Is My Federal Pacific Electrical Panel Safe

Federal pacific electric panels may not meet today s updated safety codes.

Is my federal pacific electrical panel safe.

Your circuit breaker panel ensures your home s electrical safety but is the panel itself safe. The result of the defect has linked them to numerous electrical fires. There is no supporting evidence from any government agency or regulatory authority. Issues about federal pacific electric s stab lok.

If your home was built between 1950 and 1990 and is equipped with a federal pacific electric fpe circuit breaker panel with stab lok circuit breakers you run a significant risk of breaker malfunction and fire. Federal pacific electric panels were produced from the mid 1950s well into the 1980s. A circuit gets overloaded this often happens when plugging in too many high powered devices and appliances into a low voltage circuit. There has been and continues to be a lot of discussion about the safety of federal pacific fpe stab lok circuit breaker panels and the fact that they may have inherent defects.

The panel was well known in the building community as a cheaper alternative to some of the more recognizable panel companies such as general electric i t e and square d. They are typically clearly labeled with the words federal pacific electric or fpe also when you open the door you will often see the words stab lok in the center or on the side of the breaker panel. You can identify a zinsco electrical panel with its brightly colored breakers pink yellow red blue and green. And canadian homes were built with circuit breaker panels that one expert has questioned as a potential fire hazard.

Federal pacific stab lok breaker panels are normally easy to recognize. Furthermore their breakers are thinner than modern ones. If you suspect that you may have a federal pacific electric zinsco or an outdated circuit breaker panel in your home or in any event you have not had your panel inspected recently you owe it to yourself and your family to contact a licensed electrical contractor in your area for an inspection. A federal pacific electrical panel as well as other brands and derivatives of fpe breakers are supposed to function as follows.