Zinsco Electric Panel, what is it, and why we recommend the client to have a Certified Electrician to evaluate it?

These panels in a simple word are Obsolete. You cannot find any newer version of it since the 1970s. Besides, based on Expert opinion, Zinsco Panels produced 30 years ago are not safe to use anymore and cannot meet today’s safety regulation.

 

And why they are not safe anymore?

Because these panels could put homeowners at risk of fire and electric shock due to operation failure up to 25 percent of the time, which is not a small number.

 

One of the signs of these panels is their colorful breakers which you can see in the picture.

 

The flaws identified in Zinsco panels include:

  • Having Aluminum wiring in it, check our article about Aluminum wiring on another post.
  • Breakers could be loose and slide up and down on the bus bars.
  • Breakers’ tripping mechanism could fail means the time you think it tripped and shut the electricity down, it might still have electricity which increases the chance of shock and even death.
  • The bus bar (a metal component of the electric panel that breakers are mounted on it) could easily get damaged.

 

Never try to open these panels by yourself and always ask a licensed electrician to evaluate and give you final opinion about your panel.