department. If the owners had not been home at the time, a fire likely would have resulted. This incident reinforced to the residents in my condominium complex that replacing the breakers, despite the expense of more than $900 per unit, was indeed the right decision to have made.
    
    On behalf of all the residents here, I would like to thank you both for your continued efforts to make people aware of the potential hazards of these circuit breakers. Without the information you provided, I could not have initiated the removal of all the breakers here. Steve H to DJF - 4/04
17. Mississippi Stab Lok Failure Report - fire - I ran across several Internet articles from Dan Friedman on FPE panels. I investigated a fire that occurred on 3/8/04 in a home that contained one of these panels. Unfortunately, the loss site is 70 miles away from where I live. I am attempting to get permission from the Insurance Company to retrieve the panel.
    
    I also have another case that involves two 100 ampere molded case Siemen circuit breakers. I do not believe the failure to operate was the legacy cause of this fire - there was another panel box further down stream (not recovered), and arcing was found on an extension cord connected to the second panel box. However, the insurance company would like them tested, and I do not have the equipment. Ray F., Ph.D. Electrical Engineer, Vicksburg to DJF - 4/04
18. FPE Trip failure report - I just replaced a Stab-Lok panel on 2/04/04. I've had some problems with breakers fail to trip. This happened a few days ago and the electric contractor informed me about the panel. Do you know if anyone put out a recall on this equipment? T Snyder to DJF - 02/04
19. FPE Breaker Bus Connection Failure Report - I was looking for a new breaker for the panel in my home, only to find that multiple web-sites suggest it is a latent hazard! It is an FPE Stab-Lok split bus panel, so I know it is older than the mid-eighties. Last week I had an incident where a single pole 15 amp breaker "slipped" off the bus. Without ever taking the cover off, I was switching breakers trying to find which one controlled a ceiling fixture. I found it and removed the fixture (for painting). That evening, I realized another circuit was dead. After going down numerous wrong paths, I went to the panel and removed the cover. Only then did I realize one of the breakers had popped slightly out of the bus. When I pushed it back into the bus, the circuit came back on. However, the breaker is not, and will not stay, fully inserted into the bus. G.L. to DJF - 02/04
20. FPE breaker failure suspected - Thank you for your informative article, Federal Pacific Electric Panels: Fires waiting to be ended. I am now concerned about the box that is in my home. I have been living in it for the last 5 years and have recently had a problem with a heater fan burning out and a possible problem with the circuit breaker. I was going to replace the GFI breaker and was looking on line when I found your article. The box that I have was installed sometime around 1985. I am not sure when the unit was manufactured but the ID number is CP-943093. I would appreciate any advice that you could give me about whether or not I should replace the whole unit or how to determine if it is safe or not. Patrick B. to DJF - 09/03
21. FPE 20A breaker no trip at 4800V, shock report two separate failing locations - I only have one of the double pole ones. I was up on a ladder in 1995 and got too close to the 4800 volt primary at the top of the pole with an old metal case grounded drill. It zapped me off the ladder. When I got out of the hospital and was able to get around several months later, I found that the branch circuit did not trip because of that. However, that is one of the reasons for the ground wire! Yes, it was a FPE 20 amp breaker. But since the ground wire ran all the way back to the service, it did it's job. I would have thought 4800 volts would have induced enough current in the 120 line to trip it. I was frozen to the drill for a few seconds before blacking out and falling.
    
    Today I came across your website. My mother has a home (built 1966) that had (was replaced) a Federal-Pacific stab-lok panel as well as aluminum wiring. We have had several failures in switches and outlets, unfortunately, the defective devices were discarded. Michael J. M. to DJF - 07/03
22. Tennessee FPE Failure report, overheating Memphis - I read some of the WEB articles concerning problems with Federal Pacific electrical breaker panels. I have recently replaced a 200 amp 120/240 volt panel in my home. The panel was replaced due to over heating. Even with three central A/C, electric stove (four eyes & two ovens) and drier running the electrician measured less than 200 amps on the panel. Total measured was around 156 amps. [department and name deleted] Memphis Light Gas & Water to DJF - 07/03
23. Washington - Electrician denies FPE issue Seattle - Your website has been very helpful. I'm currently in the process of negotiating for a house built in 1940. The home inspection identified the home's FPE electric panel as a latent safety hazard and recommended it be replaced. We requested that the seller replace the FPE panel prior to closing. We found out tonight, that seller claims they have an electrician who has written a letter stating that there is no safety concern with the FPE panel and that it does not need to be replaced. On your website you say "My advice to consumers who are faced with denials that this equipment is a latent safety hazard to ask for that opinion in writing. To date I have not had any reports of a professional who was willing to sign such a document.". So it would appear that there may be one professional who is willing to sign "such a document". Assuming that this panes out and that a licensed/bonded/insured electrician did write a letter stating that there are no safety concerns with the FPE panel, what would be your advice to me? In your opinion, do you think the electrician has accepted liability he is wrong? In your opinion, do you think the electrician is liable if he is wrong? Thomas W. to DJF - 06/03
24. California FPE Failure Report Los Angeles - I am an electrical Contractor in California, and I recently ran across the Federal Pacific Electrical Panel with older "1970's" Stab-Lok breakers. Here is the story. The homeowner complained that a 220V circuit in the Play Room (separate from the main house) was inoperative. When I investigated, I found the two wires laying in the service panel with no Circuit Breaker to attached them to. Someone had previously removed them. So, I tried to buy two 20 AMP Stab-Lok breakers at the local Home Depot suitable for the new Air Con, but they do not carry them. I then did a search on the internet and found your site http://www.inspect-ny.com/fpe/fpe.html, and http://www.inspect-ny.com/fpe/fpepanel.htm. which alerted me to a possible problem and I informed the homeowner to that affect.
    
    I asked the homeowner to call the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to have the Lock Ring removed so I could remove the Meter to upgrade the Panel. However, when the homeowner called the Local Department of Water and Power (DWP), and they sent out two guys to look at the situation. They removed the Lock Ring from the 100 Amp Service Meter, and then proceeded, trying to assist the homeowner's complaint, they connected the two circuit wires to a 40 amp Stab-Lok circuit breaker which feeds the subpanel into the main house. In affect, each of the 40 amp breakers (see note below) now has two wires attached. The homeowner was delighted that the DWP solved the problem, and call to inform me that the problem was solved.
    
    I dropped what I was doing and went to inspect what the DWP had done. I couldn't believe it. The homeowner was adamant that I was incompetent or just trying to rip them off. I had originally told them that the job would cost around $120.00 to correct. The potential for failure is now greatly increased on this 40 Amp circuit, with circuit breakers that are prone to failure. If the house burns down, the DWP will be liable.
    
    Note: the Main House can draw as much as 60 amps during normal use, and the New Air Con is rated at 12 Amps.
    
    Tomorrow I will try to remedy this situation, but it won't be easy. Gerald C.P. - Electrical Contractor, to DJF - 05/03, photos provided.
25. Colorado FPE Fire, breaker meltdown report - electrician Colorado Springs - I AM AN ELECTRICIAN IN COLORADO SPRINGS. WHILE MOVING A SINGLE POLE BREAKER IN A FEDERAL STAB LOCK PANEL IT CAUGHT FIRE. IT COMPLETELY MELTED THE BUSS BAR AND SMOKED THE HOMEOWNERS HOME. IT APPEARS TO BE A BUSS BAR FAILURE. WE KEPT ALL THE PARTS. IN ONE OF YOUR ARTICLES I THINK YOU MENTIONED AN ATTORNEY WHO MIGHT BE PURSUING THIS. DO YOU KNOW OF ANYONE WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THIS. WE ALSO HAVE ONSITE PICTURES. Bill J. to DJF - 04/03 photos available
26. California FPE problems - Electrician Berkeley - I'm an electrical contractor in the SF Bay Area and have a lot of exposure to FPE panels. I will not work on one nor add any circuits to it unless the client absolutely cannot afford to replace it, and even then only with a letter of release of liability. I did one service change for clients in Berkeley, where they were getting some very strange electrical behaviors, odd dimming and brightening of lights, trouble with computers, etc. until half the house went dead. They had a 100A, 240V main (FPE) in which one hot leg was very hot to touch, discoloration and cracking of the outer shell of the breaker, the breaker handle in the 'on' position, and the other hot leg open. It appeared that there had possibly been an overload condition on the one hot leg, the breaker had tried to trip and had jammed, and the clients had moved a lot of their loads to the other hot leg creating an overload condition on it. The breaker was not tripping. Pretty much the classic FPE failure. By the way, what's with the [host: "www.inspect-ny.com" is not authorized]? Are you under some pressure from some corporate entity or what? Thank you for having this info available. I give copies of it to my clients. Pietsa H. - electrician, to DJF - 03/03
27. Mississippi - FPE opinion - electrician Ocean Springs - I was going to install a 50 amp breaker to run my Lincoln welding machine on and could not locate any in the local electrical supply stores. Since reading your articles on Federal Electric, I have contacted a local electrician who says he has heard of problems with these panels but does not have any firsthand experience with them. He said he would change the panel out if he were me, so he is going to give me an estimate. Jim S. to DJF - 03/03
28. Colorado FPE Fire report Colorado Springs - My house (in the Old Holland Park development of Colorado Springs, CO) was built in the 1961/63 time frame. I am about the third owner of the house, having acquired it in 1985. My electric load panel is a FPE Load-Lok with a 100 amp main (double pole), 50 amp electric range (double pole), 30 amp electric dryer (double pole), and several 15/20 amp (single pole) breakers. My guess is that most buildings (hundreds) in this housing development have the same type electric load panel .
    
    Recently, my electric dryer quit. On inspection, I found the vent had plugged and a fire had occurred inside the dryer which was caused by one leg of the heater element being shorted out to the wet lint backup in the vent. The dryer 30 amp, 2 pole, breaker had not tripped. The shorted leg of the heating element had burned open (which probably saved us). Some clothes were beyond use and the dryer had to be replaced.
    
    Also, we recently installed a window air conditioner in the master bedroom. We have used it plugged into a 15 amp wall duplex. At first it would trip the breaker if anything else plugged into the circuit was turned on. So we made sure that no other appliances on the circuit were in use when the AC was in operation. Recently, I checked it by turning on other appliances with the AC in operation. The 15 amp breaker did not trip but the AC seemed to load down when the compressor came on. Turning off other appliances on the circuit made the AC resume normal operation. In the test, the circuit breaker did not trip. From that test, I decided to install a dedicated circuit for the AC and began a search for a FPE Load-Lok circuit breaker for it. Having no luck locally, decided to check the Internet for the breaker, where I found all the problems associated with FPE Load-Lok panels/breakers. John J. to DJF - 02/03
29. - to DJF -
30. Consumer concern with CPSC FPE position - I read your message to building inspectors. Apparently, the inspector who went over my house (20 years old now) had not read it, or chose not to tell me that we now are the proud owners of two FPE panels. I was looking to add a new 240 circuit, now it appears I would be better served having my entire distribution system replaced. Thank you for alerting me to the possible dangers associated with this old equipment.
    
    I must say I was and am alarmed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission 's response. Their "Solution" to this problem is one of the most ridiculous I've seen. I have had fuses blow and I've been able to explain the overload before resetting the switch. I was just plain lucky when my dryer died. I remember thinking it odd that only 1 of the breakers went. I reset the breaker after replacing the heating coil, everything is fine now, but for how long? Perry E. to DJF - 11/98
31. FPE no trip, slapping conductor report - electricians - I'd like to ask you a physics question. What makes conductors flop around violently in a bolted fault condition? Last weekend I jointed a group of electricians and home inspectors gathered together to witness first hand the failure of an infamous FPE(Federal Pacific Electric) breaker to open in a fault condition. When the breaker was turned on and strangely, only with full voltage (with power off VOM did not detect fault), there would be a severe fault. Severe enough to cause the wires in the sub-feed conduit and the overhead service conductors to bounce around wildly. One of the home inspectors asked me what was happening. I knew it had something to do with motor action but found myself hemming and hawing to explain it. Can you describe what happens? to Redwood Kardon to DJF 13 Feb 97
32. Colorado FPE Failure report Colorado Springs - My house (in the Old Holland Park development of Colorado Springs, CO) was built in the 1961/63 time frame. I am about the third owner of the house, having acquired it in 1985. My electric load panel is a FPE Load-Lok with a 100 amp main (double pole), 50 amp electric range (double pole), 30 amp electric dryer (double pole), and several 15/20 amp (single pole) breakers. My guess is that most buildings (hundreds) in this housing development have the same type electric load panel .
    Recently, my electric dryer quit. On inspection, I found the vent had plugged and a fire had occurred inside the dryer which was caused by one leg of the heater element being shorted out to the wet lint backup in the vent. The dryer 30 amp, 2 pole, breaker had not tripped. The shorted leg of the heating element had burned open (which probably saved us). Some clothes were beyond use and the dryer had to be replaced.
    Also, we recently installed a window air conditioner in the master bedroom. We have used it plugged into a 15 amp wall duplex. At first it would trip the breaker if anything else plugged into the circuit was turned on. So we made sure that no other appliances on the circuit were in use when the AC was in operation. Recently, I checked it by turning on other appliances with the AC in operation. The 15 amp breaker did not trip but the AC seemed to load down when the compressor came on. Turning off other appliances on the circuit made the AC resume normal operation. In the test, the circuit breaker did not trip. From that test, I decided to install a dedicated circuit for the AC and began a search for a FPE Load-Lok circuit breaker for it. Having no luck locally, decided to check the Internet for the breaker, where I found all the problems associated with FPE Load-Lok panels/breakers. John J. to DJF -
33. Cleveland FPE Failure report Electrician - I am a state licensed electrician in Cleveland. For years I have heard the legend that FPE wouldn't trip.
    About 10 years ago, I had a pair of Klein short handled needle nose pliers that I was using to remove a KO in the bottom of an old FPE breaker panel. I went inside the enclosure, tapped the KO outwards, grabbed it with my needle nose and twisted rapidly and forcefully. I didn't know the side of a #10 wire of a dryer circuit was pushing outwards at the hole opening. It became trapped in my twisting motion.
    A massive WWAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH arcing noise ensued and then stopped. The wire burned apart from the dead short I produced, burned a big notch in my pliers, and when I went to inspect the circuit it was still live. The 30 amp 2 pole FPE breaker turned steel to molten metal on my pliers in a dead short but did not trip. Gary H C - Electrician to DJF - 2/11/03
34. Pennsylvania FPE breaker failure - I recently installed a ceiling fan and accidentally shorted the circuit, and no breaker kicked. Frank R. to DJF - 2/4/03
35. Washington FPE intermittent trip - I had a GFI circuit breaker that was a Federal Pacific breaker go bad. It did trip but works intermittently. I took it out because I was afraid of a fire. I have another situation too that when I put a load on one of my outlets my bedroom light goes dim. Scary. Now that I am looking into this breaker I am seeing all of the dangers of fire and breakers not tripping. What do you suggest I do? I saw something about a class action lawsuit but saw no information about it. Also when I went to purchase a new breaker before I heard of the dangers of this style Home Depot was going to charge $225.00 for the breaker. Outrageous. Jeremy J to DJF - 1/3/03
36. FPE possible fire report - A gal in her 90's had an electrical fire a few nights ago. She is one of those eccentric ladies with at least a dozen cats and otherwise lives alone out on an isolated hilltop; appears to be financially destitute and is known to be grieving the recent death of her "life partner" of 37 years. The dirt road to her unkempt little house is steep & treacherous & the region has entered another "el nino" period of wind & rain. She's an old Irish-American radical that goes by the name of Grace because that is the translation of her Gaelic name. She self-publishes a local political newsletter that appears every now and then in the village library. She's a "live" one. I was contacted by someone at the Fire Dept who knew that I would take a personal interest and make sure that Grace was safe.
    I removed a burned-up 240v electrical baseboard heater & discovered that the circuit remains hot with the main switched off. After spending hours examining the rest of this cat box [inside & out, in the dark, late night, wind & rain] I concluded that I would not be able to sleep until I fixed the damn panel. She made me a cup of tea & put some "organic" shortbread cookies in my jacket pocket.
    I have no money. I have a big family. I was working two full-time jobs and moonlighting as a handyman & Mac Guru. I know... I know. Can't work like that for long. My real job evaporated & so did the electrical contractor. Now I am a country handyman out in the with a big family & real money problems. I want to help Grace...but how? I'd like to find a SAFE replacement breaker. I don't have the bucks for a new service. She will be gone soon & someone will bulldoze the hilltop. And it will still smell like cats.
    Any cheap replacement breakers available for these panels? It is a 200 amp (double throw 100 amp) Federal Pacific Electric breaker. Apprx 2" wide x 4-1/4" tall. Can I put something else in there? I've only installed/upgraded on a dozen or so panels. I am careful & cautious &
    Brian C. to DJF - 12/24/00
37. California home inspectors discuss FPE - The other day, I heard the most amazing FPE story yet. I'm at the IAEI conference in Hawaii. A bunch of us were sitting around talking about test labs, and somehow the old FPE story came up. I had always presumed that the deal was FPE submitting one kind of breaker to UL, and then manufacturing it another way, and that was how they lost the right to put the UL label on them for a time. In fact, it appears to have been much worse, if the following story can be believed. FPE constructed their own test facility for UL's benefit, and used it for the short circuit testing on their breakers. The facility had a false floor with apparatus for shunting some of the test current. They knew their breakers would fail the usual short circuit testing, so they fraudulently constructed their own apparatus to cheat UL. This story comes from people who say they were there. This story really helps to put in perspective that experiment that Alan, John, and I did a few years ago, where the FPE breakers wouldn't trip even though the service wires were whipping around from the high currents being carried through those breakers. I used to think they were just awful, the worst piece of "value engineering" ever created, obsolete, prone to failure from the heat created at that awful bus stab, and that maybe they cut a few corners in the breaker manufacturing. Now I know that they're really much worse. Douglas Hansen to DJF - 10/22/00
38. FPE fails to trip - I had the fusses in our home replaced by a Federal Pacific panel and breakers approx. 25 years ago. There have been 3 occasions when I thought the breaker should have tripped and it did not. The last time this happened was about 3 weeks ago. I consulted a electrician and he stated that these breakers are defective and should be replaced. I will be replacing them soon and wondered if you would be interested in the old panel and breakers and also if I have any recourse to collect the cost of replacement from Federal Pacific/Reliance Elct. Steve S. to DJF - 8/19/02
39. FPE Fire report - We had a fire in my home Tues. due to over-current and FPE Stab-Lock Panel 100amp service. The panel failed to trip and fire occurred within a wall. We have been in this home one month. The home was inspected and we were given no warning about FPE panel. Our electrician, fire department, and insurance companies have told us about Federal Pacific. Our inspector has taken the position he had no obligation to warn us of this matter. to DJF - 7/12/02
40. California FPE dryer circuit no trip Home Inspector - This one on Golden Gate ASHI's BB was a good one: Doing an inspection least week, I found a Federal Pacific main panel with Stablok breakers in place. No service disconnect, house not occupied, so I decided to trip some breakers. I tripped a 50 amp breaker to the kitchen oven and microwave unit in a newly remodeled kitchen. The breaker clicked to the off position with no problem, but the circuit stayed hot. Tripped it off and on several times and no change or loss of power to the oven set. I then tried the dryer circuit. Tripped a 30 amp breaker to the dryer and then checked outlet with a stinger and found this circuit was still hot. Two out of three two pole breakers were faulty. That's scary if you think of a home! owner doing some repairs and modifications to something and expecting the circuit to be dead after flipping the breakers off. These things just don't work properly. Dave at Metro to DJF - 6/24/02
41. New York 40A breaker failure Long Island - My cook top (magic Chef) and oven are on a 40 Amp double pole breaker. It appears that the Infinite switch on the cook top got shorted/damaged as a result the 40 amp ckt tripped a few times. Once rest it worked fine. But the last time, I reset the 40 Amp breaker, it arced and charred the contact points Thomas to DJF - 6/2/2002
42. California FPE Main Breaker failure Oakdale - I had heard that there were problems with FPE breakers and boxes in the past but never gave it much thought until about 2 months ago. I replaced my home's main electrical panel (an old FPE circa 1970's) with a new Square D panel (and breakers of course) because the main breaker (100A) would constantly trip when the clothes dryer and the oven would be on at the same time. None of the other breakers would trip, just the main!. (Never did figure out for sure what was causing this problem, but suspect the main itself was weak). All my testing showed that every other breaker was ok, although I never did try an intentional short test to see if the smaller breakers would trip. Glenn M to DJF -
43. Minnesota FPE breaker failure Home Inspector - This is the first FP breaker that I have actually seen that went bad. Now I am a believer. The load on this circuit was a medium sized refrig./freezer and a counter top (est 1000w) microwave. As you can see the breaker was still ON. I am asking to get it, but I don't know if I will. You are free to use the photos, just credit to me. This was in a quad unit townhouse, built 1979, Bloomington, MN. Roger Hankey R Hankey to DJF - 3/25/02 Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN, technical contribution by Roger Hankey, prior chairman, Standards Committee, American Society of Home Inspectors - ASHI. 952 829-0044 - hankeyandbrown.com 11/06, 07/07.
44. Federal Pioneer Failure Canada - I have a Federal Pioneer panel in my house with stab lock breakers. On two separate occasions breakers have failed to trip under a short circuit condition. One was a 15A single pole and the other was a 20A double pole. I am quite concerned about this and have looked to the internet for information on recalls. The breakers I have do not have any number stamped in them. The CSA sticker says, TYPE NC. I called FP and was basically told that the breakers must be worn out. They had no interest in my problem what so ever. Dan D to DJF - 2/4/02
45. FPE no trip at water heater Electrician - Approx 4 years ago I had a maintenance contract with a property management firm. The properties were either older, inner-city homes or poorly-built condo/apartments. One particular apartment complex was wired with the double-whammy of Federal Pacific panels and breakers and aluminum wire. The problem was that the electric water heater was not producing, so an investigation led me to badly burned terminals both at the thermostat and the 30A FP breaker. Consultation with two licensed electricians suggested I replace the thermostat using no-al-ox @ the connections, and they led me to a source for rebuilt FP breakers, with the express suggestion that total replacement w/ a copper system was best. Naturally, a property manager would never spend more than absolutely necessary. I have also seen cases where well-meaning but un-educated folks used cheaper non-aluminum rated devices in these properties. No fires on my watch, but I always tried to check for that when painting or doing other appropriate tasks. It was an easy fix for flickering lights, too, to change to the rated switch. DC to DJF - 12/9/01
46. FPE fire report - I recently purchased a home with a Federal Pacific service panel. My home inspector advised me of possible problems with FP panels and we made the purchase of the home contingent on the panel passing inspection by a licensed electrician. Well last night I plugged in the heat cable to prevent our water pipes from freezing. About 5 am I awoke to the smell of burning plastic. I traced the smell to the crawl space. There I found that one of the cables had shorted and burned back about 3 or 4 feet to the plug. I don't know how close this was to burning the entire house down, but I suspect it was close. I am not overly surprised that a heat cable shorted. I am very surprised that the smoke alarm did not sound. My main question is whether the circuit breaker should have tripped. I can't imagine that the shorted heat cable would not have drawn less that the 20A rating of the breaker. Especially given the extent of the burning. Larry C. to DJF - 11/27/00
47. FPE 150 A main failure - 11/10/01 I recently had to replace a main 150amp breaker at my townhouse in Weymouth MA. Out of several electricians that came to look at the problem all [including my brother-in-law] said I was in for a world of trouble. My brother-in law went as far as to say to me that FPE in his experience stands for FIRE PROTECTION ELIMINATED! When I passed this on to the condo association I was told it is an owners problem not THEIRS. So 5 day's later with no power I manage to have a breaker fed-x ed from Nevada. When the tech came to install it he called me at work and said he was having a real hard time removing the defective breaker and could only see my bill growing with every minuet he spent trying to remove the breaker. So i came home and being a chef of over 20 years and having no real knowledge of breakers or the panels that house them was taken back by what i saw, the old breaker was almost frozen to the panel and was in pretty bad shape. so the tech and i decided that if WD-40 couldn't loosen the thing i was going to have to have it tap-n-deyed[not sure i got that right].for a lot more money, to make a long painful story short I snapped the thing off the panel [not to smart I know but I was getting pretty done with the whole thing ]. If I had received this info sooner I would have held on to what was left of FPE TYPE-NEJ 240 VOLT 150AMP breaker and sent it to you ASAP. The inside of that breaker was in incredible condition, the rust was unbelievable it was like opening a rotten peanut. So the tech looks at me after the job was done and says that I'm probably going to be the lucky one in this condo-commune, when I asked him why he said that every unit in this place has the same faulty breakers in them, then pointed out the panel under mine and you could see that the thing was heading in the same direction as mine. Should I pass this on to my neighbors? I don't want to get in trouble with the condo people. But I believe after many e-mails from my sister about FPE that something worse is going to happen. JOSEPH A. B. to DJF -
48. FPE anecdotal FPE failure report Philadelphia Electrician- I have been a practicing electrician in Philadelphia for 15 years and have experienced some anecdotal evidence of problems with the FP single pole breakers... in each case, large scale fire involvement of the homes was prevented only by metallic wall cases which contained fire until the conductors themselves had melted "open", thus interupting current flow. The circuit breakers remained ON! One must be concerned about the possibility of overheating in concealed portions of cables, though, where structural framing will be in direct contact with conductors. I usually "go out on a limb" and recommend to clients that they replace FP panels, even if they haven't experienced such problems. Paul L - electrician to DJF - 10/13/01
49. West Virginia FPE A/C, Main, sputtering circuit Failure report Morgantown- I have had a problem with FPE panel in my home which I purchase 2 years ago. I was not aware of problems with these panels and was never informed that they are unsafe. On sept.13, 2001 my central air conditioner failed. I assumed that the problem was with the air conditioner and began by checking the simple things like the capacitor. On sept. 16 my son started the electric cloths dryer and I lost power to about 65% of my home. I checked the breaker panel and to my amazement found that none of the breakers had tripped. I inspected the outlet to the dryer and found that one of the screws which attaches the outlet to the wall had come lose and fallen inside the outlet. I assumed that this is what caused the short and loss of power to my home. On further inspection I have found that the problem lies with the 100 amp main breaker which crackles and sputters and is not passing enough current. Gregory F Research Scientist to DJF - 9/18/01
50. FPE breaker not resetting - I am a residential owner who recently had a refrigerator trip my FPE circuit breaker. When I could not keep the breaker in the "ON" position (it trip again after I reset it and plugged in a small b/w TV) I called a couple electricians for estimates for replacing a breaker. I was told that FPE products were taken off the market. One electrician carefully explained that there have been some safety issues and that I should consider replacing my panel. My home was built in 1976. Carol Ann G to DJF - 7/18/01
51. FPE fire report in outdoor panel, local transformer blows - We had to call the fire department today. Everything is okay. It is an outdoor panel.
    Since I found out this make of CB panel is faulty, I had an electrician come out to give an estimate to replace the panel. He left and we had lunch. I had the panel off the panel to show the electrician so went to go put it back on before I went to work. Just as I was screwing down the panel it blew up and flames shot out. It kept on arcing and buzzing. It kept on going and the main breaker didn't trip. Finally I heard a power line fuse blow somewhere in the neighborhood and it finally stopped . the CB panel was on fire for less than half a minute. We called the fire department anyways. They came out and left. The power guys came out. They found out the line fuse blew, they also had to replace a transformer and some other thing. Part of the neighborhood was without power for four hours.
    We were able to get some electricians to replace the breaker box in a few hours. The Loveland power guy said, the transformer blew because it was low on oil. The line fuse would not have blown just because of our house, but the bad transformer went out because our house was the last straw. It probably would have went something this summer. If the transformer hadn't been bad, the line fuse would not have blown and we would have had a much more serious fire.
    The Lord knew what was going on and provided the right chain of events to protect the house, family and myself. I was almost touching the circuit breaker panel when it blew. In fact I can't figure out why I wasn't touching it.
    I wish I read this article a few months earlier. http://www.inspect-ny.com/fpe/schneider.htm Matt to DJF - 5/14/01
52. FPE panel tripping in mobile home - My neighbor has a 1974 mobile home, the FPE panel is fed by two AL wires from the outside main.
    The Main breaker switch on the panel has been tripping during operation of - or when turning up the theromostat on - the furnace. The circuit breakers (4-ganged to two of 2 ea.) have not been tripping. Only the Main trips.
    An electrician was summoned and he informed us that the AL wires were "...loose and just needed to be tightened, that'll take care of your problem." It did not and I identified the panel and did a search, and was led to your web page.
    Thank you again for your webpage, it's succinct and coherent information well-presented. Needless to say, we are searching for another electrical craftsman to come address the AL wire and FPE problems. I need not stress the fire hazard in a mobile home, plus the panel is in her bedroom, which has no door to exit. Ian C to DJF - 5.2.01
53. North Carolina FPE Condo fire - consumer reports FPE contact Chapel Hill- PLease see the original message below regarding my contact with FPE/Reliance Electric over my concerns about FPE Stab-loc breakers. From your website, you mention that you or someone is intersted in obtaining actual field samples of the FPE panels. Since I sent the original letter, we have had the FPE panel replace by a SquareD panel. The FPE panel had 4 2-pole breakers and about 10 single pole breakers.
    FPE called me in response to my attached e-mail. Their response is what would be expected from a company not wanting to volunteer any liability. They stated the summary report from Aronstein at Wright VM Malta was not intended for public release, and thus they do not acknowledge its existence. FPE told me they have done the same tests, but when asked for a copy of their test reports, they stated they didn't have them. FPE has also offered to test all the breakers IAW UL 489 and allow me to watch the tests. Since FPE is close to our home, I would do that if you are not interested in the box. The box also has a black flash burn from an electrical short at some time. It is on the single pole side of the box, and we have no knowledge of when it happened.
    [cc of original email] I am inquiring about the reliability of FPE Circuit breakers used in household applications. It is my understanding that Reliance Electric purchased the company making FPE Stab-loc breakers and panels for home use about 20 years ago. The data that I have been able to gather is that these breakers, especially the 2-pole 220/240 volt types are not considered reliable if they have been tripped, manually operated, or a high current exists on only one pole.
    I am especially concerned because my daughter owns a condominium that is adjacent to a unit that caught on fire in late November 2000, and when we inspected her unit, the 220v breaker for her range was open. It is not clear if it tripped, or was manually openened, but the reconstruction contractor replaced the 220 volt line to the range. Reading the literature available on the internet (www.inspect-ny.com/fpe/fpepanel.htm) I am etremely concerned that the breaker box in her unit is unsafe. This article points out that in addition to not tripping, the double pole breaker can sometimes trip on overload and not end in the imtermediate position, but in the position of a manually tripped breaker.
    Data contained CPSC-C-81-1429 December 30, 1982 documents the unreliable performance of these breakers, and the Reliace Electric quarterly report dated March 31, 1982 documents (Note C - Contingencies) liability Reliance incurred from these breakers. Even though the CSPC release of March 3, 1983 concluded the investigation with no further action, any prudent person would not consider using these breakers, especially if they had been subjected to overload.
    I am interested in what programs Reliance Electric has to correct these problems.
    I have tried calling various numbers for Reliance Electric obtained from your web site to no avail. Gary C to DJF - 3/5/01
54. FPE 20A single pole fail to trip electrician - I have probably 20+ breakers and at least one panel that I have removed when upgrading electric service. I had kept them for spares since replacement FPE two pole breakers cost over $65 each. After reading your articles and seeing tests, I have no interest in subjecting my customers to the risks involved and will recomment to them complete panel replacement.
    Also, I have seen one instance where the FPE breaker failed to trip when a outdoor outlet's metal coverplate (with flip doors) shifted, dropping across the two prongs of the plug that was inserted into it. The plug was almost completely burned away, the coverplate burnt and two rows of bricks (approx 6") were blackened, and the breaker did not trip. I did basic current limiting tests on the breaker (and all others in the panel). The 20A single pole breakers, including the one that failed to trip, all tripped within two minutes at 23 amps. My conclusion was that the breaker probably has a different characteristic on a dead short load. Norb F to DJF - 1/3/01
55. FPE modular home failure - Dear Sir, I came across your article over the net concerning the hazards of FPE Breaker Boxes. We bought a modular home in July of 1999, which was constructed in 1974. When we had the house inspected we were told that it would be a good idea to up-grade the breaker box in the future. Over the past 2 weeks we have had power failure occur in our home approx. 6 times. On every occassion except one, none of the breakers shut off, either did the main. We contacted our electric company and they told us thaat as long as we are getting power to the house, that the problem is ours. On the occassions when the power outages occured there was no excessive use place upon the system and the only way to regain power was to turn the main off and then on again. We have since contacted 2 electricians who have told us that the problem is with the breaker box. We intend on replacing it soon, but what I dont understand is why we should have a complete loss of power, with no breakers tripped, not even the main? The breaker box is a model M120-40-200G, 200amp max, 120/240 volts a.c., 1 phase 3 wire 40 max breaker pole. Bob R to DJF - 12/11/2000
56. FPE near fire on A/C unit - I had a near fire at home due to a FPE breaker on my A/C unit. I am wondering if there is a class action lawsuit against Reliance concerning this. Brad M to DJF - 7/20/00
57. FPE Single pole failure - I had a single pole 20 amp circuit breaker cut off power to two kitchen outlets, but it didn't trip the breaker in the panel. My wife overloaded the circuit with a deep fryer, toaster oven and microwave at the same time. I also have a GFI on the circuit. The house is twenty years old and I have been replacing the outlets and switches around the house. Now it looks like I should also replace the entire panel, instead of just installing new replacement FPE breakers. oceanengineer to DJF - 7/7/2000
58. FPE Fire report - Last June 1999 we had a house fire that started in the basement of our home. According to the insurance company the reason was due to a faulty light fixture. My husband wanted to know why the breaker never tripped. The insurance explanation was that over time (the house was built in 1979) the wiring gets old and the resistance is lower, etc.
    We are back in the house now and are needing outdoor electrical line run for an outdoor project. The electrician told us that the breaker panel we have is FPE. In addition, he says the electrical box is 15% overloaded now and needs to be replaced in order to add more electrical circuits.
    The construction company that rebuilt our house say that the panel was not damaged in the fire and passed the county inspection so advised our insurance company not to replace the FPE panel installed in 1979.
    What would you suggest we do now? Both my husband and I are not wanting to suffer through another fire. We thought the insurance company would want to know about the FPE panels. Apparently not. Danielle B to DJF - 7/7/00
59. Oregon FPE failure report - Jekyll. I've had the same experience as you in the public housing projects. Everyone claims that the Stab-lok panels work great.
    Hyde. Then in March of this year, I was inspecting a project in Vancouver, when the manager was paged to respond to a fire that had just started in one of the units! Hot Damn! It was the 2-pole breaker for the clothes dryer that caught on fire. The bus bar was just about black in places. (I now have that Stab-lok panel to show non-believers).
    Jekyll. Two days later, our chapter had a speaker from a company that tests and recycles used and rare circuit breakers. He had tested thousands of breakers and insisted that Federal Pacific breakers did not perform any more poorly than any other old breakers. He agreed that the bus design was crummy.
    Hyde. Last year, I was inspecting a run-down shack that a friend of mine had just bought. He buys several properties a year to turn around for a quick buck and had hired me to tell him whether to fix it up or bulldoze it. We had just about decided on the dozer when I spied a Stab-Lok panel with its cover missing and cut live wires sticking out of it like a porcupine. I asked if we could do an experiment. We laid a pipe across an ironing board and touched the live wires to it. It made a dandy welder. We could make arcs all day and that breaker stayed in the on position like a real champ. Six out of the ten breakers in the panel behaved that way. The other four tripped reliably over and over. Jim to DJF - 5/14/00
60. New Jersey FPE failure - dryer circuit Freehold - It seems that one of the curitcuit breakers that starts the electric dryer burned out. According to the appliance repairman 220 0r was it 240 volts should be coming through. All he could get was 120 or 110. He said that one of the breakers burned. That the breakers were are Federal Pacific aluminum wiring. tuneefish4 to DJF - April 23, 2000
61. Texas FPE groan failure report Seabrook - In December, while having some electrical work done by an electrician, we became aware of the problems associated with this panel. While working, the electrician inadvertently touched two wires together, causing the breaker to trip. What struck our attention, was the loud "groan" that preceded the actual failure and the delay of the electricity shutting down. When this occurred, the electrician asked if we had a Federal Pacific Breaker Box. We did not know the make of the box, but quickly checked. Yes,we did indeed. The electrician then cautioned us about the problems associated with the Panel and suggested we replace it. Being a skeptic, I went to the internet, found your articles as well as others and within a week we had scheduled the replacement. Our community requires a building inspector visit the site upon completion. Imagine my surprise when he told me that several homes in our community of less than 4,000 had caught fire in 1999, one having burned just the week before. He stated that the breaker panels were suspect in several of these fires. Joyce P to DJF - 2/18/2000
62. FPE trip failure, power loss - Installed in my house is a FPE Stab-Lok Control Panel. The catalog number is L120-40, with 200 Amps. Max and 120/240 volts A.C. 1 Phase 3 Wire. The issue number is A-7493. My path to new found knowledge/fears began when I discovered that my toddler son's room no longer had power to his electrical components (an lit overhead fan and a carbon monoxide detector). I inspected the circuit breakers and found that none of the breakers were tripped. I manually tripped the circuit for that room and then proceeded to inspect the outlets and one switch in the room. All of the outlets and the switch appeared to be in operating condition. I also looked at the connection to the ceiling fan and found nothing out of the ordinary. I thus concluded that perhaps I had the misfortune of having a circuit breaker that may have missed quality control standards. When I connected to the internet I lost my breathe. I was confounded to learn that I may be consistently placing my family in harms way because an electrical device that is installed in our house to protect us from mishap, may ultimately cause our demise. I wonder if my scenario is a common one with families across North America. It outrages me that a country that prides itself on having such high standards for human life and safety would not only allow something like this to go on , but to investigate it and not follow through on the findings. My bottom line is that I would like to contact Federal Pacific Electrical myself and began dialog with them. I have not been able to find a web-site or address other than an attorney. It seems a bit too late to hold anyone accountable for deliberately distributing defective equipment after lives have been lost. The manufacturer of these products needs to be held publicly accountable. Charles P to DJF - 2/8/00
63. Texas FPE double pole AC circuit - won't stay on - I've lived in my house for 3 years now and have had to replace my A/C breaker every year. its a stab-lok 70amp double throw breaker. after reading your web page, i'm wondering if i should keep replacing it or get a new(expensive) box. the other breakers work fine, never had a problem. today it went out again. its cold(for texas) and when i got home it was showing 66 so i set it for 78 and it ran for alittle while than stopped. bone to DJF - 1/26/00
64. Ohio FPE Failure report Tiffin - I work as a service tech. for a local residential HVAC company. A couple of months ago I came across some information on the internet regarding the hazards of the FPE breakers. I mentioned this to my boss and several other co-workers who all dismissed it. Last week I was working on an electric furnace which is in a mobile home. This home has a 200 amp FPE entrance panel in it, with a 100 amp breaker for the furnace. As it turned out, the breaker was weak and would not hold. The customer called around and to my surprise was able to find a 100 amp FPE breaker at a home improvement/lumber yard in the next town. They went and bought it and I installed it. All 4 banks of heaters were at 21 amps while running and the blower was at 6 amps for a total amp draw of 90 amps. This morning they called in and said the fire dept. just left. I went over and found that something had caused a short on the terminal block for the electric entering the furnace and the new breaker in the panel never tripped. Thankfully he was up and heard the noise and was able to turn off the main breaker and extinguish the fire before any structural damage occurred or worse. I did take pictures of it in case you are interested in seeing them. Now, the short occurred before the two breakers in the furnace (service shut-off breakers that are another brand) but should have been protected by the 100amp FPE breaker which was feeding the electric to the furnace. The service shut-off breakers, at least the one, seems to have functioning properly. The short inside the furnace actually melted a hole in the bottom of the box and a piece of a screw fell across a connection below and tripped the one breaker. However, the FPE 100amp breaker in the panel NEVER tripped. Tim D to DJF - 12/28/99 [Photos available]
65. FPE Overheat report home inspector - A few weeks ago in my class at the College of San Mateo I spoke about Federal Pacific breakers, explaining the problems of insufficient space, loose bus bars, the difference between "E" and "F" type breakers, and the failure to trip. One of the students, an inspector for a local jurisdiction, inspected a remodel the next day, and noticed that it had an old FPE panel. He made the contractor pull all the breakers so he could inspect the bus bars, and - you guessed it - there was a large scorch mark behind the breakers. At this point the contractor thinks the inspector is a genius, and volunteers to replace the panel (despite having recently paid $90 apiece for two replacement breakers). The panel ended up in my office, and I am forwarding it to Kevin to add to the displays in the Oceanside classroom. D Hansen to DJF - 12/1/99
66. Quebec FPE Failure report - Yesterday night, I looked in my electric incoming (I bought my new house this spring wich is a Anglo-Saxon type that Alcan builded in 1940 with copper wiring) and I found that it's a Federal Pionneer Ltd Stab-Lok NC type breakers with black actuator pins wich is exactly what is mentionned in your web page. Funny is'nt it? I tested a breaker (15A) that seem bizarre to me where the circuit desserve all the second floor (in that time, the spread of circuits was at the minimum). There was a air conditionner, air dryer and lamps where total amperage was 22.6 on a breaker of 15 A. I waited a few minutes and the breaker never tripped. Same thing on a kitchen circuit where frequently I plugged the toaster and the boiler on the same circuit and it nerver tripped. Pierre C to DJF - 8/18/99
67. FPE Panel - Fire report - We sustained a horrible fire in January of this year. It was stated by the fire officials in our county that it was a BX blow out. Electrical wiring in the wall. We did have a FP elctrical panel at the time. We were later told that the fire may not have occured IF the FP electrical panel had done its job of "shutting" activity down so to speak. We have spoken to many electricians in the interim and were told that FP electrical panel was a horror. I was wondering if there had ever been a recall on this product- FPE panel and if there is presently any class action suit for fires incurred. I also would be grateful for any information as to who bought the assests of the company that made this electrical panel. We have certainly suffered both physically and mentally post fire and I thank you ever so much on any further suggestions you may offer at this time. Any direction as to further investigation/exploration on my part regarding others that have suffered fires with a FP electrical panel in their home would be so appreciated. A. Carras to DJF - 8/17/99
68. FPE failure, $500,000 claimed - Last month a co-worker was responding to an apartment maintenance request,"Flood lights not working." Upon initial inspection he found the breaker on, power to the timer control.He switched the timer on and no lights, he said he had power on the load side. Thinking that there was loose connection at the first fixture he returned to the shop for aladder. What we didn't know was that the problem was a short and that the Federal Pacific breaker had failed to trip. We never had a chance to return with the ladder, the fire department interrupted our repair. Nobody was at home so nobody was hurt. Five homes were left uninhabitable and the damages will probably reach $500,000.00 . Not bad work for one faulty 15 amp breaker. Frankly, I belive the rumors.(wish I had heard the rumors prior to the fire.) http://www.firefindings.com/mboard/messages/1233.html David E. H to DJF - July 23, 1998
69. Consumer questions IAEI FPE article and Weckstein - As you will see form the following message, I had a conversation with Ray Weckstein after I was referred to him by a company that distributes FPE replacement products. He identified himself as a former FPE employee who is now a "consultant to the company." As I'm sure you are aware, he has a different take on this issue. He referred me to the IAEI and referenced the article that you have responded to. IAEI sent me a copy of the issue. Could he be the former quality manager at FPE that the summary refers to? I am not very familiar with your industry, but as a marketing professional educated in the area of market research, this article doesn't pass the 'smell test.' I have never heard of attributing to unnamed former employees or 'knowledgeable persons.' Furthermore, the title of the article suggests that there is somehow new information. It contains only information which has been in the public domain for years. The editors would have been wise to put 'advertisement' across the top of both pages. Better yet, the magazine should have assigned a reporter to do this if they deemed it that important.
    
    Some background on how I have come to try and investigate all this. When I referred to the 'controversy,' I only meant to imply that as a layman trying to sort out what to do, there are differing opinions about what constitutes the facts. Four years ago, I remodeled the entire pool in our backyard, including all the wiring for the pool lights. The only thing I did not do was the electrical. I had an FPE panel box at the pool equipment, which had GFCI breakers which constantly tripped. I asked for those to be replaced, however they were not. After I still had the problem with them tripping for no apparent reason, I went to get replacements myself. After my electrical supplier told me there was only one vendor supplying replacement breakers and these would cost me well in excess of $100.00 a piece, I got my first lecture as to the hazards of FPE panel boxes. Given the overall condition and the desire to replace the other breakers, it made economic sense to replace the whole panel box. There is now a Square D box in its place, with no apparent problems. I asked questions at that time about FPE, and most people seemed to know about lawsuits, etc., but the consensus was if you aren't having any problems don't worry about it. As I have now come to realize, you won't know you have a problem until you have a problem. For this reason, I feel it would be foolish to accept the status quo and not sleep well, so I plan to change out the remaining three boxes in my home. I will probably not be able to do this until the end of the year. My father is an electrician and he will do the work the next time he comes to visit. I have forwarded to him everything I have found or received on the subject, and he is in agreement that this is what I should do. I would be happy to send you all of the old breakers including the panel boxes if this would be of interest to you. As I said before, my home was built in 1978 and I have no reason not to believe that everything is original. If you really want to see the 20Amp breaker, I would be happy to send it to you now. Just let me know where to send it.
    
    I also received a message from Dan Friedman, concerning his reply to the article that was written last month. Is there still pending litigation about this? Didn't FPE receive indemnification when they settled with Reliance?
    
    I also talked to a Ray Weckstein today. I believe you know him. He has a much different take on all this, but did explain his bias in that he was a past employee of FPE. He wanted to see my breaker also. Exactly what is his relationship in all this? Steve S to DJF - 7/30/99
70. CPSC budget to study FPE - I read with interest your email and fax messages regarding FPE circuit breakers. The CPSC budget for FY2000 includes some staff time to look into the safety of circuit breakers and panels. I'm presently attempting to pull together the old CPSC records regarding the past work, and beginning to plan a new, up-to-date study (including new test work) regarding the level of protection afforded by circuit breakers and panelboards as installed in homes. Jesse probably has a more readily accessible file to confirm the accuracy of your statements.
    
    Getting copies of your correspondence is very helpful. With so many new people here at CPSC, I have to review the historical events with them, and then decide how best to use our limited resources.
    [Note: no research has been reported as of 2/8/2006--DF] Wm K to DJF - 7/22/99
71. New Jersey FPE breaker failure electrician - I am a lisc electrical contractor in new jersey and i have a customer who has a 24 unit bldg with a seperate meter for each unit contain a 100 amp federal 2-pole main brkr in the meter enclosure. recently there was a short or overload in one of the feeders and the 100 brkr didnt trip and caused some minor damage to the enclosure .The tenants want me to estimate the cost of remedying this problem .I would say replace the enclosures but that would cost around $10,000 and the tenant board would not do it so i would like to find 100 amp replacement brkrs ,do you know if the rep[lacements are as bad as the older 2 pole fpe brkrs ? do they make a modern replacements with modern mechanics ? The way i look at it is one brkr already proved it would fail and the rest were likely from the same batch and i would hate to see them not front the cost and put themselves in a firerisk situation ,I would like some more documentation on this preferably on the 2 pole 100 amps from the 1970's i have a copy i printed of your article on the debate it was very helpful. Jim E to DJF - July 18, 1999
72. FPE UL Recall letter home inspector- I have obtained a letter from Ul labs recalling the Fpe breakers from another inspector. If you would like a copy -- Send me your fax number. All Bay Home Inspection, Inc. Martin Morgan to DJF - 4/6/99
73. FPE failure report - dryer circuit - I am writing to express my gratitude for the information you published about the problem with this panel. The 1974 house we moved into last July had this box. We recently had it replaced and found the breaker to the dryer fried in just the way described. Our electrician was astonished. Two others we had bids from dismissed our concerns with contempt. I found your site while surfing for building trades information, as the house has had no updating since construction. You have many interesting and helpful links. We have taken photos of the bad breaker. If you are interested, I can forward copies to you. Again, many thanks for your excellent information. Jean W to DJF - 3/20/99
74. New Jersey FPE Fire reported Clifton - The name of the newspaper is Dateline Journal from Clifton, New Jersey, Vol 83, No. 3, dated Wednesday, Feb 3, 1999. The article appeared in the front page titled ( Home fire attributed to circuit breaker). [Newspaper reports may be inaccurate -- note from DF] Mario to DJF - 2/18/99
75. FPE hot breaker, burnup report - I bought a house 3 years ago. Obviously, I did not know anything about FPE circuit breakers until I read on a local newspaper that a house fire was due to FPE breaker failure. Two days ago, my kid was playing nintendo and suddenly the lights went off. Quickly, I went to check the service panel and the FPE breaker for that circuit failed to trip. I touch the circuit breaker and it felt hot, I manually shut the breaker off. A few hours later, I opened the service panel and the 12 gauge wire was completely burned, the 15 amp circuit breaker had a hole burned on both sides. I had to replace the breaker, which was very expensive. Also, I had to replace the breaker above and below it, because of burned damage. I am planning to replace the service panel to avoid a fire waiting to happen. I do not like FPE circuit breakers at all. Mario C. to DJF - 2/17/99
76. FPE buzzing panel - It scares me to see all this, and to have seen this first hand. I to have had to go into panels and find stuff like this and to think it was still live also. What scared me the most is that a customer complained of hearing a buzzing , smelling some thing burning comming from the panel. Do you think it would help if people knew the symptoms of this? this person said it was going on for a year. John to DJF - 2/17/99
77. FPE Failure report - clothes dryer - I just pruchased a home with these breakers. The other day i went to get a double pole breaker for a new ac installation and was advised to junk the whole system and put in a new box and breakers. The following day, my wife was home doing the laundry, when all of a sudden the dryer was smoking profusely. she immediately puuled the plug and called me. i had her check the circuit breaker and sure enough, it was NOT tripped. the dryer motor was completely burnt out. thank god my wife was in the house! [this may be a duplicate report - review below--df] Steve to DJF - 8/4/98
78. FPE scorching report home inspector - ran into a FP "stab-lok" yesterday. House built in mid 1960's, evidence of scortching at the main breakers behind dead front panel. Also, there was inadequate space for bending of a pair of #4 feeders. I reported that further evaluation should be performmed by a state licensed electrical contractor and advised my clients that the FP panel be replaced as it presented a potential fire - electrical hazard. Today the you know what hit the fan from the seller and her agent. Agent called and claimed "her" contractor (type?) said there was nothing wrong with the service panel. I asked when and why did he check it ? She said, "right after you left!" I said, thats funny, no one was home, and you didn't take the time to attend my inspection, and will not recieve your copy of my report until late this afternoon. What made you call out your contractor ? "Because I knew you would find lots of things wrong, you have a very bad reputation of finding lots of things that don't exist, and he will refute what ever you say, bla, bla, bla." By the way, there was triple luging at 2 #20 amp branch circuit breakers. Wish I had my camera with me ! Jerry to DJF - 3/15/98
79. FPE house fire report - Having been directly affected by the failure of one of these circuit protection components, I was curious about any recourse I may have, perhaps in the form of a class action suit.
    
    My home was equipped with federal breakers and on the morning of October 24th of this year they nearly caused a serious loss.. Life! The circuit that was supposedly "protected" failed to trip causing a fire in my sons bedroom and had he not awakened because of the heat and alerted the household to the fire, we surely would not be here today.
    
    At what cost does a company admit that a product is at fault? Ok, i got the steam out, thanks. Jim L to DJF - 3/23/98
80. FPE no trip report - dryer circuit - I have a Federal Pacific panel in my house and am now convinced that I need to replace it. I was going to have a subpanel installed anyway for the generator, so now I will get the electrician to rip out the FPE panel and re-do the whole thing. Our house was built in 1985. In the early '90s I had a 30 amp breaker fail - the feed to the dryer. Had lots of trouble finding a replacement. When I heard that FPE was out of the business, I did not do research - thought it was a case of poor financial management. Anyway, I finally found a replacement (about $50). When I pulled the old breaker out, it was charred at the house wiring end and the case was quite brittle - may have been cracked as well, don't remember. At the time, I attributed it to inadequate tightening of the wire clamp (after all, the electrician had made numerous other mistakes that "got by" the inspector). Now I realize that it llikely was an overload on the dryer that the breaker did not respond to. Anyway, thanks agein for posting the information. Think I will call an electrician today! Harry J to DJF - 3/3/98
81. FPE breaker tripping report - I came across your information of FP doing a search for information of the FP box I have in my home: the main keeps tripping for some reason. Steve F to DJF - 2/9/98
82. Californian FPE Failure report home inspector - I am a home inspector in Northern California. I recently inspected a 47 year old home with a Federal Pacific breaker panel. After taking the dead front off and examining the wiring, I had a little problem getting the cover back on. The floating breaker panel was a bit off centered and it was tough getting the cover lined up with the breakers and the panel itself. After a few minutes I was able to get it all lined up and secured.
    
    Later the homeowner came to me and said that the lights were not working in the garage. I checked to be sure that the breaker had not tripped and when I saw that it hadn't, I pressed on the face of the breakers to be sure they were properly seated. Upon doing this the garage lights flickered and then went back on. I removed the dead front again and did a visual inspection to be sure there were no loose wire connections. All of the connectors were tight, so I again pushed on the face of the breakers to be sure there were no loose breakers. When I did this the garage light flickered and went out. After "massaging" the breakers again the lights came back on. At that Point I secured the dead front and informed the home owner that there appeared to be a loose connection and she should have an electrician come out and check the panel out thoroughly.
    
    Today I got a call that there are a few circuits that are out. I again explained that she should have an electrician come out right away. Her contention, as mine would be, is that it worked until I got there so I must have broken it.
    
    My question has to do with the problems that have plagued the Stab Lok breakers. I was told previously that one of the problems had to do with the the electrical/mechanical connection of the breaker to the panel. The mechanical connections were not always secure, which of course caused high resistance or completely open connections. Reading what I have so far in articles I found on the net, the problem was with the internal workings of the breakers and also some of the ganged breakers jamming. Is there also a problem such as I described above? If so, do know of any reports or literature on this problem?
    
    [Follow-up note] Thank you both for the quick response and the great information. As it turns out, the homeowner had the electric company come out to check it. The serviceman confirmed that it was a bad connection on an old wire inthe back of the panel and reassured her that I did nothing wrong -- it was a problem waiting to rear it's ugly head. She has apologized and is not asking for any money towards the repair Jim W to JA to DJF - 98-01-01
83. Canada FPE Schneider Recall Electrician - I don't know if you realsze this but there is a breaker recall in our area regarding FPE NC015 and NC015CP breakers. They are identified by the blue toggle without a hole in the toggle. Schneider Canada states that some of these breakers may not trip under overload. These breakers were manufacturered between August 1 1996 and June 11 1997. The manufacturer has asked the resellers to replace these breakers free of charge and state that they will attempt to identify, directly, homes with the breakers that require replacement. To the best of my knowledge there has been no concerted effort to identify any of these installations other that placing small notices in some stores that retail these products. All this information is listed on Schneider Canada web site. I don't know if any of these products have found their way into your area.
    
    As for any other problems that we have come across there are two general problems, mainly with the half sized breakers:
    
    1)The installation of a two pole breaker where both legs are on the same phase. I have found this in both "professional" and homeowner installations.
    
    2)On a panel where half sized breakers are used, the panel cover seems to be the main thing holding the bottom breakers in place. When the panel cover is removed the bottom breakers are very loose leading me to question how well these units are held in place by the blades to the bus.
    
    To Jesse: Normally we do not install FPE panels. However if we come across parts we have in stock from renovations I will put them together and give you a call. I will also speak to our supplier and see if I can get him to "donate" some new product for testing. It's a bad time if the year for this however I will get onto him first of the new year. I have discussed the problem with him and he is seriously interested in the problem as most homes in this area have FPE panels. If there is any further information that you have or learn about I would be very interested in hearing about it, FPE or other manufacturers, as it seems that some manufacturers are not too willing to notify contractors and correct their problems. Brian Salzman to DJF - 12/19/97
84. New Jersey FPE Failure report Madison - We are having some work done on our townhouse that was built about 12 years ago. Part of the work had to do with the Electric Panel being replaced. The eletrician, Brian Lindeman, gave me a poor copy of a down loaded article which you had something to do with and I noticed your compuserve address.
    
    There were some damaged and burned wires in the fusebox and I want to bring this to the attention of the association. I have kept the damaged wires and box etc., but some back up regarding this potential problem might be a good idea. Scott R. to DJF - 7/16/97
85. FPE no trip bet - it took this long to find out about fpe i won a lot of bets in the early 80's saying they wouldn't trip enen when there was a direct short. Robert J to DJF - 5/16/96
86. FPE Failure report - random cutouts - An anecdote. A couple of years ago I had a circuit that would cut out randomly. Sometimes it would stay on for only 10 minutes, sometimes for 2 weeks. I personally pulled every outlet looking for a cause. Finally I gave up and called an electrician. He went straight to the circuit breaker box, pulled the face plate, and while he was telling me the hazzards of FPE, the breaker arced. He proceeded to remove the breaker, which then crumbled in his hand. He had to scrounge to find a replacement.
    
    This year I got the whole 20-year old FPE box replaced. In replacing the box, the electrician also replaced the feed line that goes from the meter to the breaker box; the wire was perhaps under-rated for the add-ons that had been done to this house. But he discovered something else interesting. The neutral for the old line was half the size (or words to that effect) of the hot wires. Switching to a full sized neutral has alledgedly fixed another problem: when using an iron or certain other moderately high-amp items, lights throughout the house used to dim (especially those on dimmers). Rick J to DJF - 1/20/96
87. FPE failure reporting - frustrated inspector - The bottom line of our FPE research is that virtually nobody will say sh@t for fear of the still-pending litigation. I spoke with one person at CPSC who was humerously cynical about the issue. He said, for example, "I cannot talk to you about the details because the file has been sealed. I cannot tell you that we found problems in both the dingle pole na double pole breakers. I cannot tell you that in some tests the defects were apparet in as great as 7% of the subject breakers, etc."
    
    Aronstien was also very helpful but his knowledge of the practical implications of his findings was somewhat limited. The one peice of very important data he was able to impart is that the common nuetral buss bar defect (or potential for same) can be visually identified by examining the buss bar. The potentially unsafe type is extruded aluminum and the set screws which hold the bar to the panel are only a few 1/16ths less in diameter than the wdith of the buss bar.
    
    I summary, we decided to continue the course of action we had adopted for FPE equipment several years ago. Namely, to assert that a potential fire safey issue exists and to replace the suspect components as a precuationary measure. For the apartmet house in question (with 1986 FPE equipment) we recommended that 10% of the breakers be removed and tested off-site to UL specs and also under a single leg overchage for the double pole breakers (not part of the UL spec.). The seller of the apartment house countered this recommendation with a letter from a PE asserting that there is no known relationship between the defective pre 1979 FPE equipment and circa 1985 equipment. While that may be true, there is also no documented "end date" for the problem. Andrew K to DJF - 11/11/1995
88. FPE breaker variations electrician - I just read your FPE hazard summary accessed from G Newton's homepage. What do you think of the newly manufactured replacement breakers by "American" ? I hate to use them at all but people sure don't want to hear that they have to spend the $350 or so it costs to replace a typical residential panel. Also, is the problem better or worse for the two types of FPE breakers I see, the black w/ red escutcheon or the really old brown ones? It's great to have a forum like this on the net, hope you can keep it going. Lee E. to DJF - /LI>
89. New Jersey FPE failures electrician - I am a licensed electrical contractor in New Jersey. In my local area we have a high percentage of federal pacific panel boards installed. When I approach the client about the danger of these panels, very few people respond to my suggestions. I am interested in making a brochure or mailer about the potential dangers of there services. Any information you can give me will be a big help. Dennis C to DJF -
90. Idaho FPE no trip report Electrician - I am a electrical contractor in south eastern idaho u s a my experience with f p e panels is they will not trip which causes fires and numerious other problems. I try to replace them if i can. my favorite choice for panels is cuttler hammer which exceeds square d in my opinion. if you have anything further please let me know. Wally W. to DJF - 12/19/95
91. FPE bus insertion - The most common problems I have found with these panels is that the breakers can not be removed without a lot of force after being in there a long time. And if you do remove a breaker; to replace it, you can't trust the new one. Because it may fit loose and cause a heating problem. Dennis G to DJF -
92. FPE bus failure report, Zinsco query - I HAVE NOT FOUND THE SPLIT 240 VOLT BREAKERS YOU HAVE DESCRIBED, BUT FIND THAT THESE PANELS FAIL AT THE CONTACT POINT OF THE BUS, CAUSING EXTREME HEAT AND CAUSE THE ENTIRE PANEL TO FAIL. DO YOU KNOW IF THERE IS ANY INFO ON THE OLDER ZINSCO PANELS WITH ALUMINUM BUSES? THE ONE IN ST. LOUIS THERE STARTING TO FAIL REGULARLY. JOE O to DJF -
93. FPE work at times, Sylvania replacaements, FPE originals shouldn't have been sold Electrician opinion - Please be advised that proper operation and test has proved that these devices do work at times, and that replacement of same with newly issued Slyvania types seem to correct previously defecient behavior. Admittly, the original's shouldn't have been sold; but, you can't just bust into someone's spent Equity and rip it out blatenly. That's not Professional, just reactionary. Frankly, there are just enough fools rushing around replacing perfectly tried and tested Edison and Buss fuse panels on the premise of updating and safety convenience. Federal Pacific devices do work, if installed properly. They may not be the best, but they are for the most part better then generic GE and Westinghouse and Cutler Hammer and Challenger. I have personally installed (with a professional service contract and serviced same) over 23,400,000 Amps worth. And, they're still working correctly, and, monitored by a Professional Electrician who cares about his customers and their safety! CAMELECT to DJF - 12/5/96
94. New Jersey FPE failure report - BACK IN 1993, MY EMPLOYEE WITH TEN YEARS EXPERIENCE HAD TO TACKLE A FEDERAL PANEL THE PROBLEM WAS THE MAIN BREAKER HAD BURNT UP AND IT WAS DURING THE WINTER MONTHS HERE IN NJ. BEING THAT WE DID NOT HAVE A REPLACEMENT HE BYPASSED THE MAIN. AFTER GETTING THE POWER BACK ON, AS HE WAS PUSHING AND RESEEDING THE BREAKERS AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE PANEL BLEW UP IN HIS FACE CAUSING HIM TO HAVE FIRST AND SECOND DEGREE BURNS ON HIS FACE AND HANDS. ALTHOUGH, BYPASSING THE MAIN WASNT THE SMARTEST THING HE HAD DONE BUT FOR A TEMPORARY SOLUTION GETTING THE POWER BACK ON SO THAT THE PIPES WOULD NOT FREEZE. JUST SO YOU KNOW THIS JOB WAS DONE AT 11:30PM SO THAT A PANEL CHANGE OR SERVICE CHANGE WAS OUT OF THE QUESTION...THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT FEDERAL PACIFIC BREAKERS AND PANELS ARE DANGEROUS..... STEVEN H. S to DJF -
95. Texas FPE arcing no trip Houston - A 240V breaker fails to trip when an arc is formed downline (after the breaker) and a fire starts.
    
    Could a higher voltage on the line (higher than 240) cause this to happen?
    
    I am researching this subject and need to get info on same. Pls advise if you know the answer or direct me to an expert in this field. Orlando G. R. to DJF - ca 98
96. Texas FPE failure report Houston - My sister and family, including an infant recently moved into a rental pending their relocation after selling their own. This home is early to mid 60's vintage. Within days of moving in my sister noticed appliances, lights, and outlets that were not working. An inspection of the outside breaker box revealed no "obvious" tripped breakers. An electrician was called and informed us that the breakers (FPE) were "bad" and that the box and breakers needed to be replaced. He told us about the UL situation and fire hazards etc, etc. The landlord agreed to replace the whole thing(it's now GE, I think) after my sister threw a fit. Everything OK, so they thought.
    
    Two days ago, Houston got its first hint of winter(high 30's...yes by your standards we're kind of soft, but anyway...)and she flipped on the thermostat and the heater and fan(this is an all electric house, by the way) kicked on and everybody was nice and toasty. Three hours later, while sitting at her desk she noticed that she was freezing. They temp in the house was 50 degs and the heater nor the fan would come on despite her continued fiddling with the thermostat. She called me and I told her to check the breakers on the main fuse box and flip the a/c and heater breakers. Alas to no avail. After that I had her look in the attic where she found a two-breaker box dedicated to the heater/central a/c. Both were tripped. She reset them and viola: heat.
    
    They are also FPE breakers. Do she and my bro-in-law need to talk to the landlord about this also? New mothers have a tendency to be a little paranoid. You haven't met my sister, paranoid take on a whole new meaning...! rcscertify to DJF - ca 98
97. Fortune Magazine, Business Week Magazine articles & UL staff quoted on FPE - Fortune_, 10/19/81, pp.83-86: "Reliance [Electric Co.] had acquired Newark-based Federal Pacific Electric Co. from its parent, UV Industries, for $345 million....Most security analysts considered Federal Pacific a rather second-rate operation, which explains why Reliance's stock fell by some 15% when the merger was first announced. But Wall Street's views turned out to have been overly charitable.
    
    "The problem, according to a suit that Reliance subsequently brought to force UV to take back its company, is that Federal Pacific cheated for years on tests of its circuit breakers by Underwriters Laboratories. Without UL certification, the circuit breakers would have been unsalable. 'It was the most sophisticated swindle I have ever seen,' [Reliance CEO B. Charles] Ames says. 'They had constructed a laboratory with miles of buried wires and concealed levers just so they could trick the UL inspectors'"
    
    Bear in mind that Reliance's lawsuit gave them a reason to state the situation as drastically as possible. For instance, "miles" in the quote above is a figure of speech. But it's still pretty damning. And a guy I talked to at UL, who deals with low-voltage circuit breakers (Mike Mays, 847-272-8800, x42996) confirmed that Federal Pacific was cheating on their UL tests.
    
    How long was this cheating going on? The _New York Times_ of 6/25/82 (covering a $39 million out-of-court settlement between UV and Reliance) says only that Reliance charged that FPE had been cheating "for years" (p.D3).
    
    _Business Week_ of 7/21/80 (p.66), in a report on Reliance's lawsuit against UV, refers to "the charge that defective electrical equipment may have been installed in perhaps 10% of all homes built or renovated in the _past_decade_or_more_" (my emphasis). However, this was before the details of FPE's cheating scheme had become public, and lawsuits often claim a 'worst case' scenario in the initial filing of charges.
    
    The 10/19/81 _Fortune_ article cited above makes it sound like the cheating was going on for about three years up through 1978 or '79: "When the cheating stopped at Federal Pacific Electric is not precisely clear, for many documents in the Reliance suit have been sealed by court order....What everyone agrees on is that on Oct. 23, 1978, ...an ex-employee of Federal Pacific sent a letter to one of its executives revealing some details about cheating at a plant in Albemarle, NC....On September 13 [apparently 1979-- article not entirely clear], [FPE president] Knudson was sent a report from the chief engineer at the Albemarle plant, predicting that almost all circuit breakers that Federal Pacific had made would lose their Underwriters Laboratories labels....
    
    The _Fortune_ article goes on to say that by May, 1980, FPE "had lost the UL labels on virtually its entire line of circuit breakers, which had accounted for $100 million in sales in 1979. Ames' staff also had begun tallying the potential expense if a recall program became necessary [depending on the CPSC's decision]. The initial estimate: _three_years'_ production of the Albemarle plant might have to be replaced by electricians" [my emphasis].
    
    Mike Mays of UL told me that the cheating was going on for less than three years, closer to two, up until about 1979. He said he was pretty certain that there was no cheating going on before then, becuase the guy who had run the FPE lab in Belmont, NC, "knew when they put that coil of wire underneath the floor." When I mentioned that the FPE breakers in our new home were installed in 1972, he said, "Oh, those are the good ones," adding that a UL employee who worked near to him had FPE breakers from the early '70's in his own home.
    
    The _Business Week_ article quoted above states that FPE circuit breakers were "delisted...after UL changed testing procedures for circuit breakers following CPSC concern that the product [apparently meaning all kinds of circuit breakers, not just FPE's] might pose fire hazards." I asked Mays of UL whether UL's testing procedures for circuit breakers had changed around the time that FPE's cheating began-- I was thinking that a new, stricter test might have been the reason that FPE wanted to cut corners. Mays said no, that there had been no change in circuit breaker tests and that in fact "we use the same test today." He said the cheating was just motivated by the fact that the company was in terrible shape financially (and the _Fortune_ and _Business Week_ accounts support this description of FPE's profitability).
    
    So it sounds to me that if our FPE breakers were installed in 1972, we should not have any particular cause for concern (other than the point about multiwire branch circuits-- which I half-understood-- raised in the 11/10/95 note on your Web page).
    
    Do you think that's true? Do you know any way to confirm the manufacture date of an FPE circuit breaker?
    
    Thanks for your time (& your Web page!). Peter Hogness to DJF - 8/12/96
98. FPE and aluminum wire, power surges - Would like any additional info on this subject you might have. Purchased a house a year ago that's has these type of breakers with aluminum wiring, and having constant power surges and power outages without the breaker tripping. Concern that I am sitting on a potential fire hazard. Sara D. NAVSEA to DJF -
99. Tennessee FPE Noark Panel replacement breaker Query Oak Ridge- I have an FPE "NOARK" electical panel with Stab-lok breakers in my house. My situation is further complicated by the fact that the panel was installed in a closet and therefore does not have the proper clearance (by NEC standards) in front of the panel. My local code will not allow me to replace the panel in its current location. To replace the panel I would have to relocate it in an area that provides the proper clearance. Since FPE lost their UL listing, I have had to use circuit breakers made by another company (whose name I can't recall at the moment). The breakers are made for the NOARK panel. I recently installed a 230-V 30A breaker and a 115-V breaker manufactured by this company. Do you think these replacement breakers are possibly safer than the ones made by FPE? If so, would replacing all the Stab-lok breakers be a wise thing to do? to DJF -
100. California FPE failures Los Angeles Electrician - Nice to see that this FPE debate is coming to a head! I've been in the trade for 16 yrs. , & spent about 8 as a service elect. in the W.L.A./ Beverly