GTE Sylvania

[blueheels2]

I’m replacing 2 200 amp garage panels that have the smal zinsco breakers that are the fire hazards. They are fed by GE Sylvania 200 amp exterior disconnects. House was built in ‘81 so it’s due a service change but the question is are the exterior breakers a hazard as well?

Been doing electrical work for 25 years and this is the first GTE/Sylvania/Zinsco that I have ever come across.

 

[ptonsparky]

IMO
Look at them. Obvious signs of corrosion or overheating?
Do a FOP across the contacts with known good-sized load. Milk house heaters work.
Manually cycle them a few times. Do they feel right?

Given the results are ok, leave them.

Just because the house was built in '81 does not mean it's due a service change.

 

[blueheels2]

Disconnect picture

 

[Jraef]

The biggest issues with Zinsco are that the busses and breaker bus clips corrode and overheat, starting fires and/or damaging the breakers so that they can’t trip. There was a company that attempted to fix this issue by designing new retrofit bus bar systems to replace the interiors, but nobody would touch it because by then, insurance companies just labeled Zinsco as “dangerous” and started refusing to underwrite homes with them installed.

The meter-main breaker would not likely be plug-on, so that issue would not apply, but in my experience, it doesn’t matter to the insurance companies. The name “GTE/Sylvania” is toxic, details are irrelevant to them. I’ve seen them nix coverage for someone who had the non-Zinsco Sylvania panel that predated Sylvania having bought Zinsco. Didn’t matter, the name was all they cared about.

 

[jaggedben]

Pretty sure that main breaker type is the one that continued to be used by Challenger/Cutler Hammer for a while and may still be sold for some Millbank equipment. If so it's fine.

Name brand shouldn't matter, it's the product that matters. Of course some insurance people are idiots who don't understand that.