GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

[williamsmithaud]

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I am helping my neighbor upgrade his 1981 home's electrical system to current national electrical code requirements. He wants to do this in preparation for the sale of his home in the next year or so. He thinks a new buyer may demand such an upgrade and he wants to be ahead of the game. Here is my question:

In addiditon to bathrooms, kitchens, and exterior outlets, GFCI's are now required in garages. I have no problem with this except that he has a freezer and second refrigerator in his garage (both of which are in use). As I understand it, GFCI's are not supposed to be used in circuits for such devices.

I will be very interested in anyone's thoughts on this. We can always wait until he sells to change the garage outlets. However, this raises a more interesting question. What will people do with new homes that want to put a freezer or regrigerator in the garage.
_________________
William R. Smith

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[daveselectric]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

Replace the duplex receptacle with a single receptacle.

david

 

[ron]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

The code article requiring GFCI for garage recepts is 210.8(A)(2).
Along with that requirement comes an exception
Exception No. 1: Receptacles that are not readily accessible.

The definition of readily accessible is
Accessible, Readily (Readily Accessible). Capable of being reached quickly for operation, renewal, or inspections without requiring those to whom ready access is requisite to climb over or remove obstacles or to resort to portable ladders, and so forth.

So place the freezer directly in front of the recept, and it will not be Readily Accessible, hence not requiring GFCI for that recept.

 

[pierre]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

I know that you said you are preparing for sale, but I would not worry what the next homeowner may do. You are not required to bring the house up to current standards, and in my opinion you are already ahead of the game. They could gut the house for all you may know.

Pierre

 

[tonyi]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

Its perfectly legal to put a freezer/fridge on a GFCI. Some might cause a trip, but others won't. Depends on the design of the particular unit. I know of several that have been running on GFCI's for years now with no false trips. YMMV.

A non-GFCI single dedicated to the unit would also be legal. If you're worried about someone plugging in ordinary stuff, you can use a twistlock and change the fridge plug.

 

[electricmanscott]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

Another point. You will likely not be able to bring the house up to current code without some rewiring. I guess some is better than none. As for the gfci issue the new owner may or may not have a freezer there. Wait until the house is sold and then replace the receptacles. I would not leave a freezer full of food on a gfci. Murphy's law!

 

[big jim]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

In most cases, you are not "required" to bring a house up to code but it may be a practical necessity to attract a buyer. I recently bought a home where the seller refused to put a dime into repairs/upgrades. He was selling "as is", come hell or high water. I purchased the property at $50,000 under the listing price because, after over 6 months on the market, nobody wanted to tackle the plumbing and electrical nightmere it represented. A 10 to 15k investment would have made him possibly $50k. The key thing in my area now is, "Ready to move in. Requires absoutely nothing."

 

[hurk27]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

Here's a short list of common things a home inspector hit's you with.
GFCI's in kitchen around sink
GFCI's in bath room
GFCI's in garage, basement,out doors
100 amp service and they don't like more than 1 wire per breaker
open junction box's
open splices
ungrounded receptacle's
missing panel parts knock-outs open
wrong size breaker on smaller wire
aluminum wire
extension cords
missing plug/switch covers
missing lights or ones missing parts

This is just a few off the top of my head.

Just remember if you are not qualified to do this work get someone who is as it is not worth getting into a law suit when things go wrong.

 

[racraft]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

Now why would a home inspector (evaluating the house for you to purchase) care about extension cords? The cords themselves are not his business.

The only thing I can think of is that they MAY indicate that there are not enough outlets in a particular location of the house. That issue is something a home inspector should point out, but just because the current user is using an extension cord does not mean that you as the new owner will do so.

 

[ryan_618]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

Originally posted by racraft:
[QB] Now why would a home inspector (evaluating the house for you to purchase) care about extension cords? The cords themselves are not his business.

I think the only time it would matter is if the cords are being used as a replacement for a wiring method. I see this in garages once in a while.

 

[tonyi]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

Not just garages - basements too. If the original job was a bare minimums one and the owner does anything significant in the basement, there's going to be a horrendous lashup of lead cords like spider webs dangling all over the place.

 

[wire nut]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

Question asked by a previous reply: " Now why would a home inspector (evaluating the house for you to purchase) care about extension cords? The cords themselves are not his business."

I'm not an inspector but it is his business cause it would be extremely dangerous to run an extension cord thru a wall or floor in place of approved wiring methods. Some extension cords may not be a quality product and may break down in a short period of time when compared to NM cable which can cause a fire.

John
New Jersey

 

[racraft]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

Some of you misunderstood my post, or perhaps I did not make my point clearly, or perhaps some of both.

Yes, a home inspector should point out use of an extension cord as permanent wiring, such as running into or through a wall, or even along a wall and stapled into place.

However, if the current owner is simply using an extension cord to plug in say his freezer, then it's not the concern of the inspector, as the freezer and extension cord will most likely be gone when the owner moves out.

 

[jro]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

Pierre brings up some good points, also you won't know what items will require correcting until the home inspector is done with his inspection.

 

[tshephard]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

I sell a lot of these to smart customers.

The code says 'not readily accessible' and 'single appliance'. My inspectors allow a single recpt. marked Refrig/Freezer.

Agreed, GFI ok for frig/freez, but if it ever does it's job you're out, what, $400 in meat?

Often, the F/F location is close to panel where F/F outlets can be inserted and the GFI installed at the next, downstream location.

My smartest customers buy dedicated circuits for each.

 

[bthielen]

Re: GFCI in Garage? But Wait!

As I understand it, GFCI's are not supposed to be used in circuits for such devices.

To my knowlege there is no requirement prohibiting this use, only exceptions to the use of GFCIs.

Bob