Gotta Blast Today!

[Bobby Hamilton]

During an inspection today I was down in the basement bathroom, went to plug my tester in the outlet and it blew clean out of my hand and into the sink. Didn't even trip the breaker (FPE Panel). Charred the ends of the tester.

[Ed Bancroft]

Good reminder to keep your distance when plugging in!

[Christopher Currins]

Glad you're OK Bobby. Any pics of the FPE Panel?

[Bobby Hamilton]

Originally Posted by ccurrins

Glad you're OK Bobby. Any pics of the FPE Panel?

Thanks Chris. Here's one, should've guessed there would be dbl taps all over the place by just looking at the telephone wire connections to the left of the panel.

[Christopher Currins]

Originally Posted by bhamilton

Thanks Chris. Here's one, should've guessed there would be dbl taps all over the place by just looking at the telephone wire connections to the left of the panel.
Attachment 37374

Why bother adding breakers. I like the bare grounding conductor terminating at breaker at left side.

[Dale Duffy]

Originally Posted by bhamilton

During an inspection today I was down in the basement bathroom, went to plug my tester in the outlet and it blew clean out of my hand and into the sink. Didn't even trip the breaker (FPE Panel). Charred the ends of the tester.Attachment 37373

Glad you're OK Bobby------!!

FPE--

[Robert Meier]

Originally Posted by ccurrins

I like the bare grounding conductor terminating at breaker at left side.

Are you saying that a bare equipment grounding conductor is terminating on a CB on the left side of the panel? At first glance it appeared that way to me too, on the 9th CB, but at second look it appears that the insulation is just a lighter shade of black.

What was wrong with the receptacle to cause the tester problem?

[John E. Mullarkey]

You are a lucky guy Bobby. If the panel is FPE or Zinsco I do not pull them, waaaaay too dangerous.

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

Originally Posted by jmullarkey

You are a lucky guy Bobby. If the panel is FPE or Zinsco I do not pull them, waaaaay too dangerous.

Especially if your incident occured before you opened the panel. That could have been your "warning shot".

[Bobby Hamilton]

Originally Posted by jjonas

Especially if your incident occured before you opened the panel. That could have been your "warning shot".

Where's your sense of excitement? All you need is a pair of shades and surgeon hands. Fingers grow back, don't they?

[Jeffrey R. Wicklander]

Yeah, the FPE panel is a hazard, but that was not the cause of the incident. Any idea what it was? It seems wierd, by the picture, the ground pin has a char mark on it.


Jeff

[Steven C. Waskewicz]

If that had happened to me on an inspection, I'd be quickly calling for an electrician to check out the house wiring.
.
Imagine if this happened when plugging in some type of appliance?

[Paul W. Abernathy]

Originally Posted by jmullarkey

You are a lucky guy Bobby. If the panel is FPE or Zinsco I do not pull them, waaaaay too dangerous.

And your reference to the client would be based on what? Just so I am clear.

The issues with Zinsco was more so over the aluminum buss that came into effect at the onset of a copper shortage in the late 60's...otherwise please explain your concerns..and not just want you read on some websites.

As for FPE....other than a CRAPPY wiring job...their is space in that panel and so on....looks very clean. So while you would defer it and possible the client could have the breakers replaced with proper UL listed aftermarket breakers like "challenger"....whats the reason you would recomment full replacement....?

We read WAY to many things on the internet that lead us to make statements that mislead people. Yes, FPE was part of a class action suit in New Jersey and yes they did lie about their UL listings...but remember they are still used in canada under federal pioneer without the same issues....but still have the stab design. The CPSC did a test and did not recommend a full recall...so yes, defer them simply because the breakers dont function...but you might suggest to them if they do nothing to atleast look into replacing the breakers with aftermarket UL listed ones that do meet UL standards.....

Just a thought.....versus blanket statements.....