Originally Posted by
Randy Clayton
Tom,and others responding,
You didn't answer the basic question where there signs of arching or hot spots in the panel box or not???
The very basic question is answered by the fact that it is a Zinsco/Zinsco knock-off.
One of the two problems with those panels is those "L" shaped bus bars. They, and the large slots in the breakers, are designed to have the breakers installed 'straight in', however, to hook and lock the breakers in place, the back end must be hooked first, then the breaker rotated into place.
This causes scraping and damage to the bus bar by the breaker contacts, this also stretches those breaker contacts causing poor connections to the bus bars, both of these, or either of these, cause arcing, pitting and welding of the breaker contacts to the bus bars.
The only way to see that is by removal of the breakers, however, having had a Zinsco panel myself (which I replaced) I can tell you that none, nada, zip, -0-, of the breaker contacts with the bus bars were intact and undamaged. In fact, the only way I could remove some of the breakers from the bus bar was with a large crow bar (remember those things from times of old) - and one of the breakers I did remove that way came apart as the contacts were welded to the bus bar that well.
Like FPE, Zinsco is junk, and any HI who is afraid to call them that and to call out for their replacement deserves to get that 'fat letter' from the clients attorney informing them (the HI) that the client is suing them (the HI) for the replacement cost of the panel they (the HI) failed to call out for replacement.
Like it or not, that's the way it is, or should be for those who do not do so.