Gfci Protection

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Jhr

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Talking over a job with a friend, he mentioned the following design/installation for future, X-mas lighting: Installing a sub panel with a main 50amp Gfci breaker, all the branch circuit breakers would be standard 1 Pole breakers 20 amp, all the receptacles would be standard receptacles, he mentioned if such an installation would work, would a fault in one of the branch circuits trip the 50amp gfci main. I say bad design bad installation :cool: :cool:
 
Re: Gfci Protection

Sure it would work, it would also be code compliant assuming the 50 amp breaker was a class A GFCI.

That aside it would be an extremely bad design.
 
Re: Gfci Protection

I would say you would have to weigh the cost of the two-pole 50 amp GFCI with what several GFCI receptacles would cost, I would say the two-pole GFCI would be much more expensive. Average cost around here is about $150.00, I could buy 30 $5.00 GFCI receptacles for that.
 
Re: Gfci Protection

Charlie,
I would say that it is a bad design because it is very likely that the sum of the normal leakage current on the multiple circuits served by the 50 amp GFCI will cause it to trip.
Don
 
Re: Gfci Protection

I would say that the standard breakers would somehow keep the 50 amp GFCI from tripping if there was a fault, the reason been I've seen instances where on a circuit a GFCI would trip but for trouble shooting reasons I installed a regular breaker and it held, after the problem was located back went the GFCI. Don says the opposite, I can't come up with anything.

[ January 13, 2006, 03:04 PM: Message edited by: Jhr ]
 
Re: Gfci Protection

Originally posted by don_resqcapt19:
Charlie,
I would say that it is a bad design because it is very likely that the sum of the normal leakage current on the multiple circuits served by the 50 amp GFCI will cause it to trip.
Don
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing along with the fact one branch circuit with a legitimate ground fault takes out the whole panel.
 
Re: Gfci Protection

Originally posted by Jhr:
I would say that the standard breakers would somehow keep the 50 amp GFCI from tripping if there was a fault,
Click to expand...
Jhr GFCIs are very simple device in operation.

If the current going out does not equal the current coming back the GFCI opens.

If there if there is a fault to ground that current is flowing on the GFCI will trip regardless of what is between it and the fault.

It is not that unusual for incorrectly adjusted GFP mains to trip in a building when a branch circuit faults to ground.

GFP works the same way GFCIs work but with a much higher setting.

[ January 13, 2006, 06:31 PM: Message edited by: iwire ]
 
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