Pool Equipment

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Jimmy7

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Location
Boston, MA
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Electrician
I was speaking with another electrician in regards to wiring an inground pool in a single family home. According to this electrician, he installs a 60 amp subpanel out by the pool equipment. Rather than installing individual gfci breakers for the pool equipment (Pump, pool cover, heater with gas) at the subpanel, he feeds the subpanel with a 60 amp gfci breaker. Is it code compliant to provide gfci protection in this manner?
 
I believe it is but the problem has to do with inconvenience. If you use this method EVERYTHING shuts down on a ground fault problem irrespective of where the fault is rather than localizing it to the respective branch circuit. If the GFI problem occurs say in the lighting circuit, your customer will be inconvenienced until you are able to get there to troubleshoot the problem.

I'd be interested to see what others say on this.
 
Subject comes up often. Along the line of goldstar's, post, IF you have a common GFCI it can trip as it sees the sum of all leakage so a minor leakages that would not trip the individual GFCI would trip the feeder GFCI.
There are as few inspectors who have not allowed it based on the Code wording "GFCI in the branch circuit" which originates at the branch breaker.
Generally it;'s most viewed as a bad idea.
 
Code complaint or not it's IMO a bad idea as Augie suggested. Given the cost of an inground pool the sparky is being cheap and IMO short changing the customer by using feeder GFCI protection.
 
215.9 addresses this for GFCI protection that is required by 210.8 and 590.6(A), but not for other applications.
215.9 Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection for Personnel.
Feeders shall be permitted to be protected by a ground-fault circuit interrupter installed in a readily accessible location in lieu of the provisions for such interrupters as specified in 210.8 and 590.6(A).
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As the others have said, even if it is permitted, it will likely result in trips from the accumulated normal leakage current on all of the wiring and equipment that is protected by the 60A GFCI feeder breaker.
 
680.23(A)(3) says you must have gfci protection within the branch circuit for lighting over the LV contact limit (15v).

So yes you can have a gfci on the feeder, but you must have another gfci feeding the pool light either within that sub panel, or a gfci recep ahead of it in the branch circuit.

Edit to add…. You will also want to check the manufacturers recommendations on gfci circuit length limits from the breaker.

In general, I don’t recommend anyone to use a gfci on their feeder, and it’s not something I will do.

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