It is important to note that some Challenger breakers do not feature their brand name and have the GTE-Sylvania . At least I am aware though. My Missouri home was built in 1978. toggle switch colors and unique labels should be sufficient for most inspectors and owners to identify this equipment. Replacing a Zinsco breaker panel is often worth it, as the older panels can be unreliable and may not meet current safety codes. Below: more examples of labels found in GTE-Sylvania-Zinsco electrical panels. Note: appearance of your Comment below may be delayed: if your comment contains an image, photograph, web link, or text that looks to the software as if it might be a web link, your posting will appear after it has been approved by a moderator. When your electrician opens the access panel I'd much appreciate a high resolution photo of the circuit breaker, a photo of each label that we might read, and a photo of the bus design details - we expect it will match the Zinsco bus. Your electrician agrees that the circuit breakers are a latent hazard - risking failing to protect your home from a fire or injury should an over-current hazard occur, so he or she recommended replacement. Now required in the 2020 NEC, panel-level surge protection is key for critical circuits that power equipment in residential applications. To identify a Zinsco panel, look for a vertical line of color-coded circuit breaker handles down the middle of the electrical box. The bottom line is that having a Zinsco electrical panel can make . I'm dealing with this problem in my home currently, I have both my HVAC and an electrician here. Apologies for the delay. Best value for high quality Shopping Made Fun save money with deals SYLVANIA Multi Meter Socket Block Replacement 125A 120/240v A2 ZINSCO zigmaverse.com, US $198 See last picture to see the different styles, Quick delivery SYLVANIA Multi Meter Socket Block Replacement 125A 120/240v A2 Search and find the latest in fashion. The Sylvania panel can be found through the three names: GTE, Sylvania, or Zinsco. Zinsco panels are unsafe, and we urge homeowners to consider a replacement. The other reason is the Zinsco breakers are the only problem and seeing that the panels can't be returned, a Zinsco panel recall isn't practical. Q242 [illegible] and continues, stating. Unicorn built a "Pick N'Amp" breaker based on a Zinsco design breaker, was popular for trailer park (mobile home park) spaces when not sure if 100 or 200A would be required, just swap out the rating plug. In the case of Zinsco panels, the risks are well known. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Zinsco / GTE Sylvania Twin Tandem R38-20 2p 20a/20a 120v Used Warranty at the best online prices at eBay! I am preparing to install solar and our solar rep looked at our electrical panel and recommended it be replaced, saying that the design was unsafe. Between the 1980's to the 1990's Challenger panels were installed in hundreds of thousands of homes. There is among electricians an endemic problem common to everyone working in contracting: an unfamiliarity with solid technical research sometimes leads folks to assert that nothing was wrong with product X except that it was the nature of the times in which it was made or installed. It appears that the present Unicorn Industries has nothing to do with the old meter base in your photo; the current Unicorn describes themselves: One of the most common faults of a Zinsco electrical panel is that the breakers . Estimating Electrical Panel Age Adjustable Zinsco Sylvania Electric Panel Retrofit Kits produced by Eaton Corp., Cutler Hammer Products are a patented design new electric panel interior designed to replace aging electrical panels in residential and light commercial applications. So don't assume that all-black breakers can be excluded from this unsafe Zinsco circuit breaker group. a picture of the Sylvania sticker and also another one of the whole box. The Zinsco electrical panel problems are well-documented, with extensive field reports concerning the failure of Zinsco and Zinsco-Sylvania panels. Thanks! Zinsco Class Action Lawsuit In 2002, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Federal Pacific Electric and Zinsco regarding the danger posed by their electrical panels. [Click to enlarge any image]. The reason I need to verify the buss rating is I am looking to possibly get a solar system and would like to use my existing panel. The switch unit is set by a plug-in cam, the angular position of the cam when it is inserted in the breaker operating the switch unit to selectively complete one or more of the shunt current paths. Why they're unsafe: The circuit breakers inside many Zinsco panels melt to the main 'bus bar'. The bottom breaker on the top group of circuits will shut off powet to the bottom group of circuits. In the third photo above I mark with red arrows the distinctive deep notches into the side of a Zinsco-design circuit breaker and the vertical or on-edge aluminum bus bars to which the breaker clips. Since Milbank still uses a Zinsco design breaker, prefer to keep them on my "do not buy" list. Thank you, On 2020-07-04 by (mod) Or perhaps to reduce manufacturer liability, as :I have yet to meet an electrician who owns a torque wrench. Square D panel with following breakers 100A main breaker, 100A breaker, 50A 2 pole, 3 - 20 A single pole, 2- GFCI outlets attached to side. In your panel there are two red stickers with arrows: one pointing "up" indicates that the upper portion of the panel contains multiple (Two in this case) main disconnect breakers and the lower portion of this split bus panel contains individual circuit breakers. Despite the known dangers, a Federal Pacific electrical panel recall did not occur until 2002, and an estimated 28 million of these panels are still being used in homes today.. Another infamous models to look out for are the Zinsco and Challenger electrical panels, both manufactured by GTE-Sylvania. The word Magnetrip embossed in the steel electrical panel cover or on data tags in the Zinsco electrical panel. - do not hook up a generator to this GTE Zinsco Sylvania panel - replace it, Typically that panel is arranged as a "split bus" design - which adds additional safety concerns to its continued use. and I am watching carefully Challenger as well as the others you name. I would GREATLY VALUE your opinion. Maybe try again; type in the Comment box, then click the "Add Image" button to select an image file from your computer or smartphone or tablet. It drops a dead short across the circuit and measures trip current and time to trip. HISTORY of ZINSCO ELECTRICAL PANELS at https://inspectapedia.com/electric/Zinsco_Electrical_Panels.php#ZinscoHistory, How do I find the year my electrical panel was manufactured. It would have top be purchased used only. Thanks again! The younger Zinsmeyer took over the company from his father in 1943 and renamed it Zinsco. This means the breaker can't ever trip, even when there's a short or overloaded circuit. An electrical panel upgrade is the best option and can often be done in one or two days. The replacements for zinsco do not make the 35 amp any more. What are your thoughts about this panel set-up? Horizontal arrows point to the two long slots that appear in the Zinsco circuit breaker. "Home Wiring Inspection," Roswell W. Ard, Rodale's New Shelter, July/August, 1985 p. 35-40. Help, my parents bought a new solar system and since then my head hurts. Product information Technical Details Additional Information Warranty & Support I would say that they do have more movement than most breakers, but they solved the falling out problem a long time ago and it was mostly a commercial panel problem. Electrical panel interior access should be by a licensed and trained electrician. Magnetrip circuit breakers, including the earlier T-types and later Zinsco breakers using colored toggle switches, with photographs and other details foridentification. Their breakers can overheat and fail to trip at 135% circuit overload or higher due to aluminum alloy bus bars and loose breaker connections. 1. The average cost of replacing a Zinsco service panel is $1,600 to $4,000. I'll check with him. If I were estimating an electrical panel age I would If your electrician pulls the breaker you'll be able to compare its breaker-to-bus connection with the identification photos above on this page. Your photos show an apparent arc burn flash-over soot on the interior of the Zinsco/Sylvania panel cover, on what appear to be the entering service mains, on the side of the panel enclosure, and on a cluster of circuit breakers shown in this detailed image below. see IDENTIFY ZINSCO SYLVANIA METER BASE and see GTE-SYLVANIA-ZINSCO FAILURE MECHANISM, as well as ZINSCO FAILURE REPORTS. Today Zinsco electrical panels are deemed outdated and a significant electrical hazard. One of my staff accidentally cut the wrong wire. The Zinsco company was sold to GTE-Sylvania in 1973, which continued to manufacture the Zinsco panel design under the name of Sylvania-Zinsco. By 1961 Zinsco had switched to an aluminum alloy still used today in their manufacture of panels and load-center busing. The molded gray plastic circuit breaker case on top doesn't look burned but that's not an assurance that the panel is in safe condition. Joe's advice is in our opinion bad and unsafe. However, if your home was built during these decades, you may well have a Zinsco electrical panel and circuit breakers in your system. Due to the type of aluminum used, Zinsco breakers can melt and fuse to the bus bar, prohibiting the breakers from tripping and can cause house fires. I am sending you a picture, can you tell if it needs to be replaced? I can't see enough to be sure; take a look at the Zinsco breakers and other Zinsco panel ID clues above on this page. 3. Note the panel style and construction details and then see Kosup, Russell R. MULTIPLE CAPACITY CIRCUIT BREAKER [PDF] U.S. Patent 4,187,482, issued February 5, 1980. US $199.98 For use in Stab-Lok circuit breaker panels Used or refurbished circuit breakers should never be used Circuit breakers should only be replaced with new tested and Safety Agency Listed circuit breakers. Personal communication, J. Aronstein to D. Friedman, 3/6/2006, James P. Simmons: Personal communication and photographs used in this article series, J. Simmons to Daniel Friedman, 3/4/2006, 2/19/2008. When these panels experience a short circuit or an overcurrent, they often fail to cut the power supply to the affected circuit. When I told them I have an old Zinsco panel they asked me to snap a picture of all of the breakers and they offered to send me all new replacement breakers so I could test out their equipment. Below right: a badly faded Sylvania electrical panel sticker. Try the search box just below, or if you prefer, post a question or comment in the Comments box below and we will respond promptly. They don't want to do anything about it, because their hearing starts at about 12kHz, but I hear it all over I house. Never insert any tool nor your fingers into the interior of an electrical panel. Those red and light blue (?) Infra-red scanning on a loaded breaker would be the best way to spot it. This was because the threads on the bus bar were poorly manufactured and the electricians installing them would tighten it down, but not realize that the bolt was carrying the main current due to the gap. Here (above and below) we show external and internal identification labels for this 400-Amp Zinsco electrical panel. Bottom line: Your electrician simply needs to look at the connector bus and breaker to determine if it's a Zinsco design. I happily agreed and thought it would be a great opportunity to test out my new GoPro 9 in the process. Plated aluminum bus bars that get gouged-through when a breaker is inserted (mounting a breaker cuts through the plating and we see corrosion, overheats, failures). There is no and was no GTE-Sylvania Zinsco electrical panel recall that would help you out with replacement costs. And there have never been any recalls initiated on the Zinsco products. Are you able to determine this from the attached pictures? I'll attach Contact us if you have photos of a Frank Adams electrical panel or other details. Insurance companies have become increasingly cautious when signing insurance for older properties with FPE or Zinsco installed. at the best online prices at eBay! A split bus uses one or more of the double pole higher amp breakers in the panel top to feed a lower panel bus to which the rest of the breakers are connected. Notice those two vertical strips that connect to two deep slots in the circuit breaker? We are pleased to credit and link-to contributors. Be sure to also read HISTORY of ZINSCO ELECTRICAL PANELS. There were a few still being installed later, but they are rare. Aluminum has a useful life of approximately 30 years. Without more investigation of the breakers, panel bus, and circuit involved one cannot say for certain if this arc-flash damage was due to a defect in the circuit breaker, panel bus, connections, or some other issue. 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