# what circuit breaker replaces sylvania HELP



## vacaz (Mar 6, 2014)

I have a Sylvania circuit panel in my house and I need to replace one of the 20 amp breakers. Does anyone know what brand replaces Sylvania.

thanks for any help you may be able to give me


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## UnclePhil (Mar 4, 2014)

Never heard of them.. so did a goggle..

thank you..

is it a Zinsco Sylvania ?

http://inspectapedia.com/electric/Zinsco.htm

interesting stuff

http://panelreplacementspecialists.com/challenger.html

http://forums.mikeholt.com/showthread.php?t=120486







Not knowing...........but I think I know what I would do and that doesn't mean just changing a breaker...

http://huntersglenandquailreekc.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/potentially-faulty-electrical-panel/


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## circuitman (Aug 9, 2013)

need a little more info, if possible a pic would help.if it's a regular sylvania & not a zinsco. then several breakers will interchange.:yes:


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## vacaz (Mar 6, 2014)

It is a gte Sylvania not a zinsco. Probably 30 yrs+ old


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## UnclePhil (Mar 4, 2014)

circuitman said:


> need a little more info, if possible a pic would help.if it's a regular sylvania & not a zinsco. then several breakers will interchange.:yes:





vacaz said:


> It is a gte Sylvania not a zinsco. Probably 30 yrs+ old


My My My....

look at the info supplied.... gte is on the list too..

Go stand outside your house..

look at your house and ask yourself..

"if" I can find a 10 or 20 dollar breaker which I may get charged more for because they may be hard to get...

Should I put that in the electrical panel in this house to try and save a few hundred dollars...and maybe there will be a problem or maybe there won't?

Or should I put an "approved" panel and breakers in my house and protect my property and investment...

Do you have friends, family, or kids living in this house...

"Totally" your call..

Could you live with yourself if a catastrophe happens which "you" could have prevented?

Your call.


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## UnclePhil (Mar 4, 2014)

vacaz said:


> I need to replace one of the 20 amp breakers.


Wondering..........

Why do you need to replace an existing breaker ????


Maybe the writings on the wall.


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## UnclePhil (Mar 4, 2014)

circuitman said:


> need a little more info, if possible a pic would help.if it's a regular sylvania & not a zinsco. then several breakers will interchange.:yes:


circuitman ?? ... would you, could you personally guarantee a breaker and that it will not burn his house down...??

oh... 

here's the picture.


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## Speedy Petey (Feb 1, 2004)

UnclePhil said:


> My My My....
> 
> look at the info supplied.... gte is on the list too..
> 
> ...


What the heck are you on about???

The OP is looking for a replacement breaker. We don't even know specifically which one it is, yet you are getting on circuitman for his replies??

All you are doing is being over dramatic with your burned breaker pictures.


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## UnclePhil (Mar 4, 2014)

Your right.

Sorry circuitman..

hope it works out for you vacaz.

thanks speedy petey.


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## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

Speedy Petey said:


> What the heck are you on about???
> 
> The OP is looking for a replacement breaker. We don't even know specifically which one it is, yet you are getting on circuitman for his replies??
> 
> All you are doing is being over dramatic with your burned breaker pictures.



If it is a non Zinsco Sylvania a Cutler Hammer BR breaker should be the replaccement


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## Speedy Petey (Feb 1, 2004)

rjniles said:


> If it is a non Zinsco Sylvania a Cutler hammer BR breaker should be the replaccement


My thoughts as well. At least around here, Bryant/Syl/Westinghouse/etc is FAR more common that Zinsco. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw a Zinsco panel.


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## UnclePhil (Mar 4, 2014)

The heck... I'm Back...

My spidey senses are acting up..

Why does it need to be replaced...???

Maybe not.... but maybe there's an underlining factor.. Maybe???


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## vacaz (Mar 6, 2014)

UnclePhil said:


> My My My....
> 
> look at the info supplied.... gte is on the list too..
> 
> ...


Will be getting a new panel. Thanks for the eye opener


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## Removeb4flight (May 12, 2013)

vacaz said:


> Will be getting a new panel. Thanks for the eye opener


Good decision. Just curious, what happened that you need the old circuit breaker to be replaced?


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

> Will be getting a new panel. Thanks for the eye opener


Why ?
If you have a GTE Sylvania panel that is not a zinsco style, there should be nothing wrong with it. If you are concerned with it's age, have an electrician inspect it.

The problem is that GTE Sylvania bought Zinsco, and for a number of years produced the Zinsco Style with the GTE Sylvania name on it. This is the only panel style that caused GTE Sylvania to be listed in that article.


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## vacaz (Mar 6, 2014)

dmclean701 said:


> Good decision. Just curious, what happened that you need the old circuit breaker to be replaced?


Circuit with only four outlets on it started showing low voltage. Tracked it back to breaker. Pulled breaker cleaned it up and replaced. Got full voltage then suddenly went to low again. Pulled breaker again and saw some sign of wear or arching on the power bar the breaker clips onto


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## k_buz (Mar 22, 2012)

If there is open space in the panel, leave the breaker in that space in the panel, but move the circuit to a different spot on a new breaker. Be careful to keep the circuit on the same phase if it's part of a MWBC.

Mark the panel schedule so it is known that that space is damaged.


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## circuitman (Aug 9, 2013)

agree with kbuzz, if you have a spare spot move that circuit & put in a filler plate for that opening.but if not then a panel order may be in order.


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## IslandGuy (Jan 30, 2014)

Yea, I wouldn't say an entire panel change is in order just because one breaker went bad.


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## UnclePhil (Mar 4, 2014)

Yes, I would have to agree.. I think that phil guy is way off..
You should just swap out the breaker and be done with it. And yes, if you have a spare spot where the buss bar hasn't burnt in the panel, for whatever reason that burn may have happened... put it there instead...

:thumbsup:

an educated guess


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

Users shall treat each other with respect at all times on DIYChatroom.com. Name calling, personal attacks, or other inappropriate behavior will not be allowed and may cause your account to be banned.


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## Removeb4flight (May 12, 2013)

I used to own a house that had a Zinsco panel. I wasn't aware of the problems at the time, although a friend who was an electrician told me they were a potential problem. Is it true they used ALUMiNUM buss bars? Is that the standard for today's panels?


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## IslandGuy (Jan 30, 2014)

UnclePhil said:


> Yes, I would have to agree.. I think that phil guy is way off..
> You should just swap out the breaker and be done with it. And yes, if you have a spare spot where the buss bar hasn't burnt in the panel, for whatever reason that burn may have happened... put it there instead...
> 
> :thumbsup:
> ...


Phil, the devil is in the details. If an older breaker has lost it's spring-clamping ability, most likely due to bad manufacturer's quality control, it's going to leave a mark. That's no reason to scrap an otherwise perfectly good panel because a buss bar has a scorch mark in one breaker slot. Common sense plays a part here too. It's also important to be sure the surrounding breakers haven't been affected by excessive heat buildup. But if the remaining breakers show no sign of damage and clamp onto the buss bar securely, then the problem is a bad breaker not a bad panel.


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## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

All of the manufacturers use aluminum busses in some of their load centers.


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## IslandGuy (Jan 30, 2014)

dmclean701 said:


> I used to own a house that had a Zinsco panel. I wasn't aware of the problems at the time, although a friend who was an electrician told me they were a potential problem. Is it true they used ALUMiNUM buss bars? Is that the standard for today's panels?


Aluminum is not the devil incarnate. All electrical utility lines are aluminum, the service drop to your house is aluminum and most likely the SEU cable from the weatherhead to the meter is aluminum. Often, larger cables such as the ones that feed an electric range or electric dryer are aluminum too. As long as proper wiring methods are followed, and the the screw clamps or lugs are rated AL or CU/AL then you should have no more issues with aluminum than you would with copper.


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