Fused Panelboard
Clarlsville Tn FPE Panel News
Supposing the circuits in your home were fed by a fuse box, with screw-in (Edison base) fuses. You may have seen these in some homes. You may also know about the common (but unsafe) practices of over-fusing (installing a higher-amperage fuse) or putting a penny in the fuse socket behind the fuse itself. These actions were taken to deal with the nuisance of fuses frequently blowing on overloaded circuits, or to deal with the lack of a spare fuse.
Now, let’s assume that an inspector notes some over-fusing and pennies behind some fuses, and waves the warning flag that it is a hazardous condition – a “safety defect”. Inspectors, electrical contractors, and even realtors would agree that these conditions constitute a hazardous condition and should be corrected immediately. Red-flagging the Federal Pacific Electric (“FPE”) Stab-Lok® panel is essentially the identical warning; it is the exact equivalent of having more than 1/3 of the circuits over-fused and/or with pennies behind the fuses.
Failure to trip properly under overload and/or short circuit is the basic safety defect of the FPE breakers. For example, if an overload or short circuit occurs in the clothes dryer or the circuit feeding it, the breaker is expected to trip open to minimize the resulting fire hazard. But, if it is an FPE Stab-Lok® two-pole breaker, extensive testing (by FPE, CPSC, UL, and others) has demonstrated that it cannot be depended on to trip properly. In the CPSC tests, a substantial portion of the FPE two-pole Stab-Lok® breakers, the type that would feed the dryer circuit, failed to operate properly. A significant portion of them jammed and would not trip at all, no matter what overload current was applied. Additional test data shows that there are also problems with the FPE Stab-Lok® single-pole breakers and combination breaker/GFI units.
This type of safety defect becomes important if and when there is a short circuit or substantial overload in the downstream circuit. Most breakers in a home are never called upon to trip, and the homeowner’s perception is that “the breakers work fine”. The same observation could generally be made if there were no breakers (or fuses) at all, just a hardwired system. In the event of an electrical malfunction, however, our safety may depend on proper operation of the circuit breakers.
In my own home, only two of the breakers have ever tripped during more than a quarter-century of our occupancy. I know nothing about the ability of any of the others to function properly, except that they are a brand and type that has not been identified as having any significant performance problems. There is no data suggesting that I should be concerned about their ability to function properly. With FPE breakers, however, there is a significant amount of test data and other information available that indicates a serious problem.
Additionally, there are safety problems in many of the FPE panelboards (panels), in which the breakers are installed. Some of the most common FPE Stab-Lok® panels are failure-prone due to marginal interconnections between the current-carrying components. The failing interconnections overheat at high current loading, and, in the worst case, fire ignites within the panel.1
Details regarding both the FPE Stab-Lok® Circuit Breaker and FPE panel performance problems are provided in the following sections.� The bottom line is this: based on the information that is available and the testing that has been performed, there is no question but that homeowners need to be alerted to this safety defect and advised to have it corrected. Unless the occupant is willing to live with the risk, the FPE Stab-Lok® panels should be replaced.
Clarksville Licensed Electrician-931-362-1000
Air Service Now Heating and Air Conditioning-93227-4908
About the Author
Clarksville Tn Expert Electrical Heating & Air Conditioning Repair Company
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Siemens Fused Panelboard Switch 100amp #V7E3603 $325.00 |
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Siemens ITE Fused 60 Amp, 240 Volts, 3 P, V7B3222 Panelboard Switch $65.00 |
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Siemens ITE Fused 30 Amp, 240 Volts, 3 P, V7B3211 Panel Board Switch $50.00 |
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GE THPSL367 MOD.2 800A 3P 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $4,250.00 |
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CUTLER-HAMMER FDP366RDS 600AMP FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $3,500.00 |
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SYLVANIA QSF6053 C 600A 3P 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $3,400.00 |
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SQUARE D QMB QMB367-MW 800 AMP 600V FUSIBLE FUSED PANEL BOARD PANELBOARD SWITCH $3,300.00 |
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CUTLER-HAMMER FDP365RDS 400AMP FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $2,400.00 |
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WESTINGHOUSE FDP365R 400A 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $2,300.00 |
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GE ADS32600TM 600A 240V 3PH FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $1,800.00 |
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CUTLER-HAMMER FDPW366BR 600A FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $1,750.00 |
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ITE / SIEMENS V7H3606 600A 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $1,300.00 |
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ITE / SIEMENS V7H3206 600A 240V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $1,300.00 |
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Square D 200 Amp Main Breaker Non Fused Panelboard with Feed Through – E171 $1,200.00 |
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Siemens 600 Amp Fused Panelboard Vacuum Switch Breaker $1,100.00 |
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GE ADS26400HB 400A 600V 1PH FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $1,100.00 |
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SQUARE D QMB QMB3260 600 AMP 240V FUSED FUSIBLE PANELBOARD SWITCH $1,100.00 |
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Square D Panelboard, Non Fused, 250 Amp Main Breaker, 3 Phase # E218 $950.00 |
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GE ADS22600TB 600A 240V 1PH 2P FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $900.00 |
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Square D KAL36200 Main Circuit Breaker Panelboard, Non Fused, 3 Phase # E30 $900.00 |
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ITE / SIEMENS V7H3205 400A 240V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $900.00 |
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ITE / SIEMENS V7H3605 400A 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $900.00 |
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Square D QMB3640 400A Saflex Panelboard Switch QMB 400 Amp Fused $700.00 |
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GE ADS22400HB 400A 240V 1PH 2P FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $550.00 |
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SQUARE D QMB QMB3240 400 AMP 240V FUSED FUSIBLE PANELBOARD SWITCH $325.00 |
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AMERICAN QMQB7036H 600A 3P 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $3,500.00 |
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WESTINGHOUSE FDP325R 400A 240V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $2,000.00 |
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WESTINGHOUSE FDPS364R 200A 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $1,500.00 |
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CUTLER-HAMMER FDPWT3244R 200A FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $1,500.00 |
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AMERICAN QMQB2036 200A 3P 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $1,400.00 |
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SYLVANIA QSF2053B 200A 3PH 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $1,300.00 |
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WESTINGHOUSE FDPS324R 200A 240V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $1,200.00 |
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Square D QMJ365 400 amp 600 volt Fused panelboard switch ships today!!! MINT $1,150.00 |
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SYLVANIA QSF2033R 200A 3PH 240V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $1,000.00 |
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GE ADS32200HM 200A 240V 3PH FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $900.00 |
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1 NEW GENERAL ELECTRIC GE ADS36400HM 400 AMP 600 VOLTS FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $795.50 |
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Westinghouse Panelboard Switch FDP-366R 600 Amp 600V FDP366R Fused 3 PH FDP 366 $750.00 |
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WESTINGHOUSE FDPT3233R 100A FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $700.00 |
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SYLVANIA QSF1053B 100A 3PH 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $650.00 |
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SYLVANIA QSF1053R 100A 3PH 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $650.00 |
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TRUMBULL SW2363 100A 3PH 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $650.00 |
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GE P.D.Q. 131323 100A TWIN 240V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $650.00 |
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Westinghouse FDPT3233 fused panel board switch $640.00 |
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Square D QMB224 fused panel board switch $625.00 |
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ITE / SIEMENS V7F3604 200A 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $600.00 |
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ITE / SIEMENS V7F3204 200A 240V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $600.00 |
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ITE / SIEMENS V2F3204 200A 240V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $600.00 |
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Square D QMB224W series E1 fused panel board switch $600.00 |
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FPE QMQB6632R 60A 240VOLT TWIN FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $500.00 |
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CUTLER-HAMMER FDPWS323R 100A FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $500.00 |
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Eaton Cutler Hammer FDPWT3233R fused panel board switch $500.00 |
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Westinghouse FDPT3223R fused panel board switch $425.00 |
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Westinghouse FDPWT3223R fused panel board switch $425.00 |
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ITE / SIEMENS V7E3603 100A 600V FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $400.00 |
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Westinghouse FDPT3612 fused panel board switch $400.00 |
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Westinghouse FDPT3612R Fused Panel Board Switch $400.00 |
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Westinghouse FDPT3622R Fused Panel Board Switch $400.00 |
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Westinghouse FDPT3622R Fused Panel Board Switch $400.00 |
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SQ D QMB363HW 100A 600V SINGLE FUSED PANELBOARD SWITCH $350.00 |