20 Amp Outdoor Receptacles

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jmellc

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
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Facility Maintenance Tech. Licensed Electrician
I've usually been doing outdoor receptacles in 15 amp, no problems for the most part. A customer called the other day that his ckt trips when he uses an electric lawn mower. I am replacing it with a 20 amp ckt. I will do all my outdoor receps on 20 amp now, much as I can. I'm sure we will see more electric mowers as time goes on.
 
hope the kin dont start sitin in da patio watchin eb mow with their 1550 watt heater plugged in also :)
 
jmellc said:
I've usually been doing outdoor receptacles in 15 amp, no problems for the most part. A customer called the other day that his ckt trips when he uses an electric lawn mower. I am replacing it with a 20 amp ckt. I will do all my outdoor receps on 20 amp now, much as I can. I'm sure we will see more electric mowers as time goes on.
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What else is on circuit with the outdoor receptacle? You can put in a 20 amp receptacle and they will still plug in the same cord with 15 amp end and same load. If no other load on circuit you really did not change anything as far as the circuit breaker is concerned - if it was a 20 amp breaker in the first place.
 
iwire said:
So you are assuming a GFCI breaker?
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Yes, or at least a GFCI something. When a customer says:
jmellc said:
A customer called the other day that his ckt trips when he uses an electric lawn mower.
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... the possible realities are many. It may be a breaker, it may not. It helps to ask what must be done to restore the power. If he says "reset the breaker," I ask if it has a test button on it. If so, a breaker substitution is a quick first T/S step.

But, yes, the GFCI breaker was my first thought.
 
LarryFine said:
... the possible realities are many. It may be a breaker, it may not. It helps to ask what must be done to restore the power. If he says "reset the breaker," I ask if it has a test button on it. If so, a breaker substitution is a quick first T/S step.

But, yes, the GFCI breaker was my first thought.
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I agree and I will add that I never trust non electricians as they often think a gfci recep is a breaker.
 
My fathers hedge trimmers used to trip the breaker on his outdoor circuit. I replaced his 100+ feet of #16awg cords with #12 and problem solved. :roll:
 
LarryFine said:
I suggest determining whether the problem is overload or GFCI operation first.
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I'll check that, but he said on the phone that the mower is labeled at 12 amps. That's 80%, going for at least an hour, maybe 2.
 
kwired said:
What else is on circuit with the outdoor receptacle? You can put in a 20 amp receptacle and they will still plug in the same cord with 15 amp end and same load. If no other load on circuit you really did not change anything as far as the circuit breaker is concerned - if it was a 20 amp breaker in the first place.
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15A GFI receptacle on a 15 amp breaker. Breaker is tripping, not the GFCI. So it seems clear to me that it's load, not moisture.
 
jmellc said:
15A GFI receptacle on a 15 amp breaker. Breaker is tripping, not the GFCI. So it seems clear to me that it's load, not moisture.
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Okay, next step is determine whether the breaker is defective or it really should be tripping.

Either measure the tripping current with a clamp-on ammeter or substitute another breaker.
 
btharmy said:
My fathers hedge trimmers used to trip the breaker on his outdoor circuit. I replaced his 100+ feet of #16awg cords with #12 and problem solved. :roll:
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If this lawn mower motor is not a brush (DC) type motor found in many hand tools, then this would be my first guess, long extension cord tremendous voltage drop leads to pole slippage and very high current, installing a bigger breaker will only allow the motor to fail sooner, at rated 12 amps it should not be tripping a 15 amp breaker, as others pointed out address the problem, not apply a band aid, thats what we get paid for.

A few other questions to ask:
How high is he letting the grass get.
How sharp is he keeping the blade<<<Biggie with electric lawn mowers.
If over load on mower not tripping, then possible bad breaker, or over load that wont trip till much higher.
A 15 amp breaker should hold a 15 amp load for ever.
 
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Getting some goats will solve the need to use the electric mower. But they will eat more than just grass, they will eat anything they can get in their mouth and more. Other solutions include concrete, asphalt, or artifical turf. Sorry these solutions do not typically involve electricians unless some wiring needs buried first.:)
 
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