I survived a house fire when I was 15. The insulation of a conductor inside a bx cable sloughed off and began to arc against the conduit. This was way before the arc fault breaker. The name brand circuit breaker failed to trip and burned a hole through the floor board. My bed was above that floor board. I awoke for no apparent earthly reason around 6am the day after Christmas. My pillow was ablaze and my first instinct was to snuff it using my hands. The polyester pillow melted into my skin. I hopped out of bed just as it went up in complete flames.
So I am a bit more sensitive to the issue than someone without a similar experience. Besides, it is my opinion. By definition, it can’t be wrong, different perhaps, but not wrong.
And again, it is not a report. It is a checklist. And yes, that panel is dangerous. You can’t prove to me otherwise.
check yes on the third line and state that the panel in question is known for its high failure rate and that you suggest that they have a qualified electrician inspect it
Thread Drift Warning! Russell I took note of your comments because a while back an inspector from your fine state wanted to sell me “Coaching” advice. I looked up his website and pulled up a sample report. The report showed a photo of a FP S/B panel, no mention was made at all. I began to doubt how good his “Coaching” advice could be.
They were never recalled because the company was already out of business from the billions of dollars of lawsuits already filed against it. Proper research usually takes much longer than filing a lawsuit.
Recalls are not issued against companies no longer in business, only safety concerns at that point. And if a recall is issued, and then the company goes out of business, the CPSC will often update the recall to let people know that there no longer is any recourse. Occasionally, the recall agreement between the CPSC and the company provides for an artificial deadline, too. Once the deadline has passed, the CPSC will also update the original recall notice.
I came across and FPE stab-lok today, and I will recommend in the same manner as Jeff Pope.
I know there has not been a USA recall, but there was a Canadian recall in 1997 for these panels under the name of Federal Pioneer. http://www.inspectapedia.com/fpe/schneider.htm They use the words “recall” and “warranty alert”. I do not know if it is a full blown recall, but it seems that there is a recall of some type by a government agency. Hopefully I read the article correctly. I guess what I am saying is that we should be specific when stating that there is NO recall of these panels, and state that there is no recall by any USA government agency or by the CPSC.
I just wonder if the panels in Canada differ enough that the recall does not affect panels manufactured for the USA.