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ELECTRICAL INSPECTION, DIAGNOSIS, REPAIR
FPE Stab-Lok HAZARDS & REPAIRS WEBSITE
SUMMARY OF the FPE Stab-Lok PROBLEM
FPE HAZARD ARTICLES, STUDIES
FPE Stab-Lok TECHNICAL REPORT
HOW TO IDENTIFY FPE & FP
REPORTS OF FPE FAILURES
HOW TO REPORT FPE INCIDENTS
FPE REPAIR ELECTRICIANS
FPE REPLACEMENT BREAKERS
FPE REPLACEMENT PANELS
FPE REPLACEMENT PANEL COSTS
CAN'T AFFORD A NEW ELECTRIC PANEL?
FEDERAL PIONEER in CANADA
FPE Stab-lok: FIRES WAITING TO HAPPEN
FPE HISTORY
ADVICE TO HOME BUYERS w/ FPE PANELS
HOME INSPECTION LANGUAGE for FPE Stab-Lok
IAEI LETTER
FPE Stab-Lok Hazard Summary Page for Public Use

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FPE breaker failed to trip - this is a typical breaker side blow-out that occurs.Replacement FPE Stab-Lok Circuit Breakers
InspectAPedia®  -    

  • Advice about replacing FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers
  • Why is replacement of the FPE Stab-Lok electrical panel recommended instead of just installing replacement circuit breakers?
  • Performance of replacement FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers
  • Other FPE Stab-Lok electrical panel defects & hazards
We recommend that residential FPE Stab-Lok electrical panels be replaced entirely or the entire panel bus assembly be replaced entirely, regardless of model number or year of manufacture. We recommend against replacing individual FPE Stab-lok circuit breakers. We do not sell circuit breakers nor any other products. Our site offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest. We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices, false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at InspectAPedia.com/appointment.htm.

This article offers advice about replacing FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers - Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok breakers and discusses how to repair FPE StabLok Panels and circuit breakers for actual improvements in electrical safety.

The FPE Stab-Lok website explains the fire and shock hazards associated with Federal Pacific Electric Stab-lok circuit breakers and service panels, provides a history of the issue, recounts research on FPE failures, and recommends replacement of the panels. For FPE Stab-Lok electric panel replacement, we offer list of licensed electricians who can perform an electrical panel replacement or repair. FPE-experienced electricians can be listed at no fee. The web author has no business, financial, or other connection with this product nor with its replacement.

Electronic copies and reproduction of this information at other websites are prohibited. Readers are welcome to make and distribute printed copies of our articles about FPE Stab-Lok equipment provided this web page is cited and provided that the content is not edited or changed. Contact us to suggest edits, changes, corrections, updates.

© 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.

What is the Proper Repair for FPE Stab-Lok Panels and Circuit Breakers?

Homeowners and renovators who encounter these panels should replace the entire panel and circuit breaker set with new equipment. Panel replacement, can involve significant expense, typically $800 to $1800 depending on service size and other factors.

Do not simply replace individual FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers:

1. No Evidence of Improved FPE Stag-Lok Replacement Circuit Breaker Performance

First of all, there is no data suggesting that new stock, replacement FPE breakers, or "new old stock" FPE breakers found in storage somewhere perform any better than the ones already in the FPE Stab-lok panel. In fact, limited testing of replacement FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers also detected failures to trip in response to overcurrent conditions. In at least some cases, replacement circuit breakers are manufactured in Asia as copies of the original, problematic breaker design, as we discuss at #3 below.

2. Other FPE problems besides circuit breakers

FPE Second, there are other functional and safety concerns in the panel besides the breakers themselves. We've seen panel bus damage, panel bus meltdowns, and failure of breakers to remain secured in or onto the connecting bus itself.

See REPLACEMENT PANELS for some panel replacement alternatives that might reduce the repair cost.

3. Replacement Federal Pacific Electric FPE Stab-Lok Circuit Breakers

For several reasons We do not recommend attempting to "repair" an individual failed Stab-lok breaker by buying a replacement either from used stock, new stock, or "compatible" stock:

  • The replacement equipment has not been independently tested and demonstrated to perform any better than the original materials
  • Engineers involved in this research have explained that a good part of the source of product failure for FPE Stab-Loks was in the original design and its specifications.

    It appears that while there were some "on the fly" (and unapproved) changes from time to time on the manufacturing line for this product, there was never a redesign suitable to attempt to "design out" the product failure.

    One expert opined to us privately that he believed that the original product's price point in the electrical equipment market was at the low end, and that had Federal Pacific attempted a redesign they'd not have had a product they could sell at their price point.
  • There are other hazards in the equipment besides the breakers, including bus and bus insulation meltdowns and shorts.

4. A few other warnings about things people try to reduce the hazards of FPE Stab-Lok Breakers:

  • "Exercising" the circuit breakers by turning them on and off has not been shown to "un-stick" or in any other manner improve the probability of working properly, and conversely, such activity may in fact increase the chances of a future failure
  • "Testing" circuit breakers by applying a load may give an instantaneous picture of the performance of individual breakers but it does not predict their performance when a real safety problem occurs (overcurrent) later. More important, except if performed by a very expert person, in-place testing is very dangerous, risking fires in the building being tested.

In sum, if you could replace all the FPE Stab-Lok equipment with (somehow magically obtained) all "new" FPE Stab-Lok equipment (found in a used-or new-old-stock warehouse for example) the risk level for the building would not be sufficiently different from before the replacement and would remain high: there remains a latent risk of fire from failure of these breakers to trip in response to overcurrent.

5. Replacement Federal Pacific Electric FPE Stab-Lok Panels is Recommended

For some cost and method alternatives when replacing an Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok Panel or "load center" see REPLACEMENT PANELS which describes conventional Option#1 - "remove and replace" the electrical panel and Option#2 - FPE Load Center Replacement using Cutler Hammer (CH) Adjustable Retrofit Kit

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Technical Reviewers & References

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.

THE FPE Stab-Lok WEBSITE
ARTICLES
SUMMARY OF PROBLEM
FPE Stab-Lok TECHNICAL REPORT
HOW TO IDENTIFY FPE & FP
REPORTS OF FPE FAILURES
REPORT YOUR FAILURE
REPAIR ELECTRICIANS
REPLACEMENT BREAKERS
FPE REPLACEMENT PANELS
CANADIAN VERSIONS
FIRES WAITING TO HAPPEN
  How Many Stab-Loks
  Stab-Lok Failure Rate
  Proper Repair
  FPE REPLACEMENT BREAKERS
  Proving the Hazard
  Multiwire Circuits
  Single Pole Breakers
  Latent Safety Hazard
  Failure Reports
  Technical Reports
ADVICE TO HOME BUYERS w/ FPE PANELS
HOME INSPECTION LANGUAGE for FPE Stab-Lok
IAEI LETTER

  • Note: as we didn't add this reviewers list until 2007, this list of technical reviewers is incomplete; we have received comments and suggestions regarding this topic, edits and remarks included, from engineers and management from the US CPSC, electricians (many listed at our page on field reports of FPE failures), home inspectors, licensed electricians, and electrical engineers, and even a few attorneys and real estate agents, since 1986. Technical review, critique, content suggestions, questions, or clarifications are invited and where a contributor wishes, credit and links will be provided to that source. Contact us to provide feedback.
  • Dr. Jess Aronstein, electrical engineer, Poughkeepsie, NY, forensic engineering services, independent laboratory testing for various agencies
  • Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, Ontario. Mr. Carson is a home inspection professional, educator, researcher, writer, and a principal of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection and education firm. Mr. Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors
  • Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. (727) 595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com 11/06
  • Carl Grasso, Esq., Herzfeld & Rubin, New York, NY. Mr. Grasso is an attorney who managed a plaintiff's class action litigation against Federal Pacific Electric in New Jersey.
  • Licensed Electricians: FPE Fire and Failure Reports includes electricians who have provided cases and photographs of field failures of FPE equipment at this website.
  • Private opinion: from an electrical engineer involved in government testing of FPE Stab-Lok equipment, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to speak for the agency with whom he was employed.
  • Homeowners, Home Inspectors, Electricians: Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Panel Fires and other Failures includes anecdotal field reports provided by a range of contributors including electricians (and some home owners or home inspectors) who have provided cases and photographs of field failures of FPE equipment at this website
  • William King, US CPSC Director of Electrical Engineering (Ret).
FPE Stab-Lok HAZARDS & REPAIRS WEBSITE

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