InspectAPedia ® | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair, & Problem Prevention Advice |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | | | Air Conditioning |
| | Electrical - Energy Saving |
| | Environment Indoor |
| | Exteriors | | | Heating | | | Home Inspection |
| | Insulate - Ventilate |
| | Interiors | | | Mold Inspect/Test |
| | Plumbing Water Septic |
| | Roofing | | | Solar Energy |
| | Structure | | | Contact Us |
| Directory of Professionals to Inspect or Test a Building | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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 FPE Stab Lok IDENTIFICATION FPE STAB-LOK PANEL COVERS FEDERAL NOARK PANELS FEDERAL ELECTRIC PANELS FEDERAL PIONEER PANELS FPE PANEL DOOR LABELS FPE TOGGLE SWITCH FPE BREAKER LABELS HOW TO ID FPE IF NO LABELS FPE PANEL BUS DESIGNS FPE PANEL AGE MATTERS? FPE HISTORIC DATES 1950-Present OTHER FPE DEFECTS 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 More Information InspectAPedia Blog - News Updates Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Privacy Policies Contact Us |
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. For more information see FPE REPLACEMENT PANELS and FPE REPLACEMENT BREAKERS. This page assists in identifying Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok electrical panels and circuit breakers. More FPE information is in the links at page left. 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 document describes the history of the Federal Pacific Electric Company, FPE, giving dates and events which may assist in recognizing Federal Pacific Stab-Lok Electric Panels & hazards in buildings. It is information for building inspectors, home buyers, home owners, electricians exploring the background of possible hazards associated with Federal Pacific Electric Stab-lok circuit breakers and service panels. © 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. HISTORIC DATES - Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok Historic DatesThe following dates are excerpted from various public documents, all of which can be found at this website: 2010 Where is the Federal Pacific Electric company today? Leaving out some steps and omitting (for now) Exxon's role:
2008 - 2007 FPE Stab-Lok TECHNICAL REPORT (revised) - an updated, faster-loading copy of the 2007 FPE circuit breaker test report of independent testing (a large 1.2MB PDF file) using a larger pool of FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers than the older CPSC and Wright Malta tests found significantly higher failure rates of FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers, including a look at critical safety failures (breaker failed to trip at 200% of rated current or jammed) which found up to 80% failure rate for FPE Stab-Lok GFCI circuit breakers (n=4), 12% failure rate for double pole FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers (n=120), and a 1% failure rate for FPE Stab-Lok single pole circuit breakers (n=345). 2008 FPE Class Action Lawsuit Results: In May 2008 the FPE Class Action Lawsuit in New Jersey was finally settled. New Jersey homeowners who were the original owners of an FPE Stab-lok electrical panel received $500. in settlement as part of the action. Institutional class members also got varying amounts, depending on their installations. 2007 FPE Stab-Lok TECHNICAL REPORT - an updated test report of independent testing (a large 1.2MB PDF file) using a larger pool of FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers than the older CPSC and Wright Malta tests found significantly higher failure rates of FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers, including a look at critical safety failures (breaker failed to trip at 200% of rated current or jammed) which found up to 80% failure rate for FPE Stab-Lok GFCI circuit breakers (n=4), 12% failure rate for double pole FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers (n=120), and a 1% failure rate for FPE Stab-Lok single pole circuit breakers (n=345). 2006: Fifty FPE Field Failures Reported to US CPSC - 2006 letter from Dr. Jess Aronstein, consulting engineer 2005: 2005 FPE Class Action Litigation Notice - for homeowners in New Jersey. 25 April 2005 History of Federal Pacific Electric Company: from a trademark dispute court case opinion filed: American Circuit Breaker Corporation v. Oregon Breakers, Inc., and cited below, regarding FPE trademark and products sold in Canada and the U.S. - contents of this ruling include historical data about FPE: At issue [in this court case] is the sale in the United States of circuit breakers imported from Canada under the trademark STABLOK. In an ironic twist, the circuit breakers are gray. Whether viewed as a gray market case or not, American Circuit Breaker Corporation (“ACBC”) must establish a “likelihood of confusion” to prevail. The essential facts are undisputed. ACBC holds the STABLOK trademark in the United States. Schneider Canada holds the STAB-LOK trademark in Canada. Federal Pioneer Limited (“Pioneer”), a subsidiary of Schneider Canada, manufactures circuit breakers for itself and ACBC. The circuit breakers sold by the companies are identical except for the casing color. Pioneer manufactures black circuit breakers for ACBC and gray ones for itself. The parties have stipulated that, except for the casing color, there are no material differences between the products, and that the gray circuit breakers are “genuine” versions of the black ones. This dispute arose because Oregon Breakers bought gray circuit breakers from a Canadian third-party supplier and, without permission from ACBC, sold them in the United States. Historical summary of FPE excerpted from court case cited below: In 1950, Federal Pacific Electric Company (“FPE”) adopted the trademark STAB-LOK for circuit breakers. FPE eventually sold its U.S. circuit breaker business, including the U.S. STAB-LOK trademark, to Challenger Electric. Since 1950, ACBC and its predecessors have continuously used the trademark STAB-LOK on advertising, marketing, and sales of circuit breakers in the United States. ACBC is the record owner of the U.S. mark STAB-LOK, which was issued in 1988. Under the Lanham Act, the mark is incontestable and ACBC has the exclusive right to use the mark. In 1988,
Challenger Electric sold the circuit breaker portion of its business
to ACBC’s predecessor, which in turn assigned all of its
rights in the business and trademark to Provident Industries,
Inc. Provident Industries, Inc. changed its corporate name to
American Circuit Breaker Corporation in late 1988. 2004 FPE Stab-Lok TECHNICAL REPORT - St. Louis ASHI Seminar including: Hazard Summary & Independent Tests confirms Stab-Lok failures. This article is a comprehensive survey of the FPE Hazard, its history, the issues, and recommended repair: replacement of the FPE Stab-Lok panel. 2004 FPE Update: Exxon Buys a Scandal Along With A Company Business Week Article 7/21/80 now available on line 2004: 21 February 2004: Update of ongoing FPE Failure testing reported to ASHI - American Society of Home Inspectors [this topic has been reported to ASHI previously and has been addressed at ASHI conferences and seminars. 2004 Federal Pioneer & Square-D Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter Safety Notice HAZARDOUS FPE CIRCUIT BREAKERS AND PANELS - Testing Update paper presented for the St. Louis ASHI chapter by Dr. Jess Aronstein, reporting on updated FPE Stab-Lok electrical panel circuit breakers in independent testing and commented on various tests and circuit breaker models including:
2002: FPE Class Action Lawsuit Results - 2002: New Jersey Judge's Summary Judgment for the Plaintiffs against FPE 8-15-2002 & 29 October 2002 - "FPE violated the Consumer Fraud Act because FPE knowingly and purposefully distributed circuit breakers which were not tested to meet UL Standards as indicated on their label and there is an ascertainable loss for which treble damages are recoverable;" as reported by the Superior Court of New Jersey. [Note: only very limited recovery rights were granted to homeowners and only in New Jersey. The case may still be under appeal as of January 2007]. 2000: From 1997 to 2000, Oregon Breakers sold gray Pioneer manufactured
STAB-LOK circuit breakers in the United
1999: May 1999 :FPE Stab Lok Website author converses with Schneider Electric re: Federal Pioneer Equipment - further data not forthcoming. December 1999: Ohio FPE Stab-Lok failure-caused panel-fire documented at the website. June 1999: IAEI International Association of Electrical Inspectors publishes anonymously and disclaimed, an article [penned by a previous FPE employee] - stating that there have never been failure, safety, or other issues with FPE Stab-Lok equipment. OUR REPLY disagreed and cited authoritative data found here along with follow up notes 1997: 14 October 1997: Ontario Canada Home Warranty Program issues a warning regarding Canadian Federal Pioneer [Canadian version of FPE Stab-Lok] equipment provided by Schneider Electric if made in 1996 and 1997, and announces a recall program for Canadians. 1997 Schneider Canada Federal Pioneer circuit breaker recall, Schneider Canada Federal Pioneer circuit breaker recall British Columbia Fire Commissioner's Notice and Warning, and Federal Pioneer breaker recall notice from the Canadian Electrical Safety Authority
1996: 1996-1997 Federal Pioneer NCO15 and NC015CP circuit breaker recalls from Schneider Electric in Canada are newer products than the earlier FPE Stab-lok design 1995 Federal Pacific Electric Panels: Fires Waiting to Happen, Debate Waiting to Be Ended. Opinion article by DJF. 1995: 11 October 1995: The FPE Stab-Lok Website created by DJ Friedman as a consumer information and electrical product failure research project. 1993: Prior to 1993, ACBC manufactured black STAB-LOK circuit
breakers for the U.S. market at its plant in Albemarle, Part of the dispute [in the legal case cited below and from which this history is drawn] centered around Pioneer’s claim that it had acquired rights to market under the STAB-LOK mark in the United States, as well as Canada. Although the details of the settlement agreement are confidential, the parties reveal the key elements in their briefs. Under the agreement, Pioneer manufactures black STAB-LOK circuit breakers for ACBC for sale in the United States and ACBC has agreed to purchase guaranteed minimums from Pioneer. Pioneer continues [2005] to manufacture gray STAB-LOK circuit breakers for sale in Canada by Pioneer. The agreement forbids Pioneer from selling its STAB-LOK circuit breakers in the United States for the term of the agreement. The effect of the agreement is that, although ACBC originally acquired its U.S. rights in the STAB-LOK mark from Challenger Electric, a U.S. company, ACBC’s exclusivity of those trademark rights came about through the deal it struck with Pioneer, a Canadian company. Accordingly, since 1993, both black and gray circuit breakers
have been manufactured by Pioneer in Canada and both 1988: In 1950, Federal Pacific Electric Company (“FPE”)
adopted the trademark STAB-LOK for circuit breakers. FPE [Un-dated] Two other FPE related events, estimated to have occurred in this time frame are listed just below. Electro-Mechanical Corporation, purchased the assets of a dry-type transformer facility from Challenger and in conjunction with that purchase, acquired the right to use the name Federal Pacific in connection with their products, excluding Stab-Lok circuit breaker products. HC Zang Agency in Buffalo, NY says that "Federal Pacific Company and Federal Pacific Transformer Company of Bristol, Virginia are in no way related to the old Federal Pacific Electric (FPE)" and offers to answer questions about the old equipment. 1986 Challenger Electric Equipment Corporation acquired (some of the assets of) FPE from Reliance Electric in July 1986. The Switchgear Plant in Newark, NJ was moved to Linden, NJ and was changed to the production of after-market electrical products. The Switchgear Plant was sold to Westinghouse Electric Corporation and subsequently to Cutlher-Hammer. As of a 2008 view of his website, Mr. John Cifrodella reports that he was and continued to serve as plant manager, purchasing all of the FPE inventory, subsequently starting his own company, Federal Pacific Equipment, Inc. of which he, Mr. Cifrodella, serves as president. The Federal Pacific Equipment Corporation is located in Brick New Jersey and according to Mr. Cifrodella, they supply components for Federal Pacific Electric company equipment. [www.fpeparts.com/pages/history.html] - Mr. Cifrodella's website refers to circuit breakers for FPE, Sylvania, Challenger, Zinsco, and Cutler Hammer. We have not requested nor obtained related test data, information about changes in product design, product listing, etc. as of 07/16/08 1983: 1983 CPSC Investigation of FPE Circuit Breakers Safety Information for Consumers (Aronstein) provides report of independent testing and failures of FPE Stab-Lok breakers. 1983 CPSC Investigation of FPE Circuit Breakers Safety Information for Consumers CPSC management halts testing of FPE Breakers, citing high costs of continuing the project. The announcement does not exonerate the product and includes generic warnings to consumers. 1982: "Status Report - Evaluation of Residential Molded Case Circuit Breakers", Wright-Malta Corp., (For U.S. Consumer product Safety Commission, Project# CPSC-C-81-1455), August 10, 1982 (Contains analysis of mechanism of failure of FPE two-pole Stab-Lock breakers.) Additional 1982 FPE Stab-Lok reports are listed below.
1982: 31 March 1982: Reliance Electric Financial Statements acknowledge that FPE previously obtained UL Listings by fraudulent means and that at "some point thereafter, lost their UL listing." 1982 Reliance Electric Co. SEC Quarterly Report: Note C. reports litigation between Reliance and UV Liquidating Trust and contends that "... improper and deceptive practices were employed for many years to secure UL listings for Federal Pacific's circuit protective products..." 1982 CPSC Calibration and Condition Tests of Molded Case Circuit Breakers, Final Report December 30, 1982, summary pages, indicating failure rates found for FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers 1981: 17 February 1981: Federal Pacific announced that it would voluntarily replace or field modify certain models of its [predominantly commercial and industrial] molded case circuit breaker line. [No recall, no field repair was offered for residential equipment.] Funds were set aside for this replacement [but may not have been expended.] 1980: June 1980, Reliance Electric and FPE brought suit against UV Industries [a liquidating trust which previously handled the assets of the bankrupt FPE company.] for damages of $345 million or for rescission of the previous sale by UV of the FPE line to Reliance, referring to deceptive practices which went on for years on obtaining UL listing for FPE products. 5 July 1980: Reliance Electric stopped shipping FPE Stab-Lok equipment on or about July 5, 1980. Keep in mind that equipment in the pipeline in supply houses was never recalled, so homes built considerably after that date may still have an FPE Stab-Lok panel installed. 1980 FPE - Exxon Buys A Scandal Along With A Company improper practices used to obtain UL Listing for most of FPE's circuit breakers and notes testing which indicates "possible defects." 1980, Reliance Electric Co. September 1980: Reliance Electric brought legal action against Sharon Steel Company which had assumed the liabilities of UV Liquidation. 1980 Reliance Electric Co. Press Release: improper practices used to obtain UL Listing for most of FPE's circuit breakers and notes testing which indicates "possible defects." 1980, Reliance Electric Co. "It appears that Underwriters Laboratories labels for most of FPE's circuit breakers were obtained through improper practices", a Reliance spokesperson said. Shipments of the product were stopped on or about 5 July 1980. UL's de-listing of nearly 400 circuit breaker labels started the legal process. By May 1980 it became obvious that the real problem was "deception" that occurred over a long period of years. Reliance suspended without pay Federal Pacific Electric President Harry E. Knudson, Jr. (Watchung, N.J.) and four other key Federal Pacific Electric executives. 1979 Reliance Electric acquired the [bankrupt] Federal Pacific Electric Company from UV Industries. 1964 Federal Pacific Electric Company joined with Westinghouse Electric, Allis-Chalmers, I-T-E, General Electric Company as appellants v. Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Ohio Brass Company v. Southern California Edison Company, in the United States Court of Appeals, 96h Circuit, January 6, 1964, as "several of the vast number of civil anti-trust suits commenced against a number of manufacturers of electric products as an aftermath of the Government's criminal prosecutions in Philadelphia. They are here on appeal from interlocutory orders of the district court." cf: 326 F.2d 575, January 6, 1964 (Loeb & Loeb, Alfred I. Rothman, John L. Cole, and Robert A. Holtzman, Los Angeles, Cal., for appellant Federal Pacific Elec. Co. 1956: According to some writers, during this era (but probably later than this year) McGraw Electric purchased part of the product lines from the Federal Pacific Electric Company. [We have not substantiated this detail -DF] 1952: In 1952, Federal Electric Products Company, a U.S. company that was later merged into FPE, registered the trademark STAB-LOK in Canada. 1950: FPE adopted the trademark "Stab-Lok" ... 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.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
| ||||||
|
ELECTRICAL INSPECTION, DIAGNOSIS, REPAIR THE FPE Stab-Lok WEBSITE More Information InspectAPedia Blog - News Updates Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Privacy Policies InspectAPedia ® Home & Site Map Contact Us |
More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs
NOTICE about various uses of the FPE Acronym:"FPE" as used in these pages refers to the Federal Pacific Electric Company, and specifically it does not refer to other uses of the FPE acronym such as the Fairport, Painesville, & Eastern Railway Company, nor Food Processing Equipment nor many other uses of these three letters, such as FPE Fairport, Painesville, & Eastern Railway Company, FPE Faith Promoting Experience, FPE Fantastic Plastic Elastic (chair by Ron Arad), FPE Federal Pacific Equipment Company, FPE Federation of Public Employees, FPE Final Prediction Error, FPE Fire Protection Engineer, FPE Fire Protection Engineering, FPE Fixed-Price Escalation (Contract), FPE Flight Parameter Estimation, FPE Floating Point Emulator, FPE Floating Point Engine, FPE Floating Point Exception (a computer math error), FPE Focal Plane Electronics, FPE Fokker-Planck Equation, FPE Food Processing Equipment, FPE Foot-Pounds of Energy, FPE Force Protection Experiment, FPE Foundation for the Philippine Environment, FPE Fractal Patch Element, FPE Free People of Earth, FPE Free Primary Education (Africa), FPE French Postural Experiment, FPE Front-end Processing Environment, FPE FrontPage Server Extensions (Microsoft), FPE Functional Performance Element, FPE Front Page Extension. Federal Pacific Transformers - Federal Pacific is a division of Electro- Mechanical Corporation, a privately held, American owned company founded in 1958. Federal pacific offers dry-type transformers from .050 KVA through 10,000 KVA single and three phase, up to 34.5 KV, 150 KV BIL with UL approval through 15 KV. More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs
|
03/03/2010 - 04/01/1986 - InspectAPedia.com/fpe/FPE-Panel_ID9.htm - © 2010 - 1988 Copyright Daniel Friedman All Rights Reserved - InspectAPedia® is a Registered U.S. Trademark