GFIC and Fluorescents

Status
Not open for further replies.
physis

physis

Senior Member
I have a couple of garage areas where all the fluoros add up to about 600 watts and there are 4 or 5 receptacles. These are already wired all on one circuit. The panel is a Square D Home Line. I want to install a GFI breaker instead of replacing the recptacles. What do you suppose the odds are the GFI breaker will work without the fluoros tripping it?
 
Re: GFIC and Fluorescents

In my opinion, gfci nusiance tripping is way over hyped. I would estimate that over 90% of gfci tripping is actually to do with improper device installation, ground/neutral contact, or real appliance problems.

Most newer equipment is designed and manufactured to limit leakage current and other nusiance creating problems. GFCI and AFCI use is always expanding and manufacturers of equipment kow this.

I would say that if the luminaires are fairly new and in good working condition, then you should have no problems. Otherwise, you may just need to replace the receptacles themselves.
 
Re: GFIC and Fluorescents

If its your own garage take the chance.If its a customers i suggest gfci receptacles at each outlet.I was taught to risk nothing.You will have a hard time collecting twice if that breaker keeps tripping and you then have to change to gfci recepts.
 
Re: GFIC and Fluorescents

There was a thread on this not too long ago. I had a situation where a homeowner had two fluorescent light fixtures installed inside a walk-in closet wired off the load side of a bathroom GFI receptacle. After long and laboriuos testing I discovered that if only one fixture was on the circuit the GFI wouldn't trip. As soon as the second one was cut in, the GFI receptacle tripped.

From a troubleshooting point of view, I don't like to use GFI breakers in an application like this one. You don't know whether the breaker trips due to a ground fault or an overload. Just my opinion.
 
Re: GFIC and Fluorescents

I have two fluorescent lights wired from a GFCI receptacle. About once every two weeks the GFCI trips when the lights are shut off. Never happens any other time, just when they are shut off. I'm not sure the lights are the problem. I was going to change the GFCI outlet and see if that fixed the problem, but haven't got around to it.

I'm not saying you will have the same problem, but I think it is a possibility.
 
Re: GFIC and Fluorescents

One of these days I'm going to trascribe a GFI circuit board to schematic so I can maybe find why inductive loads set 'em off. I'm guessing it's the phase shift. If that's the case I wish we could have a 10 or 20 millisecond responce delay.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top