GFCI & Baptistry

[Little Bill]

If you have a baptistry and the pump to it is GFCI protected, would the heater also need GFCI protection? I'm not talking about a code rule, I'm speaking of safety.

 

[retirede]

I would say yes - not much different than a spa.

 

[drcampbell]

Functionally, it's exactly the same as a spa.

 

[qcroanoke]

If you have a baptistry and the pump to it is GFCI protected, would the heater also need GFCI protection? I'm not talking about a code rule, I'm speaking of safety.

Safety wise there is no way I wouldn't put it all on gfci.

 

[drcampbell]

You might even add warning labels saying something like "No cords of any kind within 2 meters".

Waco pastor Kyle Lake killed in freak baptism accident – Baptist News Global

WACO, Texas (ABP) — Kyle Lake, 33-year-old pastor of the innovative University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, was electrocuted and died Oct. 30 after he grabbed a microphone while in a baptistry full of water. According to eyewitness reports, Lake...

baptistnews.com

 

[Little Bill]

I was working in a (sort of) electrical room that was under the baptistry. When I went to the panel to turn the breakers off to what I was working on, I noticed the panel had a 40A breaker marked "Baptistry heater" and was not a GFCI. The pump is just a 115V circuit and was not GFCI protected either. I mentioned it to the guy in charge of the facilities and he told me to add the GFCI. I had to order one because none were available at the time.

Now, they also wanted to add more outside lights so I was going to swing by and put up the lights and install the GFCI for the baptistry so I didn't have a lot of time to check anything. When I put the GFCI in, it set then tripped a few seconds later. I also saw a flash behind the breaker. I thought maybe the breaker was bad so I disconnected the load wires and it reset and held. I went back to where the pump & heater was and saw the heater and pump were both on contactors. It looked like they were sharing a 120V hot wire for the coils. I didn't have time to investigate further. I did add a dead front GFCI for the pump. I was thinking maybe the heater had a flow switch and wouldn't work if there was no flow. And if the GFCI for the pump tripped, it would shut off the heater. But I thought what if something happened in the heater it wouldn't shut off the pump because they are different circuits.
I suppose more investigating needs to be done as to how the contactors are wired.

 

[augie47]

I checked a few baptistry equipment supplier and ALL of their cut sheets referenced GFCI protection.
An example: https://www.poolsupplyunlimited.com/Products/Manuals/155303_201512395349.pdf had this wording:
GROUND FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER – This device is required for portable tubs as specified in the national electrical code article 680. The GFCI is designed to protect against potential electrical shock hazard should a ground fault occur.

 

[hillbilly1]

Yeah, they have a flow switch, and if it’s new enough, it will have a fill solenoid and a level sensor that locks the pump out until it’s full. Just replaced the pump on one about two weeks ago. Everything was feed from a 40 amp gfci. Once I got it filled enough that it was above the jet, I bypassed the level sensor relay to make sure it ran and heated.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

The 2020 code made it clear that the rules for spas and hot tubs apply to this type of installation. See the definition of "immersion pool" and the title of Part IV.