Federal Pacific...  was a popular manufacturer of electrical panels and circuit breakers from the mid 1950's until the early 1980's.  They were very popular throughout the country, and some communities have FPE  panels in almost every home.

What Problems Exist? 
There are several problems surrounding the design of the Federal Pacific "Stab Loc" type products:

1.     The design of the enclosure was small and compact, not allowing ample "wire bending" room. in some cases, the interior was so full of wires, it was difficult to get to the terminals on the breakers.

2.     The design of the buss bar and interior made it sometimes difficult to remove the panel cover without tripping circuit breakers. This was due to the way the breaker mounted on the interior and connected to the buss bar.

3.    The most important and discussed problem was in the design and manufacturing of the circuit breaker itself. There have been numerous cases where the circuit breaker would not trip under "Overload Conditions", and resulted in a fire. There were cases of the circuit breakers failing to de-energize when the handle was tripped. The design of this equipment was the eventual demise of Federal Pacific Electric.

How Can I Recognize A Federal Pacific Panel?
A Federal Pacific panel is usually marked with a label on the front in their orange, grey and white color scheme.  Sometimes just the letters FPE appear. The picture to the right is a typical example of a Federal Pacific panel and breakers.

Are there many of these panels still around?
Yes, there are many homes with these panels still in existence and being used everyday. In most cases, the homeowner is unaware of the problems that exist. In Texas, a well known home builder (Fox & Jacobs) built entire communities where the electrical contractor used Federal Pacific exclusively.

Is the problem limited to one type of branch circuit breaker?
No, the problem with the breaker design includes both single pole (120v) and double pole (240v) breakers.

What is the solution?
The only solution to eliminate this problem is to change out the existing Federal Pacific panel and replace it with new and modern equipment.  The cost to do this is far less than the cost of replacing a home, and the contents, due to a fire.  read more

 

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