I received a complaint from a recent home buyer about the electric panel.
It is a Challenger brand. After closing on the property, the buyer asked an electrician to add another receptacle at the kitchen counter. The electrician told the buyer that Challenger panels were recalled and the panel needed to be replaced. This was the first I’d heard of it, even after all the years of continuing education classes I’ve taken for electrical. They always mention Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels, and sometimes Bulldog Pushmatic, but never Challenger. I started to research it, and found that two specific kinds of ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) receptacles were recalled in 1988. It isn’t the panel box, buss bar, or normal breakers. It is only the HACF – 15 and HACF 20 GFCI breakers. The recall was for breakers manufactured between February 22, 1988 and April 29, 1988.
From the recall notice from the Consumer Product Safety Commission
“Although no electric shock incidents have been reported by Challenger, the firm recalled this product because it has determined, by quality control testing, that a mechanical part may become detached and prevent the ground fault feature of the circuit breaker from functioning. (The normal circuit breaker functions are not affected by this problem.)”
In the panel that I inspected, there was one GFCI breaker that provided ground fault protection for the bathroom outlets. It was a General Electric brand, so probably had already been replaced. So I didn’t have any liability to the buyer to pay to replace their panel.
While doing research on Challenger panel recalls, I came across a few electrician websites that talked about Challenger as being as dangerous as Federal Pacific and Zinsco. This is simply not the case. I realize that is easier for an electrician to just say to replace the panel and not get into the nuance of specific types of breakers, but it isn’t up to me or my insurance company to pay for it. When the electrician came back and said all breakers should be replaced, I suggested to the buyer that she ask the electrician to provide a third-party source similar to what I provided from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. I haven’t heard anything back.