Have known there were issues with FPE ( Federal Pacific Electric) breaker panels for years.
Last night the news ( have not found that story yet) had another story about the sleeping danger in a lot of homes .
I have had a few calls from older neighbors asking me to see what they have...luckily, the 5 panels on our property are GE.
I changed my moms FPE panel out in the 90's after a few issues showed up.
The typical response '' I have had mine for 50 years and no problems'' has bitten a few folks, or might as it only takes one bad electrical fault. Not trying to scare anybody, but something to think about. Not a cheap fix...but I changed my moms for peace of mind
In Houston area, the use of Sylvania/Zinsco breakers and aluminum circuit wiring in the 70's had us going to fire calls and trouble calls after a lightning storm with a lot of holes blown in sheetrock and burnt panels. We used to shudder when troubleshooting customer issues when seeing the green and red Zinsco breakers staring at us.Aluminum wiring wasn't terminated at breakers and outlets/fixtures correctly as no one really gave it a lot of thought.Another issue in itself
http://www.ismypanelsafe.com/zinsco_damage.aspx
Back to FPE:
http://inspectapedia.com/fpe/FPE_Fires_Waiting_to_Happen.php
http://www.ismypanelsafe.com/fpe.aspx
http://inspectapedia.com/fpe/FPE_History.php
FPE doesn't exist as the company it was, there still is a company with the name Federal Pacific, but not a direct tie in...confusing.
Last night the news ( have not found that story yet) had another story about the sleeping danger in a lot of homes .
I have had a few calls from older neighbors asking me to see what they have...luckily, the 5 panels on our property are GE.
I changed my moms FPE panel out in the 90's after a few issues showed up.
The typical response '' I have had mine for 50 years and no problems'' has bitten a few folks, or might as it only takes one bad electrical fault. Not trying to scare anybody, but something to think about. Not a cheap fix...but I changed my moms for peace of mind
In Houston area, the use of Sylvania/Zinsco breakers and aluminum circuit wiring in the 70's had us going to fire calls and trouble calls after a lightning storm with a lot of holes blown in sheetrock and burnt panels. We used to shudder when troubleshooting customer issues when seeing the green and red Zinsco breakers staring at us.Aluminum wiring wasn't terminated at breakers and outlets/fixtures correctly as no one really gave it a lot of thought.Another issue in itself
http://www.ismypanelsafe.com/zinsco_damage.aspx
Back to FPE:
http://inspectapedia.com/fpe/FPE_Fires_Waiting_to_Happen.php
http://www.ismypanelsafe.com/fpe.aspx
http://inspectapedia.com/fpe/FPE_History.php
FPE doesn't exist as the company it was, there still is a company with the name Federal Pacific, but not a direct tie in...confusing.