On Monday, November 14, 2016 at 3:40:30 PM UTC-6, wrote:
On Mon, 14 Nov 2016 15:19:31 -0600, wrote:

I have heard repeatedly that Federal Pacific (FPE) breaker panels are
dangerous and they should be replaced.
There was also a Zinsco or GTE-Sylvania, both of which were dangerous
and are no longer made. (I've never seen these two brands)
But what about other brands?
Are any others considered to be poor or bad? Is there a "best" brand, or
are all the other brands about the same?

This is probably not a complete list of brands, but I regularly see
Square D (QO series)
Homeline (made by Square D)
General Electric
Cutler Hammer
Westinghouse

Others I dont regularly see are
Siemens
Eaton

What I see most are Square D, Homeline, GE, and Cutler Hammer, but that
might just be a regional thing.

What else is there?
Are all of these common brands equal, or are some better or worse?

I'm asking this because I have numerous panels on my farm in different
buildings. I have Square D, Homeline, and Cutler Hammer. Unfortunately I
also have a FPE panel, which has never been a problem, but based on poor
reports, I intend to replace it soon. (I'm considering keeping the metal
enclosure and just replacing the innards, if I can make them fit, to
eliminate the hassle of ripping out walls, making the steel service
entrance conduit fit, and so on.....). But that may or may not be
possible, since the cover needs to fit the breakers!

Cuttler Hammer (Challenger) makes retro fit kits listed for a number
of existing enclosures.
The breaker with the worst reputation is the FPE stab locks. I know
CPSC was all over them but I am not sure U/L ever tried to pull the
listing. The same situation exists with the Ideal 65 wire nut.


Back when I was still working, I used some of the Ideal 65 wire nuts but there was something else I started using that was like a length of ground/neutral bar enclosed in a clear soft plastic insulation. It was rated cu/al and I never had a failure when I used them to connect copper to aluminum wiring. I haven't found them by searching the Web but there seems to be a new darling of a copper to aluminum connector on the market. I've never used them but the specs look good. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

http://kinginnovation.com/category-p.../alumiconn.php

[8~{} Uncle Wire Monster