Went out to re-inspect a new electrical panel today. When I got there, I found a new 150 Square D main panel. The cover did not appear to fit properly over the Eaton circuit breakers. When I removed the cover, I found it was screwed into the drywall and not the panel box. One breaker was double tapped and none of the breakers appeared to be properly seated. I then realized the electrician (maybe) installed the Square D panel board into the Zinsco panel box,
so he did not have to pull the wires into the new Square D box.
I let the client know he needed to get the electrician to come fix it. The client will now have to pay 3000 for his mortgage because he is assigned the finance company’s insurance company. No one will accept his 4 Pt until he replaced his Zinsco panel.
He got a good deal on the replacement panel only $800.00. Maybe he should have looked for a better electrical contractor, it would be cheaper in the long run.
Yup $800 for a complete hack job that a real contractor will have to rip out and start over. Poor homeowner probably didn’t know what he was getting for 800 bucks.
True, but I’m guessing Harry Homeowner didn’t know what he was getting when he hired the hack to do this job. Now he’ll have to pay again for someone to do it correctly.
Eaton sells a retrofit interior/trim for loadcenters, not a clue on how much though.Rather fitting for BR breakers being used to “replace” a Zinsco, I call Eaton BR “Zinsco II”, they cater to the same market as Zinsco used to “serve”, but BR breakers are not UL classified for use in competitive panels, Eaton CL is though, Eaton BR is only listed to be used in BR & Challenger panels. Lousy panel change in many ways.
That’s the Eaton Lincoln Residential Flex Center.
And because the new panel will be within 6 feet of the “old” panel, you don’t need to retrofit in AFCI or GFCI breakers. The Eaton retrofit kits are about double what the equivalent complete breaker panel goes for.
For example catalog RTBR8L100P is an 8 circuit new guts for an old panel. This is pretty much the same thing as taking a complete Square D panel and throwing away the metal case.
The double tape would NOT have been a problem had Square D breakers been used. The Square D breakers are rated, listed, for two wires of identical gauge, as long as one wire goes to each side of the center screw.
The hacky electrician should have drilled new panel holes to match the old mounting locations. And used a torque screwdriver. And as you note bought matching breakers and pushed them in fully.
I’m not an electrician so pardon my ignorance. How could you tell it was a Zinsco panel box? I looked through the photos but didn’t see any identifying characteristics that I would recognize, which, in my case, would be a big old label with Zinsco stamped on it.
Based on the age of the house and the panel design you can identify a Zinsco electrical panel. Sylvania bought Zinsco in 1973 and continued to manufacture under Zinsco until rebranding the panel Sylvania-Zinsco and then dropped the Zinsco. No other breaker looks like a Zinsco other that Sylvania. Either way these panels are easily identifiable.
Hey Frank, thanks for the feedback. I can understand identifying it by the breakers and the front panel, however, in this case the breakers and front panel had been changed. What was it about the panel design you saw in the photos that told you it was a Zinsco?
