Older Stab-Lok loadcenter?

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olc

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Out of curiosity:
Are all Stab-lok panelboards in question?
Or are the questionable circuit breakers from the later 70's - 80's? (I'm assuming this one is older than '75 but don't really know for sure)
Stab-lok.jpg
 
I think the later ones was where listing issues arose.

That said an insurance company can still refuse to offer coverage if they want to, many simply won't cover anything with those or fuse boxes- even if they have the type S adapters installed
 
There is a lot of information at Inspectapedia. Besides this page that I link to, go to the Inspectapedia home page, click on "Electrical" and scroll down to "Federal Pacific" were there are several links that speak to your opening post question.
 
Follow up question - is there a issue with Federal Pacific commercial panelboard circuit breakers?
 
olc said:
Follow up question - is there a issue with Federal Pacific commercial panelboard circuit breakers?
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Other then Stab-Lok? Only heard of problems with the Stab-Lok panels & breakers, hopefully people more knowledgeable then me will post.
 
IIRC, FPE breakers lost their listing when their breakers started to fail UL testing. But they still sold breakers with the UL stamp on the packaging and on the breakers themselves.

So that basically threw every FPE breaker into question.... is this breaker a 'good' one made before the failed test, or after?
 
I remember trying to locate a breaker the old fashioned way in a Kmart about 30 years ago, burned off 3” of wire, still didn’t trip, so just had to assume the circuit would hold what I was adding. FPE panelboard.
 
hillbilly1 said:
I remember trying to locate a breaker the old fashioned way in a Kmart about 30 years ago, burned off 3” of wire, still didn’t trip, so just had to assume the circuit would hold what I was adding. FPE panelboard.
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Rather scary thought that the breaker did not trip. Did K Mart (then the parent co was SS Kresge(sp?)) spec FPE gear? The local K Mart that opened in 1973, & closed Jan 2020 had FPE gear, which is not common around here either. Most common place to see FPE breakers was in Zinsco/Sylvania switchboards & panelboards.
 
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norcal said:
Rather scary thought that the breaker did not trip. Did K Mart (then the parent co was SS Kresge(sp?)) spec FPE gear? The local K Mart that opened in 1973, & closed Jan 2020 had FPE gear, which is not common around here either. Most common place to see FPE breakers was in Zinsco/Sylvania switchboards & panelboards.
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They must have, this store was pretty old even back then. The company I worked for at that time did a lot of their remodels. This was one in Huntsville, Alabama, if I remember correctly. They were taking the snack bars out of the stores at that time.
 
goldstar said:
Here is a re-print from a 2015 article in EC&M Magazine explaining the issue with Federal breakers:


Basically, when insurance companies see a Federal panel in a residence many will not issue an insurance policy. I've never heard of an instance where commercial grade Federal breakers were an issue.
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I remember replacing larger FPE breakers on commercial projects back in the 70s. I was an apprentice and was there to help but don’t remember why.
 
Kmart had some very valuable properties they kept during a bankruptcy, the regional headquarters in Atlanta was sold for a nice chunk of change to WalMart many years ago. Walmart tore it down and put up a super center there.
 
Real estate is where Lampert made money from Sears, & K Mart, while running the stores into the ground.
 
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