Fridge on GFCI protection.

Status
Not open for further replies.
peter d said:
"nuisance" tripping is the issue but it's hard to say what is "nuisance" tripping, te]




I'll tell you what a nuisance trip is.
My wife brought one of those Christmas yard decorations that blow up and the air pump fan runs continuosly.
This one had a carasell that turned around inside the bubble with lights, Santa Claus, rein deer etc...
That night it rained. The thing was flat in the morning. So I reset the GFCI. I didn't know it had an other motor in it that made the carousell
turn. So that thing set their and twisted for about 30 minutes while I thought it would blow right up. That was a nuisance. I ended up chunking it.:smile:
Click to expand...
 
There was a survey done almost ten years ago now,.. wow time flies,.. that did recognize that lightning and line surges damage GFCIs ..
What came from that is the new GFCI that won't reset if it is not capable of providing protection.


......Experience has shown that voltage surges due to utility switching, lightning strikes or other transient phenomena were the cause of a good many failures of GFCIs and other electrical equipment. An interesting factor is that the surges responsible for damaging a GFCI also caused the GFCI to trip. The natural assumption that users were resetting these damaged GFCIs was considered. After a damaged GFCI was reset, power could be delivered without GFCI protection, just like an ordinary receptacle. Perhaps users were not testing their GFCIs after such an event, or if they were tested, the information was ignored. The natural tendency may have been for the user to assume that if the power returns, all is well......
Click to expand...

http://www.iaei.org/subscriber/magazine/99_f/campolo.htm
 
stickboy1375 said:
Found this while doing a google, Anyone know how/why the GFCI fridge/freezer myth is such a popular one?
Click to expand...
I believe it came from some one who had a fridge that worked perfectly fine, until some one installed a GFCI receptacle on it. Bad news travels three times farther, and three times faster than good news. Multiply that by a few hundred people per state, and voila!

What's hard to understand is how people believe bad news more than good news.:roll:
 
stickboy1375 said:
I just see the infamous response of "Just remove the GFCI device if your fridge trips the GFCI..." It really gets under my skin for some reason.
Click to expand...

I went on a service call, to a restaurant kitchen, and the equipment plugged in was tripping the GFCI receptacle. I replaced the GFCI and found that wasn't the problem.
I called the manufacturer and they said put a regular 120v, 20a receptacle in it's place. I told them that was a violation of 210.8 B 2, and I wasn't going to hard wire it in eather. They then said that that equipment must be plugged into a "running GFCI". They sent me a "running GFCI" about a week ago and the equipment has not had any problems since I installed it. I could not tell the difference between their GFCI and the one I installed. Anyone know what this "running GFCI receptacle" is?
 
The Iceman said:
I went on a service call, to a restaurant kitchen, and the equipment plugged in was tripping the GFCI receptacle. I replaced the GFCI and found that wasn't the problem.
I called the manufacturer and they said put a regular 120v, 20a receptacle in it's place. I told them that was a violation of 210.8 B 2, and I wasn't going to hard wire it in eather. They then said that that equipment must be plugged into a "running GFCI". They sent me a "running GFCI" about a week ago and the equipment has not had any problems since I installed it. I could not tell the difference between their GFCI and the one I installed. Anyone know what this "running GFCI receptacle" is?
Click to expand...


Was it still a Class A GFCI?
 
stickboy1375 said:
Was it still a Class A GFCI?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure. I wish I kept the paperwork. They said something about the trip rating on this type of GFCI receptacle was set higher. I think they gave me one of those GFCI's from China that looked real but isn't.:grin:
 
The Iceman said:
I'm not sure. I wish I kept the paperwork. They said something about the trip rating on this type of GFCI receptacle was set higher. I think they gave me one of those GFCI's from China that looked real but isn't.:grin:
Click to expand...


See, you need to install a class A to be legal. they bamboozled you... :grin:
 
stickboy1375 said:
I just see the infamous response of "Just remove the GFCI device if your fridge trips the GFCI..." It really gets under my skin for some reason.
Click to expand...
Try thinking like someone who has no knowledge of electrical work or GFCI. Well, the fridge is cold, but this new fangled GFI thingy keeps trippin', must be a defective GFI...:roll:
Troubleshooting at it's finest!:grin:
 
ROTFLMAO!!! I was trying to figure out what a running GFCI was, when I stumbled across this gem. I'll sum it up, his fridge worked fine before the GFCI was installed, then it would trip the GFCI. So, he replaced it with a non GFCI. It's back to running fine, except the fridge door is getting hot!:D:roll:
 
I purchased a "commerical chest freezer" from Sears and the instructions stated do not connect to a GFCI.
Appliance repair techs tell me older refridgeration compressors have heaters in them that can cause leakage to ground. Some high end mfgs such as Sub-Zero will not honor a warranty on a unit used with a GFCI.
 
tom baker said:
I purchased a "commerical chest freezer" from Sears and the instructions stated do not connect to a GFCI.
Appliance repair techs tell me older refridgeration compressors have heaters in them that can cause leakage to ground. Some high end mfgs such as Sub-Zero will not honor a warranty on a unit used with a GFCI.
Click to expand...


So which action is correct, follow the NEC or the manufactures instructions?
 
tom baker said:
I purchased a "commerical chest freezer" from Sears and the instructions stated do not connect to a GFCI.
Appliance repair techs tell me older refridgeration compressors have heaters in them that can cause leakage to ground. Some high end mfgs such as Sub-Zero will not honor a warranty on a unit used with a GFCI.
Click to expand...

So then you can't use those units in areas the NEC requires GFCI protection

There are also smoke alarms on the market that say do not use with a GFCI or AFCI.

IMO the NEC would prevent the installation of either the smokes or the fridges depending on the location.
 
iwire said:
So then you can't use those units in areas the NEC requires GFCI protection

There are also smoke alarms on the market that say do not use with a GFCI or AFCI.

IMO the NEC would prevent the installation of either the smokes or the fridges depending on the location.
Click to expand...

How can a smoke alarm (new construction) *not* be used with an AFCI?
 
peter d said:
If the GFCI trips, it's doing its job. Not sure how how that being a pain in the rear fits into all of this.
Click to expand...

Not in every instance. I have had to replace them (receptacles) because they were tripping for what appeared to be no reason at all. Now think of the location of the standard refrigerator receptacle. Is is going to be fun to have to move the fridge every time the GFCI wigs out? (Remember, many are now made in China)

So far though, I have not had that problem with breakers, just receptacles.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top