Attention Kentucky Licensed Home Inspectors:

There you go.

Michael I’m trying to understand as I might have a chance to buy into a home inspection company in Lexington KY. I’m not really trying to give you a hard time about this, I’m looking for a straight Yes or No answer to the following. It is what I posted earlier:

If this is too difficult to answer would you please ask your fellow board members. The part about burning the house down was added just for fun, but it is a distinct possibility.

Another question, Michael:

How are you going to report an FPE panel that show no signs of problems?
Do you have a specific boilerplate that you can share so others will not get into trouble?

Thank you in advance!!

Well I see that we still don’t have an answer to the above questions on how an inspector in KY is to report on the problematic FPE without getting into trouble. Michael, please respond…

He did. Keep your crap over with your girlie men on the other board, dickhead.

So James, are you speaking for Michael? All I’m trying to do is to get an answer to an important question.

and then

Many of us want to know how to handle the FPE issue in KY.

Again… this thread clearly states what is expected of a Kentucky inspector in regard to FPE.

Go back to the kids on the short bus and tell them that no one here wants to play…:smiley:

“Please do not tap on the glass or feed the animals!”

Tracey,

I’m sorry I just saw your post this morning… Here is the statement that I use concerning FPE panels. This is in conjuction with the actual rating of either Acceptable if no visible problems are observed or Evaluate/Repair if problems are observed.

House is equipped with a Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) main service/sub panel. There are reports questioning the safety of these panels and its Stab Lok circuit breakers, in some cases breakers have failed to shut off or trip in response to an overload resulting in arching inside the panel box. Because it is sometimes difficult for this condition to be identified during a visual non-technical inspection, it is recommended that client consider having panel evaluated by a qualified licensed electrician. For additional information please visit http://www.inspect-ny.com/fpe/fpepanel.htm.

I hope this helps…

Michael, Thank you very much. You have been a big help

James, take a hike. You never contribute anything technical, but you are very good at showing the public how professional a InterNACHI Inspector can be!

Michale on the other hand is a breath of fresh air. Even though I wish he had voted against the KY advisory on FPE’s.

Good advice.

"There is no current documentation from any source that states the FPE panels and breakers are a hazard to life and property solely because of the name of the manufacturer. To assume so without
current documentation is incorrect and irresponsible."

That statement is incorrect! Based on that first line in the bulletin, can you legally refer the client to a “Kentucky Electrician” for further inspection based solely on finding an FPE panel present and in use at time of inspection?

Can you therefore use the following link as documentation regarding life and property safety issues in the referral to the electrician?

http://www.inspect-ny.com/fpe/fpe.html

*REPORTS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THIS ADVISORY BULLETIN.

*Well, if I was inspecting in Kentucky, and I ran across an FPE panel, I would inspect it like I do any other (excepting for not taking the cover off panels with “E” breakers jammed into “F” slots) and I would hand my client the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling, the free download article from the Code Check web site, and a copy of the Kentucky home inspector licensing board position paper. For a little icing on the cake, perhaps Aronstein’s later testing (20 years after the testing for Wright-Malta and the CPSC) where the failure rates went up dramatically with age. In other words, there is a way around this, and it doesn’t reflect well on the consumer-protection role of that board.

(Quote from another inspection MB)

Some additional non existent documentation regard FPE panel safety.

http://bradfeldt.com/LandAm/Documents/Recalls/FP%20Class%20action.pdf

(Copied from another inspection MB)

Well Mike;

Sometimes you have to stand up for the greater good.

I’d be referring every FPE and Zinsco panel I encountered to an independent licensed “Kentucky Electrician” for further inspection and or service as needed to ensure safe, hazard free, code compliant electrical systems integrity prior to close of escrow.

BTW, is an advisory bulletin actual state law in Kentucky?

Yes.

In that case, I would have no objections to the bulletin. I don’t think many of us would be ordering the panel replaced anyway, just a prudent referral to an electrician.

Merry Christmas Jim…