Hello my name is Killian Klemencic with U.S. Electric Contractors and U.S. Generator Contractors. This is our quick summary on the Federal Pacific Panel, Bulldog panel, and Murray panel.
Technicians on our team and myself have been removing these panels from homes and businesses for the last decade. You can see many of our technicians working on such panels on our electrical services page! We guesstimate 78% were removed to prevent defect from happening and 22% were removed due to damage caused by defect. It is not a sudden emergency upon discovery of the panel, however with every 1 out of 5 failing causing fire / melting, it is only recommended to start taking steps towards scheduling a removal with monitored use. Continue reading below.
This federal pacific panel was recently removed from a customers home. It had failed to trip on a loose connection at the main breaker causing arching to occur which melted and burned a main leg supplying the homes power.
When measuring these panels with other home inspection or point of sale inspection items the federal pacific panel qualifies for the most dangerous above, asbestos, radon, lead paint, and several other items commonly listed on a inspection report.
Federal pacific panels are also combined with another problem which is the knob and tube wiring that they are feeding the dwelling with, see more on our data with our knob and tube wiring blog post!
We never recommend replacing a breaker and federal pacific stab lok breakers are no longer for sale in retail stores however for our friends that are desperate and need to hold over for a week until you can remove the panel you are able to buy federal pacific breakers here!
The federal pacific, bulldog, and Murray panel have been tested and proven to not trip even with the most severe defects or damage made to the circuitry.
It is recommended for these any of these panels to be replaced or updated.
There are many videos on the internet that have great input on this subject that you can view like this video here from Electrician U Explaining why Federal Pacific Panels are Dangerous. Enjoy!
