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 How to Identify GTE Sylvania-(Zinsco) Electrical Panels & Circuit Breakers
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GTE Sylvania Zinsco breaker & panel identification: here we provide text, labels, and equipment photographs used to help identify Zinsco and GTE-Sylvania-Zinsco electrical panels and circuit breakers, and we include photographs of a Zinsco look alike marketed by Kearney.
Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman.
How to Identify GTE-Sylvania-Zinsco Electrical Panels and Circuit Breakers
This website discusses the electrical, fire, and shock hazards associated with Zinsco electrical components,
circuit breakers, electrical panels, including
certain Sylvania electrical panels and breakers which are in fact of the same product design and origin.
Readers should also see IDENTIFY ZINSCO SYLVANIA METER BASE and see GTE-SYLVANIA-ZINSCO FAILURE MECHANISM, as well as ZINSCO FAILURE REPORTS.
 Zinsco electrical panels were distributed in the United States, primarily in the Western states.
Photo (at left) of a recent GTE Sylvania Zinsco circuit breaker burnup courtesy of Jeff Weissman.
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Some Sylvania brand electrical panels are essentially a "Zinsco in Sylvania's clothing". The panel labels may identify it as "Sylvania", Sylvania-Zinsco, or GTE-Sylvania-Zinsco, but
the circuit breaker colors and other external details permit the inspector to identify the problem Zinsco-design electrical panel bus and circuit breaker materials.
Photographs of Zinsco Sylvania and GTE Sylvania Zinsco electrical panel labels courtesy of J. P. Simmons.
An expert who opens the electrical
panel or performs further disassembly (DANGER) can further identify the characteristic circuit breaker details but the circuit breaker
toggle switch colors and unique labels should be sufficient for most inspectors and owners to identify this equipment. |
IDENTIFY SYLVANIA-ZINSCO - How to Identify Zinsco-like Sylvania Electrical Panels and Circuit Breakers by Electrical Panel Labeling
Some Sylvania brand electrical panels are essentially a "Zinsco in Sylvania's clothing". The panel labels may identify it as "Sylvania", Sylvania-Zinsco, or GTE-Sylvania-Zinsco, but
the circuit breaker colors and other external details permit the inspector to identify the problem Zinsco-design electrical panel bus and circuit breaker materials.
Photographs of Zinsco Sylvania and GTE Sylvania Zinsco electrical panel labels courtesy of J. P. Simmons.
An expert who opens the electrical
panel or performs further disassembly (DANGER) can further identify the characteristic circuit breaker details but the circuit breaker
toggle switch colors and unique labels should be sufficient for most inspectors and owners to identify this equipment. |
Readers should also see IDENTIFY ZINSCO SYLVANIA METER BASE and see GTE-SYLVANIA-ZINSCO FAILURE MECHANISM, as well as ZINSCO FAILURE REPORTS.
Contact Us with field reports and photos. We are pleased to credit and link-to contributors.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about how to identify GTE Sylvania Zinsco electrical panels and and circuit breakers
Question: My electrical panel has the flat busbars but is not labeled Zinsco
My home was built in 1983 and has a circuit breaker panel labeled Sylvania GTE. I have inspected the entire thing- there is no Zinsco marking anywhere, including on the box or breakers, and the Sylvania label is different from those shown in the identification photographs, as is the Underwriter Labs label.
However, it does have the bus bars that are strips of metal that run perpendicular to the back of the panel box.
Do those bus bars indicate it is a Zinsco style Sylvania, or is that a design that was used outside of Zinsco?
Thanks, A.C.
Reply:
A competent onsite inspection by an expert usually finds additional clues that help accurately diagnose a problem in electrical components such as panels and circuit breakers.
That said,
The Zinsco-Sylvania panels I've seen and of which others have provided still more photos included a label that presented both the Sylvania and Zinsco names. But I don't rule out the possibility of some Sylvania labels where you don't see the word Zinsco, either from a particular manufacturing period or because a label could have been peeled off.
The flat busbars perpendicular to the panel back you describe might indicate the panel is a Zinsco design. You or someone who is qualified can (WATCHOUT FOR ELECTROCUTION HAZARDS) open the panel, remove the cover, and inspect one of the breakers: if you see that the breaker matches the Zinsco breaker designs shown in our website article photos - that is, the characteristic Zinsco breaker with a mounting slot and a clip that connects the breaker to the bus bar, then you can know with confidence that it is or is not the Zinsco design, regardless of being labeled as just Sylvania.
I would avoid any unnecessary unplugging and re-plugging of circuit breakers because if it's the Zinsco design, the plug-in procedure on aluminum or even copper plated aluminum bus bars cuts the copper plating and can encourage arcing, bad connections, and overheating or failures in the equipment.
Send us some photos of the whole panel (use the CONTACT link at top, left, or bottom of our web pages), all panel labeling, the bus and a breaker, and we can also most likely confirm what you've got.
Such added details can help us understand what's happening and often permit some useful further comment. What we both learn may help me help someone else.
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Technical Reviewers & References
Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
- Personal communication, J. Aronstein to D. Friedman, 3/6/2006
- James P. Simmons: Personal communication and photographs used in this article series, J. Simmons to Daniel Friedman, 3/4/2006, 2/19/2008. Photographs contributed to this website by Jim P. Simmons, Mr. Electric, Licensed Master Electrician,
1320 Dayton Street SE, Olympia, WA 98501, 360-705-4225, Fax 360-705-0130 or by email to mrelectricoly@msn.com
- Thanks to various electricians, home owners, and home inspectors for contributing the Zinsco Sylvania-Zinsco electric panel and circuit breaker field failure reports cited above.
- Thanks to David Osborn, an alert home inspector, for helpful critique regarding the need for Zinsco/Sylvania electrical panel replacement, 4/27/06
- Thanks to Joe Funderburk,
Alpha & Omega Home Inspections,
Hickory Grove, SC for his photos of a Kearney electrical panel. Mr. Funderburk is a NACHI member and home inspector who can be reached at jfunderburk@aohomeinspection.com or at www.aohomeinspection.com
- Thanks to Texas electrician Jeff Weissman for contribution of photographs of burned Zinsco circuit breakers. 03/06/2007. Mr Weissman can be reached at jeffweissman@gmail.com or by telephone at 713-666-6605
- Thanks to reader Richard Sims for photographs of a 400A Zinsco Electrical panel 3/6/2007
- Thanks to reader Judd Stiff for photos of a Zinsco-Sylvania meter base 3/6/2007
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
 The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
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- Recommended books on electrical inspection, electrical wiring, electrical problem diagnosis, and electrical repair can be found in the Electrical Books section of the InspectAPedia Bookstore. (courtesy of Amazon.com)
- Rust and Corrosion in Electrical Panels, A Study and Report on Frequency and Cause for Electrical and Home Inspectors at Residential Electric Panels
- "Electrical System Inspection Basics," Richard C. Wolcott, ASHI 8th Annual Education Conference, Boston 1985.
- "Simplified Electrical Wiring," Sears, Roebuck and Co., 15705 (F5428) Rev. 4-77 1977 [Lots of sketches of older-type service panels.]
- "How to plan and install electric wiring for homes, farms, garages, shops," Montgomery Ward Co., 83-850.
- "Simplified Electrical Wiring," Sears, Roebuck and Co., 15705 (F5428) Rev. 4-77 1977 [Lots of sketches of older-type service panels.]
- "Home Wiring Inspection," Roswell W. Ard, Rodale's New Shelter, July/August, 1985 p. 35-40.
- "Evaluating Wiring in Older Minnesota Homes," Agricultural Extension Service, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108.
- "Electrical Systems," A Training Manual for Home Inspectors, Alfred L. Alk, American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), 1987, available from ASHI. [DF NOTE: I do NOT recommend this obsolete publication, though it was cited in the original Journal article as it contains unsafe inaccuracies]
- "Basic Housing Inspection," US DHEW, S352.75 U48, p.144, out of print, but is available in most state libraries.
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Sylvania Zinsco Main Panel
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