New Pool Pump tripping GFCI Breaker

[Sal23]

If you have a GFCI breaker in the main panel feeding a subpanel do you need GFCI breaker at the subpanel to feed a pool pump? and would this scenario cause breaker tripping problems? My friend has the situation and it was working fine for years but he just changed the 15yo pump to a new energy efficient pump and now the GFCI breaker constantly trips.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

It could be an issue if the gfci were hundreds of feet away but in general it should not cause a problem. I suspect the new pump is the issue. I believe the hayward pumps state that you have to use a siemens or sq. d gfci, I am not sure which... I have no idea why...

 

[Sal23]

it's about 100' from the main panel to the subpanel but only 15' or so from the subpanel to the pump so probably no issue with distance. I'm not sure what breakers they are using but I will check that... thank you Dennis

 

[Buck Parrish]

Using a gfci to feed a pool sub panel is not a good design. I would not do it, just wouldn't be prudent. Even though a 2 pole 50A gfci is cheaper and more available then a 2 pole 20A gfci.
We've been using Hayward as Dennis said Siemens works well with them..
I still do not feed an entire sub panel with a gfci.
Haywards are getting hard to get because so many people are using all the govt covid money to build pools and buy boats. Haywards are the best choice. We're wiring one pool after the other. In Indy they all get heaters. Ours get pool covers, salt, LV LED lights, perimeter pumps too.
Is your friend powering the pump with 240V or 120V?
We're using Jandy pumps because we cant get Hayward right now. They're a poor design IMO or at least more complicated as they use a controller that is mounted on the wall near them.

 

[Sal23]

I believe the new pump he is using is a Hayward pump. all wiring and breakers are existing for a long time now and he just had his pool company replace the old pump with the new pump... but now that they cant figure out the problem he is calling me for help. I'm not up on pool codes or troubleshooting pool equipment so I figured I would do some up front research before I go look at this on Friday. Thank you

 

[Buck Parrish]

Trouble shooting is easier if each circuit is individually gfci protected. That's the main reason I would not feed a sub pool panel with a main gfci instead of each individual appliance .
The only thing you can do is turn off every thing in the sub panel. Then turn back on slowly and one at the time.

 

[retirede]

It could be an issue if the gfci were hundreds of feet away but in general it should not cause a problem. I suspect the new pump is the issue. I believe the hayward pumps state that you have to use a siemens or sq. d gfci, I am not sure which... I have no idea why...

IIRC, from previous threads, it was Pentair that called for a Siemens GFCI, not Hayward.

 

[brantmacga]

Nuisance tripping is a known issue on VS pumps. Siemens is the recommended breaker for all VS pumps. 99% of the pumps I work with are Pentair and we have no issues with Siemens brand, but have experienced issues with Square D GFCI’s.


As for feeding the panel with a GFCI, it’s not a code issue. Only the lighting circuit requires GFCI within the branch circuit if the fixture is over 15v.


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