⚠️ Hazardous Panels — Federal Pacific, Zinsco, Pushmatic & More
Oftentimes, homeowners decide to upgrade their electrical panels due to increasing power requirements from EV chargers, solar panels, electric water heaters, electric ranges, electric clothes dryers, mini splits, and other power-hungry appliances.
Just as common, however, homeowners are forced by their home insurance company to replace or upgrade their electrical panels simply because the brand of panel has been classified as hazardous.
In this guide, my aim is to inform the reader of:
The several panel brands that are blacklisted by home insurance companies
Reasons why these panels are considered dangerous
As mentioned in the opening sentence of this guide, we will pay no attention to other reasons for why you may want to upgrade or replace your electrical panel. We will focus on discussing the old, hazardous panels that are currently installed in many homes in San Diego.
🚫 Federal Pacific Electric (FPE / Stab-Lok)
Failure Mode: Breakers that stay on when they should trip
Risk Level: Extreme
Independent testing found that up to 80% of FPE breakers fail during overloads. Some even lock on during a short circuit.
Look for:
“Stab-Lok” labels
Red-tipped breakers
Warm breakers
Buzzing or sizzling
🔥 Zinsco / Sylvania-Zinsco
Failure Mode: Bus bars overheating, breakers melting onto the bus
Risk Level: Extreme
Zinsco breakers often fuse themselves to the bus bar. Breakers can remain energized even when switched off.
Symptoms:
Burn marks
Sloppy or loose breakers
Breakers that stay “live” when off
⚙️ Pushmatic / Bulldog
Failure Mode: Worn-out mechanical breaker mechanism
Risk Level: High
Push-button breakers use aging springs that wear out, making breakers sticky, stiff, or frozen.
Problems:
Breakers don’t reset
Breakers feel wrong
Many panels lack a main breaker
These panels are 50–70 years old — well past their safe service life.
⚡ Challenger Panels
Failure Mode: Breakers overheating under normal load
Risk Level: Moderate–High
Known issues:
Hot breakers
Cracked internals
Weak bus connections
Not as infamous as FPE/Zinsco, but still considered hazardous.
🏚️ Sylvania, Crouse-Hinds (Certain Models) & Other Obsolete Panels
Failure Mode: Age + outdated components
Risk Level: Moderate
Problems:
Aluminum bus wear
Hard-to-find breakers
Poor connection integrity
Not designed for modern electrical loads
Even if functional, these panels are obsolete.
🧪 Dangers and drawbacks all of these panels share
Replace the panel if any of these apply:
It’s FPE, Zinsco, or Pushmatic
You see burnt/pitted bus bars
Breakers are loose, sticky, or won’t shut off
Lights flicker
Breakers run warm
You’re adding EV chargers, heat pumps, or remodeling
Insurance flagged it
Old panels don’t get safer — only riskier.
🛠️ Next steps
A proper upgrade typically includes:
New 200A panel or meter-panel combo
Copper bus bars
Whole-home surge protection
Updated grounding and bonding
New service conductors
SDGE coordination
Permit + inspection
AFCI/GFCI where required
The end result: a panel that actually protects the home.
🏠 If You’re a Homeowner Reading This
You don’t need to guess.
Send me a photo of your panel (inside + outside). I’ll tell you:
What panel you have
Whether it’s hazardous
What your replacement options are
What a fair cost range is
Text photos to 619-500-1450 or submit a service request.
