“HELP” GFCI question

M

MikeCuffel

Member
Location
Murrieta, Ca
Occupation
Contractor
In a commercial kitchen/coffee shop we have multiple 208 v 1 ph circuits, 20,30,50amp. Each circuit has (2) hot conductors & (1) ground conductor, No neutral conductor. The Electrical Engineer is requesting 2 pole GFCI circuit breakers. Does code require this? Are these circuit breakers going to serve any purpose being GFCI in the protection of the circuit served, not having a neutral conductor on the device? Thx !
 
More than likely those circuits will require it.

Yes, GFCIs need a line side neutral. They do not require a load side neutral. There are options for how to do that and where to place the GFCI device.

I’m curious as to why you don't trust your electrical engineer?
 
I'll let others answer the code questions. On the hardware question:

A 2 pole GFCI supplying a L-L circuit (only hots with no neutral) will work just fine and trigger if current leaves the intended circuit. The GFCI requires a conductor from the neutral bus to the breaker to power its internal circuits, but does not require a neutral going out to the load.
 
winnie said:
I'll let others answer the code questions. On the hardware question:

A 2 pole GFCI supplying a L-L circuit (only hots with no neutral) will work just fine and trigger if current leaves the intended circuit. The GFCI requires a conductor from the neutral bus to the breaker to power its internal circuits, but does not require a neutral going out to the load.
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Thank You for educating me, this is the first time I’ve run into this.
Respectfully, Mike
 
I do consulting for several engineers, and they tell me they have a hard time getting info out of the customers as what they are putting in, so they have to make an educated guess. So sometimes what looks like a screw up, is the lack of information.
 
4x4dually said:
Because they are sketchy as hell! LMAO Ask anyone around here. :cool:
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Yeah I understand that. I deal with weird stuff that gets spec’d all the time.

I was just wondering if there was something that jumped out at him, as GFCI in kitchens is pretty straightforward. Usually.

Not a criticism at all. Sometimes things come out harsher or dry in written form. 😳😂
 
You can sometimes get an entire hot tub disconnect complete with 2-pole GFCI breaker cheaper than you can get just a 2-pole GFCI breaker.
 
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