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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. Page top photo of a Zinsco electrical panel provided by Washington state electrician J. P. Simmons

© Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

HOW TO REPORT FAILURES - How and Where to Report Zinsco or Sylvania Electrical Equipment Failures

How and Where to Report Zinsco or Sylvania Electrical Equipment Failures to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Use this US CPSC Incident Report Form to report Zinsco or Sylvania-Zinsco equipment failures and problems. Please also report incidents to this web author.

How and Where to Report Zinsco or Sylvania Electrical Equipment Failures to the Website Author for Compilation

Submissions of field failure reports and failure photographs wanted. Contact the web author

Home Inspection Report Language for Zinsco or Sylvania-Zinsco Electrical Equipment Hazards

Visual Inspection of Zinsco Panels Will Not Reliably Show Unsafe Conditions

Most of the time we check a Zinsco/Sylvania panel it looks great to the naked eye even with the cover off. There may be no obvious heat damage or signs of conductor damage. Home inspectors who comply with the ASHI or other Standards of Practice will remove the electric panel cover but they will not remove the circuit breakers themselves nor perform any other disassembly of electrical panel components. This restriction is established for the safety of the inspector who will not usually have the same level of electrical training as a licensed electrician.

Inspecting in this manner will usually not disclose damage even though very significant damage such as overheated connections, blown-out circuit breakers, or other failures may be present. Many of the panels we see do not have a main breaker so the only way to disconnect all the power is to have the meter pulled out by the power company - a step well beyond the scope of a home inspection.

Inspection of Zinsco Electrical Panels Might Actually Increase the Risk of a Future Failure

Many times when a licensed electrician pulls out the breakers, the breakers and bussing are damaged. I [J. Simmons] have personally seen them in such poor condition that the part of the breaker that pushes onto the bussing has become welded to the buss. The breaker actually broke apart with the connection staying on the buss and the rest of the breaker coming out) when I tried to remove it.

How Often do Experts find Damaged Zinsco Electrical Equipment

We see damage in about 25% of the Zinsco/Sylvania panels that are checked. The problem occurs mostly on circuit breakers feeding circuits that have a steady heavy load on them (like heaters, hot water tank, dryer), and on circuits that are often overloaded such as circuits that supply the kitchen or bathroom.

In houses with Zinsco/Sylvania electrical panels and circuit breakers, I [Simmons] have tested these circuits with up to 30 amps on a 20 amp circuit breaker. The Zinsco circuit breaker will carry the overload for a long time without tripping. This causes the connection to heat up and start arcing to the buss bar. The problem is primarily in the panels with aluminum buss bars, but also has been seen in the ones with copper buss. Moisture seems to accelerate the process.

Recommended Home Inspection Report Warning Language for Zinsco Electrical Panels & Circuit Breakers

These circuit breakers are very poor quality and do not provide a safe level of over current or short circuit protection. In our opinion [J. Simmons and D. Friedman], home inspectors who observe Zinsco or Sylvania-Zinsco electrical equipment in a home should warn the homeowner that

A Zinsco ^TM or GTE-Sylvania^TM-Zinsco [or Kearney] electrical panel is installed in this building. Serious electrical hazards may be present in the electrical panel which could result in overheating, fire, or inability to turn off the electrical power in the home. A licensed electrician who is familiar with this equipment should be called to inspect the panel for immediate fire and shock hazards.

While replacement of this equipment is not currently required by law, regardless of its visually-apparent condition, we recommend that homeowners replace this equipment. Significant expense may be involved.

With the exception of the more extensively-studied FPE Stab-Lok electrical panels, we have not received a significant number of field failure reports concerning any other eletrical panel brands that also use aluminum parts and that are or were priced in the same range as this Zinsco equipment. This means homes with this equipment are at greater risk of fire or other electrical hazard.

Additional information about this hazards is available at an independent building failures research website: http://InspectAPedia.com/electric/Zinsco.htm

More in-depth, un-biased, expert information on these topics and on building defect inspection, diagnosis, & repair can be found at More Information below.

© Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved -MAKING ELECTRONIC COPIES THIS WEB PAGE or PHOTOS IS PROHIBITED - but readers and inspectors are permitted to print and pass on this information to interested parties, and you are encouraged to provide interested parties with the address of this web pageInspectAPedia.com/electric/Zinsco.htm. Link exchanges between industry experts and this page are welcome and will be provided if you contact the author.

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

ZINSCO SYLVANIA ELECTRICAL PANELS
ADVICE FOR ZINSCO OWNERS
  ZINSCO SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
  SIGNS OF ZINSCO GTE SYLVANIA TROUBLE
IDENTIFY ZINSCO ELECTRICAL PANELS
IDENTIFY GTE SYLVANIA-ZINSCO PANELS
IDENTIFY ZINSCO SYLVANIA METER BASE
IDENTIFY KEARNEY PANELS
GTE-SYLVANIA-ZINSCO FAILURE MECHANISM
ZINSCO FAILURE PHOTOGRAPHS
ZINSCO FAILURE REPORTS
HOW TO REPORT ELECTRICAL FAILURES
  REPORT TO WEB AUTHOR
  REPORT TO THE US CPSC
  ZINSCO INSPECTION REPORT LANGUAGE
REPLACEMENT ELECTRICAL PANELS
  OPTION #1 RETROFIT KIT
  OPTION #2 REPLACEMENT
  OPTION #1 vs OPTION #2
REPLACEMENT PANEL COSTS
ZINSCO WARRANTY & CONTACT INFO
REPAIR ELECTRICIANS

• 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

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building design, inspection, and repair, and about indoor environment testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
• 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)
• * Safety Hazards and Safe Inspection Procedures for Electrical and Home Inspectors at Residential Electric Panels
• Aluminum Wiring Information Website Aluminum Electrical Wiring Hazards and Repairs: in-depth authoritative info, photos, documents including selection of proper vs. ineffective repair methods. E.g.: Ideal 65 "Twister" purple connector fails in field and lab testing with aluminum wire.
• Ampacity of an Electrical Service: How to determine the electrical service size or ampacity entering a building
• Circuit Breaker, a bad one fails to trip failure at aluminum bus-to-circuit breaker connection - field report and photographs
• Electrical Panels, How to Inspect in Buildings, safety for electrical inspectors, electrical panel, fusing, wiring defects, defective products. Inspection Class Presentation
• Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Stab-Lok Circuit Breaker Panel Hazards Website - Latent fire hazards, in-depth authoritative research, documents, advice on Stab-Lok electric panel and circuit breaker failures and what to do when this equipment is found in buildings.
• Lightning Strike Risk Assessment, Protection Systems & Services
• Multi-wire branch circuit inspection and defects
• 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.
• "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.
• "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.
• Electrical System & Wiring Hazard Inspection, Detection, Cause, Remedy, Prevention - Main Electrical Page
• ...

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Electrical System & Wiring Hazard Inspection, Detection, Cause, Remedy, Prevention
• ** Safety Hazards and Safe Electrical Inspection Procedures for Electrical and Home Inspectors at Residential Electric Panels
• Aluminum Wiring Information Website Aluminum Electrical Wiring Hazards and Repairs: in-depth authoritative info, photos, documents including selection of proper vs. ineffective repair methods. E.g.: Ideal 65 "Twister" purple connector fails in field and lab testing with aluminum wire.
• Electrical Panels, How to Inspect in Buildings, safety for electrical inspectors, electrical panel, fusing, wiring defects, defective products. Inspection Class Presentation
• Rust and Corrosion in Electrical Panels, A Study and Report on Frequency and Cause for Electrical and Home Inspectors at Residential Electric Panels

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