Federal Pacific Electrical Panel Box

They have design flaws that could cause a house fire.

Federal pacific electrical panel box.

A federal pacific electric fpe circuit breaker panel can appear to be working properly for years. It depends on how many circuits you have the existing conditions whether it s a single family dwelling multi family dwelling and the amperage of the panel. 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. Other names for a federal pacific electrical panel include federal pacific electrical breaker box or fpe stab lok breaker.

How to identify a federal pacific electrical service panel. Summary of federal pacific panels i believe that these panels are not safe and that the best course of action would be to get rid of a federal pacific panel if you have one in your home. The breaker box door usually says federal pacific electric or fpe once you open the door you will usually but not always see the words stab lok in the center or. A federal pacific electrical breaker box works like other home electrical panels.

Federal pacific electric panels are most common in homes built between 1950 and 1980. The cost to replace a federal pacific or zinsco panel ranges from 1 500 to 4 000. How federal pacific electrical panels or breaker boxes work. Between the 1950s and 1980s home installed millions of these panels.

We contacted several angie s list super service award winning electricians about how much it costs to replace circuit breaker boxes. Inside look for the name stab loc the brand name of the circuit breakers. All have experience working on potentially unsafe federal pacific breakers with stab lok panels. Since these are older systems this includes some upgrades to wiring.

If you have one you ll want to call a pro as soon as possible to upgrade. The breakers inside the panel are designed to guard your home against serious electrical problems by preventing circuit overload short circuits and outside power surges coming into. Federal pacific zinsco panel replacement costs. It will generally cost around 1500 2500 to upgrade your home s electrical service and get rid of the federal pacific panel.

Federal pacific panels also known as fpe panels were a popular residential electrical panel choice in the mid to late 20th century.