Updated October 2026
Quick answer
Federal Pacific Stab-Lok, Zinsco and Sylvania panels and screw-in fuse boxes are replaced, not repaired, because the concern is the design itself: breakers that may not trip on an overload and bus connections that can overheat. In Oklahoma City we swap them for a modern Square D, Eaton or Siemens panel in a single day, usually at the same amperage or upgraded to 200 amps, with the permit and utility coordination included.
Why these panels get replaced on sight
What makes these panels different from an ordinary old panel
Most old panels are simply full or small. These are different. Federal Pacific Stab-Lok breakers have a long, well-documented reputation for failing to trip under overload, Zinsco and Sylvania-Zinsco panels are known for breakers that fuse to an aluminum bus after overheating, and screw-in fuse boxes invite oversized fuses and have no room for the circuits a modern house needs. Home inspectors flag all of them by brand, and many insurers ask about them.
The fix is replacement. We swap the panel for a current Square D, Eaton or Siemens unit with new breakers throughout, correct any damaged bus connections and scorched wire we find behind the old one, and bring the grounding up to current code. Most homes stay at their existing amperage or move to 200 amps if the load calculation says they need it.
What moves the price
What decides the cost of a replacement
- Panel size and circuit count More circuits take longer to move and label.
- Same amperage or upgrade Moving to 200 amps may add a meter base and service conductors.
- Damage found behind the panel Scorched wire ends and bus damage need extra repair.
- Grounding and bonding Old installs often need the electrode system updated.
- Protection required AFCI and GFCI breakers where code calls for them.
- Panel location Panels in closets or finished walls take more patching.
- Permit and utility coordination Included in every replacement.
Problem-panel replacements are priced like any panel change. 2026 estimates put a 100 to 200 amp upgrade at about $1,800 to $3,500; a same-amperage swap usually sits toward the lower end. National planning figures, not our price.
Sub-jobs this page covers
The three we replace most
Federal Pacific Stab-Lok
Federal Pacific Electric panels were installed in huge numbers from the 1950s into the 1980s, and the Stab-Lok breaker is the part that worries electricians: independent testing and years of field reports point to breakers that may not trip when they should, and to loose stab connections on the bus. You can recognize them by the Federal Pacific or FPE label inside the door and the Stab-Lok name on the breakers. Replacement breakers do not solve the design problem, which is why we replace the panel.
Zinsco and Sylvania
Zinsco panels, and the Sylvania-Zinsco panels that followed, use breakers that clip onto an aluminum bus. Over time the connection can loosen, arc and overheat until the breaker welds itself to the bus and can no longer trip. The panels are often recognizable by their thin, colorful breaker handles. When we pull one we usually find some discoloration at the bus, and we check the wire ends behind it for heat damage before landing them in the new panel, trimming back to clean copper or aluminum wherever the insulation has browned.
Screw-in fuse box
Fuse boxes did their job when they were installed, but they have two problems today: there is rarely room for the circuits a modern kitchen, laundry and air conditioner need, and nothing stops someone screwing a 30-amp fuse into a circuit wired for 15. The result is wire that can overheat without the fuse ever blowing. We replace the fuse box with a breaker panel, inspect the circuits it fed, and add GFCI and AFCI protection where the rooms call for it.
Oklahoma City conditions
Where these panels turn up in Oklahoma City
These panels turn up across the Oklahoma City housing stock. Federal Pacific and Zinsco units were common in the decades that built most of the city, and local operators name 1970s subdivisions as a place where panels have run out of room. Fuse boxes are more likely in the oldest houses near downtown, such as Heritage Hills, where homes were built between about 1900 and 1930 and some still carry a fuse box feeding original circuits behind later walls.
Federal Pacific, Zinsco or a fuse box on the wall?
Call and tell us the brand. We confirm it, explain the options and schedule a one-day replacement with the permit and utility handled.
How long it takes
How long the power is off
A problem-panel swap is a one-day job for most homes. The utility pulls the meter in the morning, we replace the panel and land every circuit, the inspector signs off and the meter goes back in. If we find scorched wire or bus damage behind the old panel, we repair it the same day and tell you what we found.
Warning signs
How to tell if your panel is one of them
- Federal Pacific or FPE label inside the doorAlso the word Stab-Lok on the breakers.
- Zinsco or Sylvania name on the panelOften with thin, multi-colored breaker handles.
- Screw-in glass fusesA fuse box, not a breaker panel.
- Breakers warm to the touchHeat at the breaker or the bus is a warning.
- Burning smell at the panelSwitch off what you can safely and call.
- Scorch marks around a breakerEvidence of arcing at the connection.
- Breakers that feel loose in the panelA poor bus connection that can overheat.
Step by step
How the one-day swap goes
- Confirm the brand and condition
Label, breakers, bus, and any heat damage visible.
- Load calculation
Stay at the same amperage or move to 200 amps.
- Permit and meter pull
Filed and booked with the utility.
- Swap day
Old panel out, new panel in, every circuit checked and landed.
- Inspection, reconnect, directory
Signed off, power restored, circuits labeled.
Questions we get about this job
Problem panel questions
The concern is that a breaker may not trip when it needs to, which you would not notice until the day it matters. That is why replacement is the standard advice.
Replacement breakers do not fix the design issue with the bus and connections, so we replace the panel.
Tell them the brand. Many insurers ask about Federal Pacific, Zinsco and fuse boxes specifically, and a replacement closes the question.
Not always. A load calculation tells us whether the same amperage is enough.
Usually one day, with the power off from the meter pull to the reconnect.
Yes. Panel replacement is permitted, inspected and coordinated with the utility.
It is outdated rather than defective, but oversized fuses and missing capacity make replacement the practical choice.
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See Industrial ElectricianFound one of these panels in your house?
Call and send a photo of the label. We replace Federal Pacific, Zinsco and fuse boxes in a single day anywhere in the Oklahoma City metro.