Federal Pacific Panel

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Michael15956

Senior Member
Location
NE Ohio
Recently installed a transfer switch to a FPE Panel which passed inspection but the inspector advised the older home owners that this panel type has been known to cause a fire. Naturally the owners were concerned and wanted my opinion. Before I give them an opinion I would like to know if there is any empirical data out that should give the owners a concern.

Visible the panel appeared sound.
 
IMO - they do NOT CAUSE fires... Electrical faults cause fires....

While FPE has an extremely bad rep for their name they did make some decent larger breakers and switches. But the Stab-lock line was of poor design and unfortunately widely sold.

As far as thermal magnetic breaker design goes - they have a lot to be desired. The buss work is often looses contact pressure - arcs eventually to open. The breaker contacts often fuse shut. And even when they are not, seem to hold currents that damage wiring, And in direct bolted shorts will often hold with very little current limiting, often vaporizing the conductor at the short and never tripping, or melting the insulation. While the fault is not because of the breaker - they do little to protect from the damage during one.

So IMO they do not CAUSE fires - but may do very little to keep you from having one due to some other cause.

Breaker design has come a long way - there are safer options. And since the cost of some replacement parts for FPE can exceed the cost of a new panel and it's breakers, (in some places even some portion of the labor to install a new one) it is often more economical to get rid of it, and you'll sleep better.....
 
I get asked this question by home owners myself.........
My response is how old is the panel? And since the panel has been installed how many fires have there been in the house caused by the panel?
Do I recommend replacing the panel..... YES. I recommend updating all electrical equiptment that is 25 yrs plus.
 
i get asked this question by home owners myself.........
My response is how old is the panel? And since the panel has been installed how many fires have there been in the house caused by the panel?
Do i recommend replacing the panel..... Yes. I recommend updating all electrical equiptment that is 25 yrs plus.


exactly......................

In my opinion for us to make statements without HARD data is wrong, you can say there are cases reported, it has been stated by others or I have seen. But to make a statement (as if there is documentation to back you up) that something is bad or defective without documentation to back it up is WRONG. We are suppose to be professionals not rumour mongers.
 
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I've had some intimate contact with some FPE lately. An entire apartment project (160 units, 10 6-plexes, 20 4-plexes, 3 duplexes), all FPE.

I was kinda on the fence about the danger of FPE until I saw this place. Tomorrow, after replacing a panel and a service last week, I will have no doubt in my recommendation to the owners about replacing every last box. The entire project is utterly trashed.

None of the service handles work correctly. Some only shut off a phase, manually, without a lot of effort. They are all either trip-happy or refuse to trip.

I'm in the process of digging up more info at the moment, just stumbled across this.

On the bright side, it will provide a good opportunity and application for me to get a new Fluke 1507. :)
 
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