Re: GFCI @ main service
Originally posted by georgestolz:
What does GFP for equipment accomplish again?
Hi George, GFP prevents in the words of the handbook a 'burn down' of large services or feeders. With OCPD ratings above 1000 amps the breaker might not ever open when a ground fault happens. The conductor might just keep burning back toward the source kind of like a wick.
A typical GFP setting I see is about 25% of the service or feeder size. A 3000 amp service may have a GFP setting of 600 to 800 amps.
If the all the settings are not correct a simple 277 volt lighting circuit fault to ground can dump an entire building.
We had a super market that kept getting knocked out due to a small short in a chicken roaster and I personally caused a 2000 amp bus duct feeder to shut down when I turned on a 277 volt lighting circuit that had a ground fault. (I trusted the apprentices work. :roll: )
By the way, GFP can be used with fusible switches as well as breakers.