FPE(Federal Pacific Electric) PANELS

[brother]

I was curious has anyone else heard of any major problems out of Fpe panels?? I had a home inspector come out and he really 'preached against' these panels saying that they have been known to fail and breakers sometimes dont cut power off , even when they are in the off position.

I only heard remote things about Fpe panels, and im told that most other electricians that have experience with them say to change them out. The panel i got is working fine even though its old, i really dont want to change it out unless i really have to. Comments please.

 

[stamcon]

Re: FPE(Federal Pacific Electric) PANELS

Check this link -
http://www.inspect-ny.com/fpe/fpepanel.htm

 

[brother]

Re: FPE(Federal Pacific Electric) PANELS

quote from site:
There is no question but that the FPE STAB-LOK? panels should be replaced. There is no practical and safe alternative.


Thanks for the link. I suppose i need to change this panel. My question is this, if FPE PANELS are soo bad, why isnt there a recall on them? and why are they still making breakers for these panels??

 

[mthead]

Re: FPE(Federal Pacific Electric) PANELS

H/owner overheard talking to Fire marshall conducting investigation--"My electrical panel? It said Federal pacific on it I think. No,I never had any problems there .It was great!No matter how many extra heaters I plugged into an outlet ,I never had a breaker pop."
Their company add could have read ;AS LONG AS YOU'VE GOT A FEDERAL ,WHY BOTHER PAYING THE PREMIUMS.

 

[wanderer20001us]

Re: FPE(Federal Pacific Electric) PANELS

FPE = Fisher Price Electric or Fire/Flash Producing Equipment.

There is a lot of there gear out there from low voltage to medium voltage. IMO it's all junk. I have bee to a lot a switchgear meltdowns involving FPE. I even had a rack-out 3 phase breaker 4000A tie fail on me (control wiring blocks cracked and fell into the energized buss). Luckily is was wearing arc flash PPE.

Please be very careful working on this brand of equipment.

 

[douglas hansen]

Re: FPE(Federal Pacific Electric) PANELS

We have an article on this subject on our site. If anyone has any feedback about it I would really appreciate hearing it. We basically try to categorize FPE problems as ones associated with (1) their age, (2) their unique design, and (3) the product defects. If anyone has any use for the article it is a free printable download. Thanks.

http://www.codecheck.com/pdf/electrical/240overcurrent/FPE%20Article%20from%20DH%20-%20Nov2003.pdf

Douglas@Codecheck.com

 

[goldstar]

Re: FPE(Federal Pacific Electric) PANELS

FPE = Fisher Price Electric or Fire/Flash Producing Equipment.

Also known as "Federal no-blow" breakers.

While these little phrases are meant to poke fun at this product, they are actually not far off the mark. These breakers do not "instantly trip" as today's newer breakers do. I've seen cases where a dead short (line to neutral) was held on a circuit for several seconds before a breaker tripped. That, in and of itself, should be a enough of a reason to change out a breaker panel.

However, I think part of the rub comes in when home inspectors write up their reports conveying to potential home buyers the impression that these panels are extremely dangerous and suggest they be changed out prior to sale. It becomes a bargaining chip for home buyers to get sellers to make this upgrade at their cost prior to sale. If the panel is clean and there is no corrosion I don't think it should be a "condition of sale" for people selling their house but rather a suggestion to the home buyers to make the upgrade either before or when they move in.

Just my opinion................and yes, I still have one of these antique panels in my house. It's clean and the breakers trip on overloads but I'm sure I'll be changing it out prior to sale at some point in the future.

 

[a.wayne3@verizon.net]

Re: FPE(Federal Pacific Electric) PANELS

If I remember right it was somewhere in the late 70`s F.P.E. were taken off the market.They were know to fail.I did a main breaker change out years ago (live) 400 a 3 phase.after undoing the load side I removed the 2 mounting screws and then loosened the line side lugs ,I heard a snap.After changing the breaker I examined the old main and an internal part had broken thru the plastic enclosure and would have grounded out on the mounting screws if they were still installed.In a pinch you could also arc weld with fpe`s

 

[brian john]

Re: FPE(Federal Pacific Electric) PANELS

Wanderer;

I do believe FPE means Fix Prior to Energizing.

 

[wanderer20001us]

Re: FPE(Federal Pacific Electric) PANELS

Frequently Produces Explosions

 

[wrestless]

Re: FPE(Federal Pacific Electric) PANELS

Hey didnt Underwriters Lab approve these No Blow Breakers. Who ran the testings on these breakers?