Federal Pacific Panel: The Stab-Lok Record, Zinsco and Every Breaker Recall Since 1990

Registry: official actions on FPE, Stab-Lok and every residential breaker and panel recall

Checked monthly against the CPSC Recalls API, and when a court or insurer record changes. Last checked 2026-11-08. Entries are neutral records of public data; each links to its source record.

No CPSC recall has ever named a Federal Pacific panel, Stab-Lok or Zinsco

KBR pulled every recall in the CPSC Recalls API on 2026-11-08: 10,082 records dated 1973-06-08 to 2026-11-05. A text search of titles, descriptions and product names for Federal Pacific, Stab-Lok, Zinsco and FPE returns 0 relevant recalls.

The only FPE hit in the full file is a Honda ATV recall whose model list includes the code FPE; it is logged and removed. Challenger, the brand that later carried the Stab-Lok line, appears once in the breaker set: a 1988 replacement program for about 9,000 HAGF GFCI breakers that had not been located (CPSC release 88-095).

No recall is not the same as a safety finding. The CPSC did investigate FPE Stab-Lok breakers from 1980 to 1983, and it closed that file without ruling either way, as the next section shows. The absence of a Zinsco record means the agency never announced a recall or an investigation outcome for that brand in the database it publishes.

Reliance flagged the UL test failures in 1980, and the CPSC closed the file in 1983 without a safety finding

The CPSC's own release, issued 1983-03-03 and revised 2011-02-18, is the primary federal record. It confirms the test failures and declines to call them a hazard or to clear them.

According to CPSC release 83-008, the investigation began in June 1980 when Reliance Electric, an Exxon subsidiary and FPE's parent, reported that many FPE breakers did not fully comply with Underwriters Laboratories requirements. Commission testing confirmed that the breakers failed certain UL calibration tests. The work focused on 2-pole residential breakers made before Reliance bought FPE in 1979.

Reliance's position, as the release records it, was that the breakers trip reliably at most overload levels and that currents at the few levels where they may not trip are too low to overheat household wiring. CPSC staff said it had insufficient data to accept or refute that. Gathering the data would cost several million dollars, and with a fiscal 1983 budget of $34 million the Commission chose not to continue, while saying it could reopen the matter.

The revision dated 2011-02-18 adds a note asking electricians, homeowners, inspectors and agents to read the release carefully: the Commission closed the matter without determining the safety of FPE breakers or the accuracy of the maker's position.

Calibration test: A UL test that checks whether a breaker holds its rated current and trips within set time limits when current exceeds that rating, as the CPSC release describes it.

A New Jersey judge found in 2002 that FPE sold breakers not tested to UL standards

The court record is narrower than many summaries suggest: a partial summary judgment on consumer fraud against FPE, with successor liability, limitations and class questions left open.

In Yacout v. Federal Pacific Electric Co., docket MID-L-2904-97, Judge Bryan D. Garruto's memorandum dated 2002-08-15 states that FPE knowingly and purposefully distributed circuit breakers which were not tested to meet UL standards as indicated on their label, an unlawful practice under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. The order dated 2002-10-29 granted summary judgment against FPE on that issue and found an ascertainable loss for which treble damages are recoverable (archived copy of the order and memorandum).

The same order denied summary judgment against Reliance Electric because its successor liability was a question of fact, dismissed claims on sales before June 29, 1971, when the Act first allowed private suits, and dismissed claims by later buyers of homes that already had FPE breakers. The memorandum notes that defendants addressed the labeling issue in the early 1980s through press releases and 48,000 notification letters, and that each class member's limitations defense would need its own hearing.

KBR could not open a primary record of what happened after the order, including any settlement terms, so none is reported here. Several pages state that the suit was filed in 2002; the docket number, MID-L-2904-97, carries a 1997 year suffix.

The Stab-Lok name outlived FPE and passed to Challenger, then American Circuit Breaker

A 2005 federal appeals opinion traces the trademark, which matters because a breaker marked Stab-Lok can be newer than FPE itself.

The Ninth Circuit's opinion in American Circuit Breaker Corp. v. Oregon Breakers records that FPE adopted STAB-LOK for breakers in 1950 and later sold its US breaker business, with the mark, to Challenger Electric. In 1988 Challenger sold that business to the predecessor of American Circuit Breaker Corp. (ACBC). The Canadian mark went to FPE's subsidiary Federal Pioneer in 1986 and to Schneider Canada in 1999.

The court notes that ACBC made black STAB-LOK breakers in North Carolina before 1993 and that Federal Pioneer now makes them for ACBC under a settlement. A replacement Stab-Lok breaker bought in the US today is therefore not an FPE product.

Zinsco has no comparable public record that KBR could open: no CPSC recall, no court opinion and no agency statement. Ownership histories that link Zinsco to GTE Sylvania circulate on inspection sites without primary documents, so this report leaves them out (see excluded.md).

13 residential breaker and panel recalls since 1990 covered 5.02 million units

This is KBR's signature count: every CPSC recall since 1990 of a breaker, AFCI or GFCI breaker, load center, panelboard or meter-panel combo sold for homes, from the full API file.

From 1990-01-01 to 2026-11-05 the CPSC posted 13 residential recalls in this category with 5,022,564 announced US units. Siemens, including its Murray brand, leads with 3 recalls and 46.7% of units; Square D genuine products follow with 3 recalls and 42.1%. GE with Midwest Electric and Eaton each have one small meter-panel recall.

The distribution is lopsided. The median recall covered 50,000 units and the mean 386,351, because the 2010 Siemens recall (2.2 million) and the 2022 Square D recall (1.4 million) together hold 71.7% of the total. Recalls came in 10 of the 37 calendar years from 1990 to 2026, with the busiest decade the 2000s at 6.

Three recalls of large molded-case breakers sold through industrial distributors (Square D MA/MH in 2002, F and K frame in 2014, PowerPact J-frame in 2014) are listed in the table but kept out of the residential count. Plug-in GFCI devices, surge arresters, safety switches and a meter socket with no breaker are excluded.

One recalled unit in nine was a counterfeit breaker labeled Square D

Five distributor recalls from 2006 to 2010 pulled 558,600 fake QO-series breakers, 11.1% of all residential units recalled since 1990.

Scott Electric (30,000 units), Connecticut Electric (64,000), North American Breaker Co. (50,000), Specialty Lamp International (371,000) and Miami Breaker (43,600) each recalled breakers labeled Square D that Square D had determined were counterfeit and could fail to trip on overload. Counting genuine and counterfeit together, products bearing the Square D name are 2,670,800 units, or 53.2% of the residential total.

By hazard, fire or overheating covers 71.8% of units, a protection function that may fail (the 1998 Siemens GFCI breakers and the 2004 Square D AFCIs) 16.8%, and shock or arcing in meter-panel combos 0.3%.

65.7 million homes standing in 2025 were built in the 1950 to 1989 panel era

ACS 2025 1-year table B25034 counts 65,733,775 housing units built 1950 to 1989, 44.3% of 148,228,967. This is an era count only: no federal survey records panel brands.

The 1970s contributed the most surviving homes, 20,085,485, followed by the 1980s at 18,379,462. The decades overlap the years FPE and Zinsco equipment was sold; an insurer bulletin from AmTrust puts Stab-Lok installations at 1960 to 1985, its own claim. Many of these homes have had panels replaced, which the ACS does not track.

California holds 8,220,599 era homes, 54.8% of its stock, followed by Texas (4,927,913), Florida (4,905,504), New York (3,731,261) and Pennsylvania (2,638,031). Those five states hold 37.2% of the national era count. By share, Hawaii (58.1%), Alaska (57.0%) and Connecticut (52.5%) rank highest; DC (28.3%) and Nevada (31.1%) lowest. For a home-by-home check, see how old is my house.

Insurers ask for the panel brand: Citizens' 4-point form and an AmTrust bulletin

Published insurer documents show two approaches: Florida's Citizens Property Insurance Corporation asks the inspector to record brand, age and hazards, while one commercial insurer's bulletin recommends replacing every Stab-Lok panel.

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation requires a 4-point inspection for properties over 20 years old, down from 30, for policies effective on or after 2022-02-01 (Citizens bulletin). In 2026 that line covers every Florida home built 1999 or earlier: 6,750,583 units, 62.6% of the state's 10,788,709.

The form in use since 2025-03-20, Insp4pt 03 25, asks for main panel brand and model, panel age and year last updated, and lists hazards such as double taps, scorching and improper breaker size. It names no panel brand as ineligible. It does tell agents they may not submit properties with electrical systems that are not in good working order or have existing hazards.

AmTrust's Florida region Safety Zone bulletin of May 2019 recommends that all Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panels and breakers be replaced with UL listed equipment. The bulletin calls the New Jersey law the NY Consumer Fraud Act; the court record shows New Jersey. Readers comparing insurer rules for older wiring can see knob and tube wiring, which covers different filings.

How to read the panel label without guessing the brand's history

Official recall notices give exact identifiers for recalled panels and breakers; for FPE, the trademark record explains why a Stab-Lok label alone does not date a part.

CPSC notices place catalog numbers and date codes on labels inside the panel box or door, and for the 2022 Square D recall they direct consumers to a qualified electrician to read interior date codes. Counterfeit Square D QO breakers can be told from genuine ones by the white amp rating on the handle, the Square D insignia molded on the side and a yellow chromate mounting clip, per the CPSC's 2008 notice.

What a kitchen or bath remodel means for a 1950 to 1989 panel

No federal rule requires replacing a panel during a remodel; permits, local code and insurers decide. Two federal incentives set the only dollar figures KBR could verify.

The CPSC's standing advice in its 1983 release is to comply with local building codes when wiring or adding circuits and to have breakers of the proper size. New kitchen circuits are reviewed by the local permit office; plan for that step in the kitchen remodel timeline and ask contractors how they handle electrical permits (how to choose a remodeling contractor).

The 25C credit paid 30% of qualified costs, up to $600 per item, for panelboards of 200 amps or more installed to support qualifying energy property, until 2025-12-31 (IRS). The federal HEEHR rebate allows up to $4,000 for an electric load service center upgrade and $2,500 for wiring, within $14,000 per eligible household, for income-qualified homes in states running the program (42 U.S.C. 18795a; DOE).

Other old-house systems that come up in the same remodels are covered in aluminum wiring and polybutylene pipe.

Counts and distributions

Download the calculations (CSV)

Key findings

1. The CPSC Recalls API holds 10,082 recalls dated 1973-06-08 to 2026-11-05; none mentions Federal Pacific, Stab-Lok or Zinsco.^[1]
2. From 1990-01-01 to 2026-11-05, 13 CPSC recalls covered residential circuit breakers, AFCI/GFCI breakers, load centers and meter-panel combos, totaling 5,022,564 announced US units.^[1]
3. Those 13 recalls are 0.14% of the 9,504 CPSC recalls posted since 1990.^[1]
4. Siemens and Murray breakers, load centers and meter combos made June to August 2010 account for 2.2 million recalled units, the largest single recall in the set.^[15]
5. Square D QO Plug-On Neutral load centers made February 2020 to January 2022 account for about 1.4 million US units (recall of 2022-06-16), plus 289,000 sold in Canada.^[14]
6. Counterfeit breakers labeled Square D make up 5 recalls and 558,600 units, 11.1% of the residential total, all announced 2006 to 2010.^[1][19]
7. Fire or overheating is the hazard in 4 recalls holding 71.8% of units; a failed AFCI or GFCI protection function accounts for 16.8%.^[1]
8. None of the 13 residential recall notices reports an injury; the 2024 Siemens SolarReady notice cites 8 overheating reports including one localized fire.^[1][20]
9. The CPSC's 1983 release says its investigation began in June 1980, focused on 2-pole residential breakers made before 1979, and was closed because further study would cost several million dollars against a fiscal 1983 budget of $34 million.^[3]
10. On 2011-02-18 the CPSC added a note to the 1983 release saying the Commission closed the matter without determining the safety of FPE breakers.^[3]
11. In Yacout v. Federal Pacific (Middlesex County, New Jersey), the 2002-10-29 order granted summary judgment against FPE under the Consumer Fraud Act but left Reliance Electric's successor liability for trial.^[4]
12. The New Jersey memorandum records that defendants sent 48,000 notification letters about the labeling issue in the early 1980s.^[4]
13. The US STAB-LOK trademark, adopted by FPE in 1950, passed to Challenger Electric and in 1988 to the predecessor of American Circuit Breaker Corp., per a 2005 Ninth Circuit opinion.^[5]
14. In 2025, 65,733,775 US housing units (44.3%) were built 1950 to 1989; California alone has 8,220,599 of them.^[6]
15. Citizens Property Insurance requires a 4-point inspection for Florida homes over 20 years old (formerly 30) from 2022-02-01; 6,750,583 Florida homes were built 1999 or earlier.^[10][6]

Executive summary

• None of the 10,082 recalls in the CPSC Recalls API (1973-06-08 to 2026-11-05) mentions Federal Pacific, Stab-Lok or Zinsco.
• The CPSC opened an FPE investigation in June 1980 after Reliance Electric reported UL compliance failures, and closed it on 1983-03-03 without a safety determination, citing cost against a $34 million budget.
• A New Jersey Superior Court memorandum dated 2002-08-15 found FPE knowingly and purposefully distributed breakers not tested to meet UL standards as labeled; the order followed on 2002-10-29.
• Since 1990 the CPSC posted 13 recalls of residential breakers, AFCI/GFCI breakers, load centers and meter-panel combos, covering 5,022,564 announced US units, with no injuries reported in any notice.
• Two recalls hold 71.7% of those units: Siemens and Murray breakers and load centers in 2010 (2.2 million) and Square D QO Plug-On Neutral load centers in 2022 (1.4 million).
• Five recalls, 11.1% of units, were counterfeit breakers labeled Square D, pulled by distributors between 2006 and 2010.
• The ACS counts 65,733,775 housing units built 1950 to 1989 in 2025, 44.3% of the US stock; that is an era count, not a count of FPE or Zinsco panels.
• Citizens in Florida has required a 4-point inspection for homes over 20 years old since 2022-02-01, and its 2025 form asks for the panel brand and model.

Frequently asked questions

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• How Long Do Ovens Last? Gas, Electric and the Federal Recall Record
• All kitchen and bath research

Reproduce this analysis

Every figure comes from the files below. The scripts that pulled and computed them are kept with the report and can be re-run.

Data quality and exclusions

• Kept 9,504 of 10,082 CPSC recalls dated 1990-01-01 or later for the count; 578 earlier recalls were reviewed only for context (3 breaker or panel recalls from 1988).
• The type and keyword screen returned 23 candidates. 13 were classed residential, 3 commercial (MA/MH, F and K frame, PowerPact J-frame breakers), 3 pre-1990, and 4 excluded: a Woods plug-in GFCI (1991), a GFCI extension cord (1994), a Square D surge arrester (1995) and a Milbank meter socket with no breaker (2009).
• A wider sweep of titles and descriptions for breaker, load center and maker names was read by hand; it added no recall. Square D safety switches (2006 and 2018), a Schneider surge protection device (2020) and Leviton connection devices (2020) were not counted as breakers or panels.
• The brand search for Federal Pacific, Stab-Lok, Zinsco and FPE returned 1 match, a Honda ATV model code FPE, removed as a false positive.
• Recall 99100a has a blank units field in the API; 12,200 units were taken from the cpsc.gov recall page. Recall 88091 carries an API date of 1998-11-01 but its text says it was issued November 1, 1988; it is listed as 1988.
• Recall 22159 units exclude 289,000 sold in Canada. Unit text such as About 2.2 million was converted to 2,200,000.
• ACS: Puerto Rico dropped; era MOE combined as the square root of the sum of squared decade MOEs, an approximation.

Methodology

Source selection: the CPSC Recalls API (full JSON, pulled 2026-11-08, latest record 2026-11-05) for recalls; the CPSC's 1983 release on FPE; two court records (the 2002 New Jersey order and memorandum, read from an Internet Archive capture, and a 2005 Ninth Circuit opinion); ACS 2025 1-year table B25034 (released October 29, 2026) for homes by year built; Citizens Property Insurance bulletins and its 4-Point form; one insurer bulletin (AmTrust); IRS, statute and DOE pages for incentives.

Inclusion: a recall is residential if it covers a circuit breaker, AFCI or GFCI breaker, load center, panelboard or meter-panel combo sold for homes (home centers, residential catalog lines or residential meter-mains). Large molded-case breakers sold through industrial distributors are listed but excluded from the count. Recalls before 1990 are listed as context.

Conflicts: where the API units field is blank (recall 99100a) the units come from the cpsc.gov recall page; where the API date conflicts with the release text (recall 88091) the release text is used. Insurer claims and test percentages quoted by insurers or inspectors are attributed or excluded, never stated as fact.

Derived metrics are computed in scripts/cpsc_recalls.py and scripts/acs_era.py from the raw files and stored in derived_metrics.csv. Shares sum announced units, not averages of shares.

Limitations: recall units are announced quantities; the ACS counts era homes, not panel brands; the court order is a trial-level ruling with later history unverified. Last updated 2026-11-08.

This report presents published data with its limitations. It is not legal, financial or investment advice.

Sources, ranked by quality

Tier 1: primary and official sources (21)

• [1] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC Recalls API, full recall list (JSON). 1973-06-08 to 2026-11-05 (10,082 recalls). Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [2] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC Recalls Application Program Interface (API) Information. current. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [3] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Commission Closes Investigation Of FPE Circuit Breakers And Provides Safety Information For Consumers, Release 83-008. issued 1983-03-03, revised 2011-02-18. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [4] Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Middlesex County. Yacout v. Federal Pacific Electric Co., MID-L-2904-97: memorandum of decision (2002-08-15) and order for partial summary judgment (2002-10-29); Internet Archive capture of a copy hosted by InspectAPedia. 2002. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [5] U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (via law.resource.org). American Circuit Breaker Corp. v. Oregon Breakers Inc., 406 F.3d 577 (9th Cir. 2005). filed 2005-04-25. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [6] U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 2025 1-year, table B25034 Year Structure Built (table-based summary file). 2025 (released October 29, 2026). Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [7] U.S. Census Bureau. ACS 2025 1-year geography file Geos20251YR.txt. 2025. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [8] Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. 4-Point Inspection Form, sample form Insp4pt 03 25. edition 03 25. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [9] Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Roof and 4-Point Inspection Form Updates, Personal Lines bulletin 03.20.25. 2025-03-20. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [10] Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. 2022 Rates and Rules Changes Including 4-Point Required for 20+ Year Buildings, bulletin 12.03.21. effective 2022-02-01. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [11] Internal Revenue Service. Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit. page reviewed 2026-04-28; credit for 2023 to 2025. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [12] U.S. Congress, via Cornell Legal Information Institute. 42 U.S. Code 18795a, High-efficiency electric home rebate program. statute as of 2026. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [13] U.S. Department of Energy. Home Energy Rebates Programs. page accessed 2026-11-08. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [14] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Schneider Electric Recalls 1.4 Million Electrical Panels Due to Thermal Burn and Fire Hazards (recall 22-159). 2022-06-16. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [15] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Siemens Recalls Circuit Breakers Due to Fire Hazard (recall 10-354). 2010-09-23. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [16] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC, Schneider Electric North American Division Announce Recall of AFCIs (recall 05-035). 2004-11-03. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [17] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Electric Meter Boxes Recalled by Square D Co (recall 99-100a). 1999-04-22. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [18] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Challenger Electrical Equipment Corp. Offers Replacement Program For 9000 GFCI Circuit Breakers (release 88-095). 1988-11-12. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [19] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Counterfeit Circuit Breakers Recalled By Specialty Lamp International Due to Fire Hazard (recall 08-286). 2008-05-27. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [20] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Siemens Industry Recalls SolarReady Meter Combos Due to Fire Hazard (recall 24-346). 2024-08-22. Accessed 2026-11-08.
• [21] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC, Midwest and GE Announce Recall of Meter Load Centers (recall 05-515). 2004-11-19. Accessed 2026-11-08.

Tier 2: trade bodies, market research, company data (1)

• [22] AmTrust Financial Services. Safety Zone: Electrical, Replacement of Federal Pacific Stab-Lok (AmTrust Florida Region, May 2019; same text reissued as MKT5312 08/19). 2019-05. Accessed 2026-11-08.