Federal Pacific Panel Replaced with a 200-Amp Siemens in Washougal, WA

This Washougal home had a Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panel. We took it out and put in a 200-amp Siemens, redid the grounding and bonding, and added a whole-house surge protector while we were in there.

Why we replace Federal Pacific panels

Federal Pacific quit making residential panels a long time ago, and Stab-Lok breakers have a long track record of not tripping when they should. A breaker that won’t trip on an overload or a short isn’t protecting anything.

You can’t fix it by swapping breakers. The breakers and the bus are both the problem, so the whole panel comes out.

You can usually tell from the door:

• A “Federal Pacific Electric Company” label, often yellowed, sometimes painted over
• Stab-Lok printed on the breakers inside
• A catalog number on the label card, like the L124-40 on this one

If you see any of those, it’s time to look at replacing your Federal Pacific panel. And if your breakers never seem to trip, that’s not a good sign either. We cover that in why a breaker trips, or fails to.

Same size panel, still a full job

The service stayed the same size, so this was a straight replacement. That doesn’t make it quick. Every circuit in the old panel has to be identified and landed in the new one, and two things got done that a lot of swaps skip:

1. Grounding and bonding. Panels from that era often don’t meet today’s grounding rules. A replacement is when you fix that instead of carrying it over.
2. Sorting the circuits. The photo of the old panel shows forty years of additions. We landed everything in the new one so the next electrician can read it.

Surge protection while the panel was open

We added a Siemens BoltShield surge protector at the same time. It sits right on the bus, and you can see its status lights through the cover.

It’s cheaper to do it during a panel swap. The panel’s already open and the power’s already off, so you’re not paying for a second trip. Here’s our take on whether whole-house surge protection is worth it.

Got a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel in Washougal or Camas? Call 360-828-7143 or get the Federal Pacific panel quoted. The estimate’s free, and we’ll tell you what the replacement involves.