Is a GFCI required?

Status
Not open for further replies.

stuartdmc

Senior Member
I?ve always been under the impression that in a commercial environment GFCI?s were not required. Sure it?s what GFCI?s were designed for!!
For instant within an office break room were you may have a counter and a sink, years ago we did not install GFCI?s.
Is there a code section that supports this?
 

raider1

Senior Member
Staff member
Location
Logan, Utah
stuartdmc said:
I?ve always been under the impression that in a commercial environment GFCI?s were not required. Sure it?s what GFCI?s were designed for!!
For instant within an office break room were you may have a counter and a sink, years ago we did not install GFCI?s.
Is there a code section that supports this?

210.8(B)(1) All 125 volt 15 and 20 amp receptacles located in commercial bathrooms need to be GFCI protected.

Chris
 

raider1

Senior Member
Staff member
Location
Logan, Utah
By the way the 2008 NEC has included receptacles within 6 feet of sinks in the commercial requirments for GFCI protection.

210.8(B)(5) Sinks ? where receptacles are installed within 1.8 m
(6 ft) of the outside edge of the sink.

Chris
 

celtic

Senior Member
Location
NJ
stuartdmc said:
.... years ago we did not install GFCI?s.

The NEC changes every 3 years...not ALL of it...but a substantial enough portion that one needs to keep current.
 

lordofpi

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
raider1 said:
By the way the 2008 NEC has included receptacles within 6 feet of sinks in the commercial requirments for GFCI protection.

210.8(B)(5) Sinks ? where receptacles are installed within 1.8 m
(6 ft) of the outside edge of the sink.

Chris


Does this apply even to receptacles supplying dedicated appliances? I cite the [commercial] bar with beer coolers behind the bar about which I asked this very same question a week or two ago. These were non-dwelling, non-kitchen, non-bathroom, dedicated appliance receptacles but a couple were within 6 feet of a basin-edge.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
There are no exceptions for dedicated appliance receptacles in non-dwelling units.

Once the 2008 NEC is adopted most of the exceptions for dedicated appliance receptacles in dwelling units will be gone.

120 volt 15 and 20 amp refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, etc will all have to be supplied by a GFCI receptacle depending on where they are located.
 

celtic

Senior Member
Location
NJ
iwire said:
Once the 2008 NEC is adopted ....

120 volt 15 and 20 amp refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, etc will all have to be supplied by a GFCI receptacle depending on where they are located.


A GFI CB will not be acceptable?
 

celtic

Senior Member
Location
NJ
iwire said:
It should have said,

'.....supplied by a GFCI protected receptacle depending on where they are located.....'


Thanks!

You had me there for a moment:-? ....I haven't purchased an '08 as of yet (or viewed it online at nfpa's site).
 
The first order of process in determining code requirements today is to know which cycle of the NEC the jurisdiction you are working in has adopted. The second order is, are there any local amendments.
Then you have a much better chance of getting the proper requirements.

For instance:
NYS will not be referencing the '08 NEC most likely until the '11 NEC is printed.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Pierre C Belarge said:
For instance:
NYS will not be referencing the '08 NEC most likely until the '11 NEC is printed.

LOL, I guess they don't want to rush right into anything. :grin:

AFAIK we will be on the 2008 as of 1/1/08 here in MA and RI is usually very shortly after that. :)
 

lordofpi

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
iwire said:
There are no exceptions for dedicated appliance receptacles in non-dwelling units.

Once the 2008 NEC is adopted most of the exceptions for dedicated appliance receptacles in dwelling units will be gone.

120 volt 15 and 20 amp refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, etc will all have to be supplied by a GFCI receptacle depending on where they are located.

I don't quite know how I feel about this. I understand the theory, but it just seems to invite nuisance trips. Now what about GFP instead?

My prediction is that in ten years -- well nine years worth of code -- we are just going to see all standard-cased OCPDs have built-in, ground-fault leak-current, switchable from GFCI to GFP. With ground-fault protection being required just about everywhere nowadays, it would make life easier and centralize the reset buttons.
 

lordofpi

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
celtic said:
What about homes with fuses?

Well, I never said that a ground-fault protected circuit would _require_ a breaker like that, I just figure that they may become so common as to phase out a non-gfci/gfp circuit breaker
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top