Read the door. Do not take the cover off.

Federal Pacific Electric (Stab-Lok)

Look for Federal Pacific, FPE, or Stab-Lok on the door or the wiring diagram inside the door. Breakers are typically narrow toggles. Stab-Lok is a bus connection style, not a rumor nickname.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission opened an investigation in June 1980 after Reliance Electric reported that many FPE breakers did not fully comply with UL requirements. Commission testing confirmed failures of certain UL calibration tests, focused on two-pole residential breakers made before Reliance bought FPE in 1979. On 3 March 1983 the Commission closed the investigation (Release 83-008) because, in its words, the data then available did not establish a serious risk of injury and further work would have cost several million dollars. A 2011 staff note on that same release says the Commission closed the matter without making a determination as to the safety of FPE breakers or the accuracy of the manufacturer’s position.

There is no CPSC recall of Stab-Lok panels. There is also no CPSC letter that “clears” them. Independent laboratory reports compiled later — widely cited through InspectAPedia and papers by Jess Aronstein — describe high failure-to-trip rates under UL 489-style overload tests. Those are not CPSC conclusions. We link both so you can see the difference.

CPSC Release 83-008 (revised 2011)

Zinsco, Sylvania-Zinsco, GTE-Sylvania

The door or interior label may say Zinsco, Sylvania, Sylvania-Zinsco, or GTE-Sylvania. Breaker handles are often blue, red, or green; Great American Insurance Group’s loss-control article warns that black handles exist too.

Great American, writing for its own policyholders, describes an aluminum horseshoe clip that can lose contact with the bus, arc, and weld a breaker in place so it no longer trips. They say these panels would not pass today’s UL certification and that the equipment should be replaced with current UL-listed gear. That is an insurer loss-control page, not a contractor ad and not a federal recall — Zinsco was not the subject of a CPSC panel recall that we found.

Great American Insurance Group, “Is Your Electric Panel a Fire Risk?”

Pushmatic / Bulldog

Pushmatic (often branded Bulldog or I-T-E Pushmatic) uses round push buttons, not toggle handles. There is no CPSC recall of Pushmatic panels. Electrician write-ups that stay honest — for example Dunlap Electric’s Pushmatic page — say the problem is age, scarce parts, split-bus layouts without a single main, and incompatibility with modern AFCI/GFCI devices. City of Lawndale, California, published a similar public note: popular from about 1950 to 1980, not historically treated as a fire-defect line, but now treated as outdated.

If a salesperson tells you Pushmatic was “federally recalled,” ask them for the CPSC number. We could not find one.

City of Lawndale, Electrical panel recall note

Challenger

The name is often on the door handle or the label behind the door. The documented federal action is narrow. In 1988, in cooperation with CPSC, Challenger Electrical Equipment Corp. offered free replacement of about 9,000 Type HAGF 15- and 20-amp GFCI breakers because a mechanical part could detach and disable the ground-fault function. That is not a recall of every Challenger load center.

Insurers and electricians still flag the brand because it is obsolete and because some carriers treat it like other discontinued equipment. That underwriting choice is not the same thing as the 1988 GFCI program. Say so when you talk to your agent.

CPSC, Challenger HAGF GFCI replacement program (1988)

Fuse boxes

Screw-in Edison fuses and a pull-out main block are the usual look. There is no “fuse box recall.” The insurance issue is capacity, the lack of modern AFCI/GFCI protection, and, on many carrier inspection forms, the simple fact that the service is a fuse cabinet. Towery Electric’s Marin insurance page says pre-1990 fuse boxes are often flagged and that rejection is not universal. Believe your letter, not a nationwide slogan.

If you are unsure

Take a picture of the closed door and the label on the inside of that door — not the live bus. A licensed electrician can identify the equipment. This site will not diagnose a photo for you, and we do not perform electrical work.