Is there an imminent danger of an electrical fire in your home? You need to find out and take action as soon as possible. It is the intent of this article to inform you about the danger certain electrical panels pose. Please be aware of the following electrical panels in your home:

Federal Pacific

These panels were produced and installed in homes from the 1950’s into the 1980’s. Federal Pacific panels do not conform to safety codes today and are no longer sold to the public. Standards of safety which were once acceptable are no longer safe. You often find the following in these electrical panels:

• Circuit breakers are in the off position but have not opened the circuit.
• Circuit breakers may not indicate a “tripped” condition.
• Split-buss panels are often overloaded due to added circuits, this in turn overloads possibly defective breakers.
• These panels are often overcrowded with wire.
• The Buss in which breakers are inserted “float” due to spring attachment. Loose connections make hot spots which fail!
• Often times you cannot see the “burned buss” behind the circuit breaker. I have even found them “welded” in the buss.

UL 289 testing has the Consumer Product Safety Commission stating that Federal Pacific panels are in all probability unfit for homes. These electrical panels are definitely capable of catching fire. This panel is your main line of defense for electrical problems. Replace it! As an Electrical Contractor in Tacoma with hundreds of service calls, I have personally seen it.

Zinsco

These panels exist in American homes today. Zinsco panels are not safe in our homes. They do not provide the safety we expect out of similar equipment installed in homes today. It is known that a modern breakers will only fail in a “on” condition less than 1 percent of the time. A Zinsco breaker will fail in the “on” position over 24 percent of the time. These are NOT acceptable statistics and put our families in danger. Again, like above, you can often find the following problems in these electrical panels.:

• Circuit breakers are in the off position, yet did not truly open the circuit.
• Split-buss are often overloaded due to circuit additions.
• Wire often overfills these panels. You can refer to it as a “Rats Nest”.
• Circuit breakers are often “floating”. Moving and loose connections make hot spots for fire.
• “Burned busses” and “Corrosion” are conditions often found with these panels.
• Circuit breakers are not balanced on buss bar which in turn overloads one of the two phases typically found in homes.

I have personally seen Zinsco melt downs. Change the panel. Find a Tacoma electrician with experience. Don’t wait any longer.

Screw in Fuses

This type of panel does not even warrant any discussion. They are unsafe, they have no reason to be in our homes. We use more electrical appliances and devices today than they were ever designed for. People are generally in great danger if this panel is still present in their home.