Zinsco safety
- Thread starter Heidi
- Start date
- Status
pierre
Senior Member
- Location
- Westchester County, New York
Re: Zinsco safety
Heidi
Google - Zinsco electrical panels - and you will find all the info you may desire about this equipment.
Heidi
Google - Zinsco electrical panels - and you will find all the info you may desire about this equipment.
charlie
Senior Member
- Location
- Indianapolis
Re: Zinsco safety
Zinsco panelboards should all be painted olive drab and have a ring/pin attached. They are as dangerous as a hand grenade and may detonate at any time.
Zinsco panelboards should all be painted olive drab and have a ring/pin attached. They are as dangerous as a hand grenade and may detonate at any time.
petersonra
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern illinois
- Occupation
- engineer
Re: Zinsco safety
It may indeed be true that they exhibit a higher failure rate than other panelboard brand, but in point of fact some brand of panelboard has to be the one most likely to fail in some dangerous way.
Personally I think K+T wiring, old fuse panels, and a whole host of other electrical messes are far more likely to burn down your hosue. I would not focus so much on this particular issue.
particualarly when the extra risk is not even quantified. Does your risk of catastrophic failure increase from 1 in a million to 2 in a million over some other brand? If so, is that a good reason to change them out?
I think thats a little harsh. There are a ton of these things out there and only a very small percentage of them have ever exhibited a problem.Originally posted by charlie:
Zinsco panelboards should all be painted olive drab and have a ring/pin attached. They are as dangerous as a hand grenade and may detonate at any time.
It may indeed be true that they exhibit a higher failure rate than other panelboard brand, but in point of fact some brand of panelboard has to be the one most likely to fail in some dangerous way.
Personally I think K+T wiring, old fuse panels, and a whole host of other electrical messes are far more likely to burn down your hosue. I would not focus so much on this particular issue.
particualarly when the extra risk is not even quantified. Does your risk of catastrophic failure increase from 1 in a million to 2 in a million over some other brand? If so, is that a good reason to change them out?
sandsnow
Senior Member
- Location
- Southern California
Re: Zinsco safety
Heidi
google zinsco danger and you will get a bunch of hits
Heidi
google zinsco danger and you will get a bunch of hits
charlie tuna
Senior Member
- Location
- Florida
Re: Zinsco safety
i agree with bob--above! i don't remember any recall or required breaker change-out like federal pacific had years ago.
being in the infrared scanning business for 16 years we found that the "installation" was more important than the brand or manufacturer. we used to think "oh federal pacific, we're gonna find alot of problems here" -- only to find very few!!! then go to a sqaure d spec job the next day and find many problems throughout the facility! i do not like zinsco products-- but there are many good operating installations in the field today!!!
i agree with bob--above! i don't remember any recall or required breaker change-out like federal pacific had years ago.
being in the infrared scanning business for 16 years we found that the "installation" was more important than the brand or manufacturer. we used to think "oh federal pacific, we're gonna find alot of problems here" -- only to find very few!!! then go to a sqaure d spec job the next day and find many problems throughout the facility! i do not like zinsco products-- but there are many good operating installations in the field today!!!
Re: Zinsco safety
There were a few main problems with Zinsco products that I noticed: the attachment spring was sometimes looser than it should have been for full contact; the aluminum bars changed physically to a less conductive and "coated" or oxidized state once overheated (or even heated ); and the breaker style seemed to trap heat near the attachment screws or at the attachment clip, damaging nearby breakers as well as the overheating breaker.
The panels seemed barely adequate for wire spacing in the 20/40 slim panels. It seemed that all the wires would have to pass thru one location.
I have repaired panels with new bars and always re-adjusted the spring clips by forcing them closed before re-installing. As far as I know, most of the panels that I repaired in this fashion are still operating unless remodels created need (or opportunity) for updating the panel, for size, parts availability, and used equipment restrictions. Some jurisdictions did not like relocating panels, saying they were "used". This may merely been a way to get rid of Zinsco and fedpac panels.
The main problem seems to be the overheating/fires liability with less than meticulous installations.
paul
There were a few main problems with Zinsco products that I noticed: the attachment spring was sometimes looser than it should have been for full contact; the aluminum bars changed physically to a less conductive and "coated" or oxidized state once overheated (or even heated ); and the breaker style seemed to trap heat near the attachment screws or at the attachment clip, damaging nearby breakers as well as the overheating breaker.
The panels seemed barely adequate for wire spacing in the 20/40 slim panels. It seemed that all the wires would have to pass thru one location.
I have repaired panels with new bars and always re-adjusted the spring clips by forcing them closed before re-installing. As far as I know, most of the panels that I repaired in this fashion are still operating unless remodels created need (or opportunity) for updating the panel, for size, parts availability, and used equipment restrictions. Some jurisdictions did not like relocating panels, saying they were "used". This may merely been a way to get rid of Zinsco and fedpac panels.
The main problem seems to be the overheating/fires liability with less than meticulous installations.
paul
- Status