CAA Habitation recommendedHome › Guides › Electrical panels
Zinsco panels: how to spot one
Where the Zinsco panel comes from, how to tell it apart from a Commander-family Sylvania, what it is blamed for and what the sources actually say.
In short
The Zinsco name comes up at InspectAPedia, a home inspection website, and at an American insurer. Here is what the sources say about it, and what they don’t.
- Zinsco Electric was sold to GTE-Sylvania in 1973, which kept making its breakers.
- According to the American insurer Great American, a Zinsco breaker can melt onto the bus bar and no longer trip properly.
- The U.S. CPSC and the Canadian recall database list none.
- A panel labelled “Sylvania” isn’t necessarily a Zinsco: many have nothing of the Zinsco design, and Eaton groups Sylvania (GTE) panels with the BC prefix with Commander.
- A damaged Zinsco breaker isn’t obvious by sight: an electrician decides, with the panel open.
Jump to a section8
Zinsco and Sylvania: one story, two names
In 1973, Martin Zinsmeyer sold Zinsco Electric to GTE-Sylvania, which kept the original breaker design.
GTE-Sylvania sold these panels under the Zinsco brand and under the GTE-Sylvania Zinsco brand, according to InspectAPedia.
Challenger Electrical Equipment later took over the line; Westinghouse bought Challenger in 1988, according to Eaton.
The two sources that discuss where they were sold place Zinsco panels in the United States, mostly in the West. We found no Canadian source on how many there are in Québec.
How to spot one
Stay at the panel door: never remove the inner cover. InspectAPedia leaves the inside to a trained electrician.
Three clues, according to InspectAPedia and Great American:
- The label: “Zinsco”, “Sylvania”, “Sylvania-Zinsco” or “GTE-Sylvania-Zinsco”.
- The handles: often coloured (blue, red, green, aqua); black handles exist too.
- The bus bar: a thin strip set on edge, which the breaker clips onto through deep slots. That can only be seen with the panel open, so by the electrician.
That bus bar isn’t always aluminum: Great American writes that it can be aluminum or copper.
Zinsco or Commander-family Sylvania
Many Sylvania panels have nothing of the Zinsco design, InspectAPedia writes.
Eaton, in Canada, classifies Sylvania (GTE) panels with the BC prefix, which use bolt-on breakers, with CEB and Commander panels.
A bolt-on breaker is recognizable by the metal flange sticking out of its housing.
Does your Sylvania panel have a catalogue number starting with BC? See Commander, CEB and Sylvania panels: what to do.
What it’s blamed for
The problem described comes down to how it’s attached: each Zinsco breaker clips onto the bus bar with an aluminum horseshoe-shaped clip, according to Great American.
The same insurer writes that a breaker can then melt onto the bus bar and no longer trip properly during an overcurrent or a short circuit.
It recommends replacing all Zinsco breakers and panels with current listed equipment.
The tests don’t all point the same way. InspectAPedia wrote in 2017 that no independent testing of a large number of Zinsco breakers had been completed.
The same site reports that the breakers tested by J. Aronstein tripped within normal limits; the issue would rather be heat at the joint between the clip and the bus bar.
What is certain: no recall. The CPSC has no Zinsco record, and neither does the Canadian database (checked on November 2, 2026).
The only Challenger breaker recall found at the CPSC (1988) covered ground-fault (GFCI) breakers made in 1988, not breakers of Zinsco design.
Zinsco and insurance
The recommendation to replace comes from an American insurer, Great American.
The Canadian sources we read, the Insurance Bureau of Canada and CAA-Québec, name no brand; their examples are fuses and services under 100 amps.
If your insurer names Zinsco, it has its reasons and its rules: ask it exactly what it requires.
The replacement
A Zinsco in place doesn’t have to be brought up to today’s standards: the RBQ points out that the Code applies to work done today, not to earlier work. The panel that replaces it follows the current Code.
The load calculation comes first; the municipal permit and Hydro-Québec are then the electrician’s job.
For a single-family home, the price of a new 100-amp or 200-amp panel, without redoing the service, is in the STM-Électrique quote. The detail is in Electrical panel upgrade in Québec: cost and how the day goes.
Is 200 amps enough for your home? See 200 amp panel: is yours enough? for the answer. The Electrical panel upgrade page describes the service itself.
Unsure about a Zinsco or Sylvania panel?
We inspect it, tell you honestly where you stand, and the price is in writing before the work.
Send my quote requestAt STM-Électrique
We inspect it and tell you honestly where you stand. The inside of the panel stays the electrician’s job.
For a replacement: load calculation, municipal permit, coordination with Hydro-Québec, all on our side.
If we find something once it’s open, we call you before going any further.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Zinsco panel have to be replaced?
The American insurer Great American recommends it for all Zinsco panels and breakers. In Québec, no regulation we read names a brand, and the Code isn’t retroactive for a panel in place; the inspection and your insurer guide the decision.
Is my Sylvania panel a Zinsco?
Not necessarily. Part of the Sylvania range follows the Zinsco design, but much of it doesn’t; for Eaton, Sylvania (GTE) panels with the BC prefix belong to the Commander family. An electrician decides by opening the panel.
Were Zinsco panels recalled?
No: neither the U.S. CPSC nor the Canadian database has one (checked on November 2, 2026).
Are Zinsco panels common in Québec?
We found no Canadian source on how many there are. The sources that discuss it place them mostly in the western United States.
What does a new panel cost in place of a Zinsco?
For a single-family home, the price of a new 100-amp or 200-amp panel, without redoing the service, is in the STM-Électrique quote. The exact price depends on your installation and is in the quote.
A Zinsco or Sylvania panel to have checked?
We inspect it, tell you honestly where you stand, and the exact price is in the quote.
4.9 from 469 Google reviews · RBQ licence 5815-0137-01 · CMEQ members · Free detailed quote
Get a quote: electrical panel
Sources
Consulted on November 2, 2026.
- Great American Insurance Group, Is Your Electric Panel a Fire Risk?
- InspectAPedia, Zinsco History, Age, Dates & Patents
- InspectAPedia, Identify GTE Sylvania (Zinsco) Electrical Panel & Circuit Breaker
- InspectAPedia, Sylvania, non-Zinsco circuit breaker & electrical panel identification guide
- InspectAPedia, Zinsco & Zinsco-Sylvania Electrical Panel Hazard Summary
- Wikipedia, Zinsco
- Eaton, Eaton Brand Circuit Breakers: Application in vintage loadcentres, 2012
- Eaton, Volume 12: Aftermarket, Renewal Parts and Life Extension Solutions, 2013
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Challenger Electrical Equipment Corp. Offers Replacement Program For 9000 GFCI Circuit Breakers, 1988
- Government of Canada, Recalls and safety alerts
- Régie du bâtiment du Québec, Different measures and acquired rights (in French)
- Insurance Bureau of Canada, How Home Insurance Rates are Set
- CAA-Québec, Preparing for a home insurance quote (in French)