Challenger Electrical Panel Recall

Sunday march 1 2020.

Challenger electrical panel recall. Challenger electrical panel cover off the issues with challenger outlined. Scalding and overheating on an electrical panel is a fire waiting to happen. Although no electric shock incidents have been reported by challenger the firm recalled this product because is 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. In my opinion the frequency of field reports of challenger panel failures coming in from multiple independent experts and from electricians or owners folks who do not appear to have conflicting interests would be a sufficient reason to suggest that the panel be replaced.

Photographs of this ca 1980 s challenger electrical panel were provided by a licensed electrician in california who recommended electrical panel replacement as the overheated panel and its circuit breakers were considered unsafe. Like zinsco it brought safety hazards and was recalled. To break it down the circuit breakers have been known to overheat cause scalding on the bus bars. The overheating causes cyclical expansion and contraction of the the bus bars creating a gap between the bus bar and breaker and consequent electrical arcing which has caused meltdown of the panel components in some cases.

Challenger brand electrical panels were installed in homes during the 1980s and 1990s but have since been found to have a defect that causes the bus bars to overheat under normal operating conditions. You can see this in action from the picture below. There was no challenger electrical panel recall mike.