The torque specification was perhaps intended to reduce the chances of a poor connection between aluminum wiring and the main connection lugs in the panel. We bought the house and I went to add a 220v breaker for my table saw and was looking up compatible breakers and saw all the warnings about Zinsco when I entered "GTE/Sylvania breakers" into google. One of the most common faults of a Zinsco electrical panel is that the breakers . But in your case we can see the familiar label in your photographs. That's probably what you've got. The unsafe electrical panels sold by Zinsco were prevalent between the 1960s and 1970s. I will do another post with another picture. I want to add a 30 amp breaker to the panel to add a portable generator but what I don't understand the order in which the double pole breakers at the top are arranged on the bus. Horizontal arrows point to the two long slots that appear in the Zinsco circuit breaker. at the best online prices at eBay! The following remarks from a licensed electrician were provided to us courtesy of Al Carson, Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection and home inspection education firm. [Click to enlarge any image] Zinsco electric panels jolley1859 1.6K views 2 years ago How to Upgrade an Electric Meter to 200-Amp Service (Part 1) | This Old House This Old House 2.7M views 8 years ago Hack for AFCI_GFCI. Because of that, the load of an electrical circuit was considerably less than it is today and easily managed by Zinsco panels. Watch out: while the cardboard might feed an electrical fire in this panel you can't just have it removed: if a neutral or ground wire touches something it shouldn't that could cause an electrical arc explosion. This is accomplished, in brief, by providing a breaker having a switch unit by which shunt current paths of different resistance can be selectively connected in parallel across the current path in which the current is sensed for activating the trip mechanism at a predetermined current level. I would GREATLY VALUE your opinion. Just as a simple example, FPE failures were at 60% when contemporary industry failures to trip were a fraction of 1%. Application filed by Unicorn Industries Inc.. Watch out: you will also find some 30A - Black toggle Zinsco breakers and 20A black-toggled GFCI breakers that, as you'll see illustrated below on this page. or LK-22 Lug Block for Mains w/ LK-15 - 150 Amps; [Click to enlarge any image], 2. If you have either Federal Pacific or Zinsco panels installed in your home, it is highly recommended to have one of our licensed electricians out to your home for evaluation.We will inspect your electrical panel for FREE. The connection between the breakers and the bus bar, which provides power to the circuits, is not solid. No. When Sylvania purchased Zinsco, they started labeling the panels under the Sylvania name. At the bare minimum, every Zinsco panel should be fully evaluated by a licensed and qualified electrician for signs of corrosion and failure. Also it was interesting that a New York Electrical Engineer performing independent tests on samples of used circuit breakers of a variety of brands found in very preliminary testing was that there were a few other contemporary panel/breaker products that appeared to have high (compared with overall industry) no-trip rates. But Watch out: opening an electrical panel, if you touch what you shouldn't means dead Larry (or Dead Daniel if I do it). On 2021-08-21 Watch out: do NOT try to open up your panel nor to remove circuit breakers yourself. Zinsco electrical panels were distributed in the United States, primarily in the Western states. at BACKUP ELECTRICAL GENERATORS Federal Pacific Electric panels were produced from the mid-1950s well into the 1980s. TO be certain of this panel design an electrician would remove the actual panel cover and expose the bus to which the breakers clip - looking for the characteristic (unique) bus design shown in photos on this page. In 78 they changed the name of the Zinsco line to Challenger. Since Milbank still uses a Zinsco design breaker, prefer to keep them on my "do not buy" list. The younger Zinsmeyer took over the company from his father in 1943 and renamed it Zinsco. Why GFCI Outlets have a Blinking Red Light? Mary Book your home inspection today by calling 818-298-3405 Zinsco or GTE-Sylvania panels were popular electrical panels installed in homes throughout the 1970s. This panel, in photos above, uses a Zinsco type bus design. Between the 1980's to the 1990's Challenger panels were installed in hundreds of thousands of homes. Unfortunately, yes, that's a Zinsco-Sylvania panel design. It is a 3 Pole 225A breaker and we would like to run 250MCM. Production of Zinsco panels halted in mid-1970s. 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. Identify Zinsco-like Sylvania Electrical Panels and Circuit Breakers. 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. According to usinspect.com, problems with Zinsco Panels . Use Zinsco circuit breakers type Q, Qc, QCN, Q24, Cat. Questions & answers about the identification of Zinsco, Sylvania-Zinsco, and Kearney Electrical Panels - Zinsco-look alike Electrical Panels and Circuit Breakers. When these panels experience a short circuit or an overcurrent, they often fail to cut the power supply to the affected circuit. It showed that the central ZINSCO panel and circuit breaker failure problems stem from burn-ups at those clip-to-bus connections. "How to plan and install electric wiring for homes, farms, garages, shops," Montgomery Ward Co., 83-850. 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. In addition, Zinsco panels typically have the logo at the top of the panel. 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. Some Zinsco electrical panels include an embossed "Magnetrip" label in the panel cover (photo, above left). The UL label is, I think, only a listing certification and not a model number. I would like to verify the bus rating of my house panel the only label that I have is what is attached in the photos Use GTE Sylvania Circuit Breakers Type Q, QC, R38, RC38,and HRGF. Production was halted when design flaws were discovered. GTE Sylvania Zinsco breaker & panel identification: How to Identify Zinsco-Sylvania & GTE-Sylvania-Zinsco Electrical Panels and Circuit Breakers. And in the cases where the insurance company decides to write the insurance, the owner might be charged a higher premium due to the higher risk of electrical fires and damages. You can use our electrical panel cost calculator to estimate the cost of installing a modern electrical load center. Due to the deficiencies found in these panels and the adverse effects the panels can cause, Zinsco electrical panels should be replaced. I am wondering if there is a way to tell if this is a Zinsco brand. As a homeowner, you are liable when someone is injured on your property, especially if the harm was foreseeable. This is contrary to other breakers that are in two rows and black colored. Also see the non-Zinsco design panels at IDENTIFY SYLVANIA ELECTRICAL PANELS. @Robert shaner, 112. r/solar. Below right: a badly faded Sylvania electrical panel sticker. Guess I had bettertalk to our electrical contractor :(. It began in 2012. The instructions say to use certain Zinsco breakers to replace the original ones. A good place to start reading about proper generator hookup is Be the first to rate this post. On 2020-07-10 - by (mod) - is there is a way to tell if this is a Zinsco brand. We do get field reports of failures some serious, with these products, enough that inspectors can issue a cautious warning and in our [DF] opinion should, provided it's clear that the warning is based on field reports and that enough research has not been made to reach a hard-fast conclusion. The details to which we point are unique to Zinsco. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website. Another Zinsco variation . Zinsco electrical panels were distributed in the United States, primarily in the Western states. It turns out as I'm reading your article, you cite someone named James Simmons from Mr Electric. 2, 225 AMPS Max. Photo courtesy Tim Hemm cited at references at the end of these articles. Even if you replace the circuit breakers, the risk from the panel itself will still be present. 2, Type 1 Enclosure, 125A Max.. GTE Sylvania Circuit Breakers Type Q, QC, R38, RC38 & HRGF. I wanted corroboration so I could be sure I wasn't buying something that I really didn't need. For people who are too poor to make their homes safer by replacing questionable electrical equipment we suggest some initial or temporary hazard reduction measures: I was reading information on your website about Zinsco panels but I can't determine if my main panel and sub-panel inside the house are the affected panels. The amps rating of the panel box is often on a label on the inside of the cover or on occasion on the sidewall inside of the electrical box - something your electrician can find if it's still there. 4-77 1977 [Lots of sketches of older-type service panels.]. I am also wondering if my box is one of the hazardous ones. These are also called cheater breakers. In older homes, there are still some electrical panel brands that have been commonly known to fail at safety standards. Instead the generator is connected to the panel THROUGH a transfer switch - an "either-or" type switch that makes certain that both power systems are not ever turned on simultaneously. I also Googled Images for Federal Pacific Electric Panels, and the photos of burned out panels were horrifying. On 2020-12-04 by (mod) SKU:SK5261622. Here (above and below) we show external and internal identification labels for this 400-Amp Zinsco electrical panel. single pole, yellow handle. Our Comment Box is provided by Countable Web Productions countable.ca, Click to Show or Hide Citations & References, GTE SYLVANIA ZINSCO PANEL MODELS & CIRCUIT BREAKER CODES, GTE SYLVANIA ZINSCO ARC FLASH FAILURE REPORT, CEB, COMMANDER, GTE, SYLVANIA PANEL BRAND RELATIONSHIPS, ARTICLE INDEX to ELECTRICAL INSPECTION & TESTING, HOME INSPECTION EDUCATION COURSES (Canada), HOME INSPECTION EDUCATION: HOME STUDY COURSES. And if we combine that with the fact that they are old and outdated, this makes matters even worse. At IDENTIFY SYLVANIA ELECTRICAL PANELS we describe other Sylvania brand electrical panels that do not use the Zinsco electrical panel bus and breaker design. 20 March 2015. The replacements for zinsco do not make the 35 amp any more. 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. Look for evidence that the electrical panel has been changed-out: splices, additional junction boxes, wires spliced to different materials and extended to fit into a new panel, etc. The manufacturer is KO Instruments. Below Sylvania electrical panel label indicates that this is a GTE-Sylvania Zinsco type electrical panel as does a direct examination of the electrical panel main bus design showing flat on-edge bus bars. Tandem 15A, 20A, 30A, and occasionally larger amperage "cheater" circuit breakers by Zinsco were sold in the same colors as above. US $199.98. The half Size is R38 for 1 poles and RC38 for 2 poles. OPINION: a look by your electrician at the condition of the circuit breaker-to-bus connection might show the same arcing and burning illustrated above in this article. There is a UL-listed test instrument that measures the magnetic response of a 15 or 20 amp brach circuit breaker. The new buyer labeled his company Challenger Electric. ML12(12-24)C (Indoor) - Mod. I expect your electrician to be able to confirm the design by removing the panel cover and noting the classic Zinsco bus details. c unused, Condition:: New: A brand-new. We include photos of Zinsco breaker labels and other markings that identify Zinsco and Kearney electrical equipment. Zinsco 100-125 amp Circuit Breaker Panel Dead Front Cover $125.00 $28.75 shipping ZINSCO DEAD FROT COVER 125A 120/240V 1 PH 16 SPC LONG 19 3/8 WIDE 6 $125.00 $28.75 shipping Zinsco Magnetrip Load Center Panel Cover Dead Front $74.95 $24.99 shipping ZINSCO SWITCHGEAR COVER 600A MAX. Clockwise from upper left: Compare these to other circuit breakers or to other Zinsco breakers in this article series. Infra-red scanning on a loaded breaker would be the best way to spot it. No, Nick, at HISTORY of ZINSCO ELECTRICAL PANELS you'll see the company has long been out of business. 1. The photo above shows the distinctive operating handle on the door of this Zinsco electrical panel. toggle switch colors and unique labels should be sufficient for most inspectors and owners to identify this equipment. 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. The unique vertical thin-edged bus bars (aluminum, plated aluminum, or in older Zinsco panels copper bus bars (inside the panel accessed by a licensed electrician).
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