FPE Circuit Breaker Replacements:

Advice about replacing FPE Stab-Lok® circuit breakers. Why is replacement of the FPE Stab-Lok® electrical panel recommended instead of just installing replacement circuit breakers? Performance of replacement FPE Stab-Lok® circuit breakers.

This article gives expert advice about replacing FPE Stab-Lok® circuit breakers - Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok® breakers and discusses how to repair FPE StabLok Panels and circuit breakers for actual improvements in electrical safety.

Replacement FPE Stab-Lok® circuit breakers are unlikely to reduce the failure risk of this equipment. We recommend that residential FPE Stab-Lok® electrical panels be replaced entirely or the entire panel bus assembly be replaced, regardless of FPE model number or FPE year of manufacture. We do not sell circuit breakers nor any other products. 

What is the Proper Repair for FPE Stab-Lok® Panels and Circuit Breakers?

Homeowners and renovators who encounter these panels should replace the entire panel and circuit breaker set with new equipment. Panel replacement, can involve significant expense, typically $800 to $1800 depending on service size and other factors.

Watch out: Do not simply replace individual FPE Stab-Lok® circuit breakers: replace the entire panel. Explanation follows.

1. No Evidence of Improved FPE Stag-Lok Replacement Circuit Breaker Performance

First of all, there is no data suggesting that new stock, replacement FPE breakers, or "new old stock" FPE breakers found in storage somewhere perform any better than the ones already in the FPE Stab-Lok® panel.

In fact, limited testing of replacement FPE Stab-Lok® circuit breakers also detected failures to trip in response to overcurrent conditions.

In at least some cases, replacement circuit breakers are manufactured in Asia as copies of the original, problematic breaker design, as we discuss at #3 below.

The photo of gray circuit breakers shown here illustrate UBI-brand replacement circuit breakers, provided by reader E.K. (2014) who included this image in an FPE UBI breaker field failure report described

at FPE FAILURE FIELD REPORTS. [Click to enlarge any image]

2. Other FPE problems besides circuit breakers

FPE Second, there are other functional and safety concerns in the panel besides the breakers themselves. We've seen panel bus damage, panel bus meltdowns, and failure of breakers to remain secured in or onto the connecting bus itself.

See REPLACEMENT PANELS for some panel replacement alternatives that might reduce the repair cost.

3. Replacement Federal Pacific Electric FPE Stab-Lok® Circuit Breakers

For several reasons We do not recommend attempting to "repair" an individual failed Stab-Lok® breaker by buying a replacement either from used stock, new stock, or "compatible" stock:

• The replacement equipment has not been independently tested 
  
  and demonstrated to perform any better than the original materials
• Engineers involved in this research have explained that a good part of the source of product failure for FPE Stab-Loks was in the original design and its specifications.
  
  It appears that while there were some "on the fly" (and unapproved) changes from time to time on the manufacturing line for this product, there was never a redesign suitable to attempt to "design out" the product failure.
  
  One expert opined to us privately that he believed that the original product's price point in the electrical equipment market was at the low end, and that had Federal Pacific attempted a redesign they'd not have had a product they could sell at their price point.
• There are other hazards in the equipment besides the breakers,
  
  including bus and bus insulation meltdowns and shorts.
• A discussion of the sale of replacement FPE circuit breakers
  
   including comments and the opinion of a sales representative from a company selling replacement FPE circuit breakers along with a test report for those breakers is found
  
  at FPE Stab-Lok® : FIRES WAITING TO HAPPEN
• Schneider Electric END OF COMMERCIALIZATION / PRODUCT SUBSTITUTION LIST [PDF] (2020) Obsolete part numbers listed by Schneider included the company's Stab-Lok Type NA 1" plug-in circuit breakers, Type NC 1/2" plug-in circuit breakers, Type NB 1" bolt-on circuit breakers,
  Excerpts:
  
  Stab-lok Type NA, NB, NC circuit breakers listed below are permanently removed from production.
  
  Type NA, NB, NC circuit breakers not listed below will continue to be produced for replacement purposes.
  
  Previously announced Stab-lok GFCIs and AFCIs were removed from production and limited inventory remains in our distribution centre for purchase.
• UBI (Unique Breakers Inc) FPE Replacement Circuit Breakers 
  
  provided by Connecticut Electric have been the subject of limited independent testing and field failure reports as well as online discussion (and disagreement) with the manufacturer. See
  • UBI FPE CIRCUIT BREAKER TEST RESULTS (January 2017) reports on independent test results of a modest sample of replacements for FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers. Overall the failure rate for this sample was over 50%.
    
    This article also reports on UBI FPE Stab-Lok replacement breaker tests completed up to 3 December 2014 - a small sample size with a high failure rate.
  • 2014: Connecticut Electric UBI Circuit Breaker Failures Report posted by N, an electrical engineer as a UBI field failure report written by a condominium owner
    
    at FPE FAILURE FIELD REPORTS
  • UBI FPE CIRCUIT BREAKER VENDOR COMMENTS On FPE Stab-Lok replacement breakers, posted by a manufacturer sales representative as comments
    
    to FPE Stab-Lok® : FIRES WAITING TO HAPPEN
  • FPE Replacement Circuit Breaker Discussion [with a vendor of replacement breakers] posted by the manufacturer as comments this
    
    article FPE REPLACEMENT BREAKERS
  • FPE replacement circuit breakers (UBI) were tested and are reported on in Aronstein's
    
    UBI FPE CIRCUIT BREAKER TEST RESULTS [PDF] of overcurrent tests performed on UBI circuit breakers sold as replacements for FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers: as of April 2017, testing of nearly 400 UBI circuit breakers show a high failure rate of about 45% - higher than FPE circuit breakers, and significantly-higher than the performance of most other brands and designs of circuit breakers.
    
    Two failures out of 12 for the 2-pole breakers, one of which jammed were UBI products. Also note in this report the U.S. CPSC note added to press release (Section 10, page 21).

  Note: while there have been field failure reports of this product as well as failures in independent testing, the total sample size remains too small for high-confidence statistical inference. In our opinion both prudent avoidance (or replacement) as well as further testing are merited. - Editor

4. A few other warnings about things people try to reduce the hazards of FPE Stab-Lok® Breakers:

• "Exercising" the circuit breakers by turning them on and off 
  
  has not been shown to "un-stick" or in any other manner improve the probability of working properly, and conversely, such activity may in fact increase the chances of a future failure
• "Testing" circuit breakers by applying a load
  
   may give an instantaneous picture of the performance of individual breakers but it does not predict their performance when a real safety problem occurs (overcurrent) later. More important, except if performed by a very expert person, in-place testing is very dangerous, risking fires in the building being tested.

In sum, if you could replace all the FPE Stab-Lok® equipment with (somehow magically obtained) all "new" FPE Stab-Lok® equipment (found in a used-or new-old-stock warehouse for example) the risk level for the building would not be sufficiently different from before the replacement and would remain high: there remains a latent risk of fire from failure of these breakers to trip in response to overcurrent.

5. Replacement Federal Pacific Electric FPE Stab-Lok® Panels is Recommended

For some cost and method alternatives when replacing an Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok® Panel or "load center"

see REPLACEMENT PANELS which describes conventional

• Option#1 - "remove and replace" the electrical panel and
• Option#2 - FPE Load Center Replacement using Cutler Hammer (CH) Adjustable Retrofit Kit

 

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Reader Question: is my FPE panel part of this FPE warning?

(Nov 2, 2012) Mike H said:

I came across this forum while looking for replacement breakers. I have a Federal Electric Products Company panel Catalog No 108. It does not say Stab Lok anywhere. Is this still part of this FPE warning? I believe the house was built in the late 50's in Wisconsin not New Jersey. I've been in it since 1997.

(Oct 12, 2012) Randy said:

What about the new Connecticut Electric breakers being manufactured and tested?

Reply:

Yes Mike,

FPE Stab-Lok circuit breakers were marketed under a variety of names and variations on FPE, FP, etc. The design and bus connections are easily recognizable even if labels (which were sometimes swapped by the manufacturer) are confusing.

If you need help identifying the product see

FPE & FP IDENTIFICATION, HOW TO

Randy:

It's not clear that all replacement circuit breakers are in fact "new", nor have we been able to obtain (despite requests) in-house nor independent test reports focused on just the breakers about which you inquire.

However a limited number of these replacement breakers were included in independent testing reported-on by Aronstein and indeed no-trip circuit breakers were found in that cohort as well.

Some "replacement" FPE circuit breakers in fact are new old stock; others, worse, are used circuit breakers held back by electricians or other suppliers. It's also important to understand that if the same equipment is being used to produce circuit breakers as those that previously performed poorly one would worry about the product produced.

It's also important to understand that the design changes contemplated by the successor owners of the FPE product line would have priced the resulting product out of its price point in the marketplace. That's why the successors at one point wanted their money back.

At FPE STAB-LOK HISTORY we report on a pertinent court case: Quoting from a 2005 court case American Circuit Breaker Corporation (ACBC) v. Oregon Breakers Inc., we can confirm that despite claims of functional or mechanical differences between U.S. sold and Canadian-Sold FPE or FP Stab-Lok circuit breakers in at least some instances of product source, the products are identical.

Quoting [note that ACBC refers to the American Circuit Breaker Company]:

The essential facts are undisputed. ACBC holds the STAB-LOK trademark in the United States. Schneider Canada holds the STAB-LOK trademark in Canada. Federal Pioneer Limited ("Pioneer"), a subsidiary of Schneider Canada, manufactures circuit breakers for itself and ACBC.

The circuit breakers sold by the companies are identical except for the casing color. Pioneer manufactures black circuit breakers for ACBC and gray ones for itself.

The parties have stipulated that, except for the casing color, there are no material differences between the products, and that the gray circuit breakers are "genuine" versions of the black ones.

This dispute arose because Oregon Breakers bought gray circuit breakers from a Canadian third-party supplier and, without permission from ACBC, sold them in the United States.  - AMERICAN CIRCUIT BREAKER v. Oregon Breakers, 406 F.3d 577 (9th Cir. 2005).

UBI Replacement Circuit Breaker Independent Tests

This research has moved to a separate article. Please see UBI FPE CIRCUIT BREAKER TEST RESULTS - current test results showed a greater than 50% failure-to-trip rate as of January 2017

FPE Fire Report Filed with US CPSC

Report No. 20140520-9B4E8-2147444369 was Submitted to CPSC
1 Website

donotreply@cpsc.gov via bounce.secureserver.net
Attachments5/20/14

to editor

Daniel Friedman,

Thank you for using SaferProducts.gov to submit your Report to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). We received your Report No. 20140520-9B4E8-2147444369 on Tuesday, May 20, 2014.

Attached is a PDF copy of your Report. This is the only time you will be provided a copy of your Report. We suggest that you save it for future reference. Occasionally, the CPSC will contact a submitter to clarify information provided in a Report or to gather additional information. A representative from the CPSC may contact you in the future.

How will CPSC use this Report?

Reports we receive help us in our mission to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death related to thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. CPSC reviews every Report that is submitted. Where appropriate, we may undertake additional product investigations.

CPSC staff cannot respond to every Report on an individual basis. However, your Report is extremely important to CPSC because we are an agency that relies on Reports such as this to help us do our job.

What Happens Next?

If your Report meets the minimum requirements for publication on SaferProducts.gov, which include your consent to publish the Report, CPSC will send it to the identified manufacturer or private labeler within 5 business days, where practicable.

If you provided consent, the manufacturer or private labeler will also receive your contact information, and may contact you to verify the information in your Report. A manufacturer or private labeler will have an opportunity to comment on your Report or make a claim that it contains confidential or materially inaccurate information.

Reports that meet the minimum requirements for publication should be posted on SaferProducts.gov 10 business days after CPSC sends the Report to the manufacturer or private labeler.

Reports that do not meet the minimum requirements for publication will be maintained for internal use by CPSC.

If you have any questions, please visit www.SaferProducts.gov, or call (800) 638-2772.

Thank you again for using SaferProducts.gov.

2015 Northgate Gardens condo board in Waltham MA opined that UBI Circuit Breakers are Safe & Reliable

[In August 2015] I appeared before the condo Board to convince them that the entire condominium (350 units) are in jeopardy due to our faulty UBI replacements breakers.

The Board [leader] insisted that since the new breakers were sold here in the US they must conform to the US safety standards (i.e. have UL approval) and therefore they are "kosher". In his reasoning that five of my seven breakers turned out to be faulty may be because they are several years old by now.

Of course, the board reasoning does not hold water, if five of my seven breakers would not trip because of their "old age" (2004), then since the entire condo has breakers of the same age they must be in the same condition! That alone should have alerted the board to pass a decision to change them.

At this stage all I can do is to inform the units' owners and potential buyers so they will learn about this ticking time bomb and hopefully change their unit panel. Obviously common areas panels in the buildings will not be changed.

... the condominium name[is] "Northgate Gardens" in Waltham, MA. [Anon, 13 Aug 2015 by email to DF]

Reply:

It sounds as if your board leadership, quite understandably, wants to avoid a significant electrical repair cost to address this latent safety hazard. But in my opinion you are quite correct that a meaningful hazard exists and that these breakers and panels will not protect the buildings and occupants from electrical hazards anywhere near industry norms.

1. First, independent tests confirmed failures in these UBI circuit breakers at a failure rate significantly above industry norms in which overall, failure to trip occurs at a fraction of a percent of the time. Important concerns about test sample size are given in the start of this article. However high failure rates in small samples can be compelling evidence of a problem.
2. Second, circuit breakers are expected to perform reliably for decades, not for just four years.
3. Third, the board may not understand latent safety hazards. A latent hazard means in this case that an unreliable circuit breaker will not itself initiate a fire, shock or other injury or loss.
   
   Rather the breaker will fail to protect the building and its occupants when an unsafe condition such as an overcurrent or short circuit occurs. Thus the hazard can easily go un-noticed for a long time - until something bad happens. I use the analogy of driving around in your car with the seatbelt cut through to a mere thread.
   
   Up to now the seat belt has been just fine. But, then, you've not been in a crash, either.
4. Finally, you might say to the board leader that his reasoning about "listed products being guaranteed as always safe" is as specious as saying that "because we have laws in our country there is no crime" - a policeman would be expected to understand that example.
5. I recommend careful and accurate documentation of your presentation and the board's response, as heaven forbid, when there is a fire, loss, injury or death there could be a lot of finger pointing for which it may be helpful to have kept clear and unbiased notes.
6. Building condo occupants will want to consider electrical repairs (panel replacements) at their own individual expense (see the three links I give just below) and certainly occupants will want to know about the no-trip hazard.
   
   I suggest turning off any circuit that seems to be misbehaving, with the significant caveat that some circuit breakers may remain "ON" internally even when manually switched to the "OFF" position - something an occupant may notice if lights or receptacles don't go "off" when the breaker is switched off.

See: FPE REPLACEMENT PANEL

2016 Northgate Gardens condo board in Waltham MA elects to replace FPE Stab-Lok Panels including replacement UBI Circuit Breakers

In July 2015 the condominium management reported on a plan to have an electrician inspect all of the panels at the property. The reader E.K. cited above questioned, as did other experts, the reliability of a visual inspection to assure safety of circuit breakers that must be tested according to a UL Standard. [Private communication EK to DF et als. 7/29/2015]

In November 2016 the condominium board decided to replace all of the electrical panels in the complex, comprising 351 units plus a commons area. The reader E.K. cited above arranged for provision of the removed-circuit breakers to permit additional testing to the UL standard.

UBI FPE CIRCUIT BREAKER TEST RESULTS - in January 2017 test results of the first set of circuit breakers were provided. Additional tests of more circuit breakers from a range of installations will increase confidence in the test results but preliminary test results were dramatic. Still this small sample (n=29) showed overall a greater than 50% failure-to-trip rate as of January 2017.

FPE - UBI Replacement Circuit Breaker Discussion [with a vendor of replacement breakers]

For space and clarity, this discussion has moved

to UBI FPE CIRCUIT BREAKER VENDOR COMMENTS On FPE Stab-Lok replacement breakers.

Counterfeit "Replacement" FPE Stab-Lok or FP Circuit Breaker Warning

Watch out: separate from companies selling what they assert are new, non-counterfeit Zinsco or GTE Sylvania Zinsco or Kearny circuit breakers that may not perform adequately, there have been absolute fake or counterfeit circuit breakers sold on eBay and perhaps from other vendors.

See COUNTERFEIT FPE CIRCUIT BREAKERS for details.

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Continue reading at UBI FPE CIRCUIT BREAKER TEST RESULTS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• CIRCUIT BREAKER FAILURE RATES - independent test results for several widely-used brands of circuit breakers
• COUNTERFEIT FPE Stab-Lok CIRCUIT BREAKERS
• HAZARDOUS FPE CIRCUIT BREAKERS AND PANELS - 2024 [PDF] Final Report - independent research article by Jess Aronstein, supercedes older FPE hazard reports by this author.
• FPE FAILURE FIELD REPORTS - over 270 field reports concerning FPE circuit breaker failures
• FPE REPLACEMENT PANEL - using the Eaton CH panel bus assembly into an existing FP or FPE panel Enclosure
• FPE Stab-Lok® : FIRES WAITING TO HAPPEN
• UBI FPE CIRCUIT BREAKER TEST RESULTS - not recommended, fail at similar rate as FPE orignial equipoment
• ZINSCO CIRCUIT BREAKER TEST REPORT - similar testing on replacement circuit breakers sold for Zinsco electrical panels

Suggested citation for this web page

FPE REPLACEMENT BREAKERS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to FPE STAB-LOK BREAKERS & PANELS

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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

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