New answers tagged gfci
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OK, I have solved the problem. First of all GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter, or something like that) is a rather pretentions name for a receptacle with a fuse. I would call it RF. I know of no studies that show how these fused things improve safety over any ordinary receptacle. Nonetheless the electrical code seems to require them if the box is 6 feet ...
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You need to handle-tie those 2 breakers, boy howdy! If you can't find an appropriate factory handle tie, use a 2-pole breaker.
You don't need to GFCI a 240V circuit; the only exception being if you're in NEC 2020 territory (about 4 states so far) AND the location is one that normally needs GFCI (garage, basement, kitchen, bathroom etc.)
AFCI protects the ...
answered Oct 22 at 17:55
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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2
Let's look at it a slightly different way:
Which is more dangerous, a 20 Amp GFCI on a 15 Amp circuit, or a 15 Amp non-GFCI on a 15 Amp circuit that should have GFCI, such as a kitchen or bathroom receptacle?
I would argue that given those two choices, the risk of using the 20 Amp GFCI (an edge case of 20 Amp device overloading 14 AWG wire and causing a ...
answered Oct 21 at 21:05
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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First off, connecting a 20 Amp load to a 15 Amp circuit will overload the circuit but shouldn't cause a fire because the 15 Amp breaker will trip.
A 20 amp GFCI doesn't pose any threat just by being there. The threat comes from people thinking it's on a 20 amp circuit and loading it as such.... which will trip a 15 Amp breaker.
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Your plan is solid and well thought out in my opinion.
The one thing that may give you problems with GFCI receptacles is wire fill and box size. GFCI receptacles are big and sometimes a real bugger to get in some locations just be aware of this but I prefer GFCI’s locally even when they are tight.
You don’t have to pull a ground for every circuit back to the ...
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When UL lists the device, they list the instructions along with it.
The reason for the "DO NOT" instruction is because the instructions in the GFCI device are written for the specific case of one cable in; and 0 or 1 cable out. UL would not approve more complex instructions to handle every case; so the instructions say to get professional help if ...
answered Oct 21 at 5:32
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I've done the cheater test before but to my mind it's not a valid test to simply trip the GFCI with the test button on the upstream, obviously anything south of it will die too provided it's connected to the load side of said GFCI. Like one person said, if the downstream 2 prongs are on the LOAD side of the GFCI, they are protected to the extent they are as ...
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You're not required to get a all in one RV Park Panel, but it's much simpler to install for the price. Everything is included, meets code requirements, not really that much more in material costs, less labor to install and is a single point connection. Meaning it's hard to screw up. Much better for a DIY.
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Yes, as long as you're connecting the wires at the load end, the GFCI doesn't care how it's connected.
You'll have to install a large enough box to accommodate 9 wires coming into it though.
According to this chart https://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/electrical/how-many-wires-in-an-electrical-box/ You're not going to be able to use a standard 3 x 2 box (...
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Yes. That's what pigtails are for. No problem at all.
Incoming (from panel) wires -> LINE side of GFCI
Outgoing wires - short pigtails (colors matching the outgoing wires, normally black & white) -> LOAD side of GFCI
On the other end of each pigtail, wire nut the two matching wires to the other locations.
All grounds (both sides) are connected ...
answered Oct 16 at 14:22
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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Thanks...After thinking about it I moved the white ground to the center lug of the breaker and then the pigtail to the ground buss. I just had to think how it works and it has to sense activity on the ground and to do that it has to pass through the back end of the breaker where the GFCI sensors are located. It was a light bulb goes on moment.
Thanks
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Your white wire from the breaker goes to the panel neutral, not ground. The white wire from your hot tub gets connected to the breaker.
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Yes, you need to connect the white from the hot tub panel to the gfci breaker, and the pigtail from the breaker to the neutral bus.
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You're not allowed to supply NEMA 5-20R receptacles with a 50A circuit breaker. That is dangerous!
I suggest an additional penetration for the new receptacles, which should be put on a 20A breaker(s). You probably don't want to stuff additional wire into the conduit that already has the RV circuit going through it.
If you don't think you'll use both the RV ...
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I am sure someone else can cite code, but generally speaking if the hardwired loads on a circuit are > 50% of the capacity of the circuit then you can't have ordinary receptacles on the same circuit. With a 20A circuit, that means if you have 10A of fixed load (1300 W on a 20A 120V circuit qualifies, plus you have some other lights as well).
The reason ...
answered Oct 14 at 1:03
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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Having the hardwired loads on GFCI protection is silly unless they are inside a tub or shower. If they are grounded that is good enough. Why be plunged into the dark on a GFCI trip?
You cannot have receptacles on a circuit where more than 50% of the load is hardwired. So on a 20A circuit only 1200W can be hardwired. The lights + fan + heater must total ...
answered Oct 14 at 0:29
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They could have unplugged the heater because those old vent/heaters were terribly inefficient and they could end up drawing even more current if parts of the coil shorted when they failed. A 1300W heater left on continuously is a giant load for the house. Also...
Shouldn't a bath fan pull air OUT of the bathroom to remove humidity or 'fumes'. Im not sure ...
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For now: cap off breaker 7's hot and neutral in the panel
What you discovered with two breakers feeding power to the two sides of a GFCI is something that basically shouldn't have ever happened to begin with; GFCIs aren't meant to have power backfed onto their LOAD terminals, even, as that can fry older units, and will cause new GFCIs to "lock out"....
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Let's consider Joe. Joe is living on a boat, using a diesel fired heater and using the engine to keep the batteries charged. Someone suggests fitting a carbon monoxide detector. Joe fits one in the galley, and the detector goes off. So Joe moves it to the bedroom, still goes off. Back to the store it goes, the replacement also goes off. Back it goes, Joe ...
answered Oct 11 at 17:06
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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Option 1: Call a pro.
The safest and easiest approach. If you don't have the skills and/or equipment for the other options, just have the machine diagnosed and repaired by someone who does.
Option 2: Use an isolation transformer.
Just pull out your trusty isolation transformer and use it to power the machine. I'm sure you have got one, or you would have ...
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I do that all the time. For instance in our breakroom, I have black + white carrying non-protected supply, whilst purple + gray carry GFCI-protected supply. They all share the ground of the metal conduit pipe. Purple + gray land on the GFCI-protected outlets, and black + white land on the non-protected outlets.
You can pick ANY colors you want, as long as ...
answered Oct 8 at 16:26
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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You can do that. Basically:
All grounds together
Pigtail hot & neutral coming in to the GFCI's box. From the pigtail, each gets a wire going to the GFCI "Line" side and a wire going on to the non-GFCI protected receptacle.
Garage downstream receptacles connect to the GFCI "Load" side.
There is no problem sharing the neutral. The key ...
answered Oct 8 at 15:57
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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9
The previous installer wired the bathroom GFCI backwards
The symptom of a GFCI that shuts off power to downstream outlets but not itself when tested is a classic indication of a classic mistake. In particular, GFCIs are not symmetrical devices, unlike regular receptacles. LINE on a GFCI is the power in side, and LOAD is a dedicated output, connected in ...
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This is a job for a good borescope! I'm a total amateur, but not through the tile, but from somewhere else like above it. You can probably rent one from Home Depot, get one with a long enough head. The other thing you can do, is come at it from the back - The other side of the wall, is usually in a closet, or maybe from a non-tiled portion of the other ...
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You've got a handful of potential problems there!
In the bathroom where you suspect the buried outlet have a look around for other outlets. Is there any outlet visible near the vanity? NEC requires at least one so a builder generally installs only one. I forget the maximum distance.. two feet? If you do find an outlet nearby the probability of a second ...
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You have a multi-wire branch circuit!
FWIW the red hot leg on a completely separate GCFI breaker acts exactly the same way.
This. This right here.
You have learned a trick that you can get two "circuits" out of a /3 cable if you share the neutral. The problem is, you only learned part of the story.
The full story is that the "circuits"...
answered Oct 5 at 6:51
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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4
No, you cannot! At least you cannot without opening up the wall.
If you can get at it from the other side that may be an option but having a "buried" box, outlet, or junction is not allowed.
Unfortunately, you have discovered why that is. You have a problem and you cannot get to the GFCI outlet to fix it.
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White neutral is connected to the panel neutral bus (verified not
ground). The black wire from the 10-3 is connected to breaker.
Last I checked, (I don't use GFCI breakers, normally, I just put a GFCI as the first thing in line) the neutral needs to connect to the GFCI breaker neutral connection (and depending on design, you may need to connect a pigtail ...
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Can't put a 15/20A recep on a 40A breaker
Any device in there would have, effectively, no circuit breaker protection at all. Because the 40A breaker would be so far above likely practical short-out currents that it would not notice if the appliance burst into flame. Rulewise:
210.21(b)(3) says on a 40A circuit, only 40A or 50A receps can be used. (...
answered Oct 2 at 16:51
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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