Pool guy playing electrician

[Copperclad]

Howdy!
I have a pool guy trying to put a GFCI breaker in a panel that feeds a pool timer, and pump. (This house built in the late 80's BTW) Well, the GFCI breaker trips, probably due to a solar panel controller being tapped on the load side of timer, along with the pump. Controller and pump are both 240 volts. He is telling the home owner that there is a ground fault, and the pool equip. cannot be turned on until corrected. Im telling the home owner that there is no ground fault, and the original, regular, breaker is code complaint for the year the house was built. I do know that GFCI protection on this pool equipment, would now be required if in new construction. I can reconfigure everything to do so, but is this really a code violation in this old house?
Thanks for any input.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

IMO, if a pool pump is changed then a gfci should be installed. I don't believe that is stated in the NEC however I suspect many inspectors would want to see gfci protection for the new pump

 

[ptonsparky]

Originally compliant or not, if that GFCI is tripping now, find out why before anyone uses that pool.

 

[Copperclad]

The Gfi is tripping because there are two loads off the same gfi breaker.
The solar heat controller comes on with pump.

 

[K8MHZ]

The Gfi is tripping because there are two loads off the same gfi breaker.
The solar heat controller comes on with pump.

If the GFCI is tripping, either it is defective, or there is a ground fault. One load, two loads, it doesn't matter.

 

[K8MHZ]

Originally compliant or not, if that GFCI is tripping now, find out why before anyone uses that pool.

I'm with you.

 

[jaggedben]

Is the 'solar panel controller' just a heat sensor that controls when the pump operates? If yes then I would agree that's no reason for a GFCI to trip. Are the solar 'panels' entirely thermal (i.e. a plumbers job) or are they photovoltaic at all?

I too would be worried about an actual ground fault.

 

[GoldDigger]

The Gfi is tripping because there are two loads off the same gfi breaker.
The solar heat controller comes on with pump.

Two loads off the same GFCI will not cause it to trip unless one of them had excessive leakage current to ground!
Two loads which do not both have their return through the neutral going back to the breaker, or one which contains an improper ground to neutral bond could be a problem.

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[brantmacga]

Pool guy playing electrician

Does it work without this heat controller connected? Having two loads on the breaker shouldn't affect its operation.

If it does work without it, maybe you could try using a relay to control it.

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[curt swartz]

Have you actually seen the GFCI installed? Wouldn't surprise me if the pool guy is tying the EGC to the GFCI breaker if there is no neutral in the circuit. I have seen this many times.

 

[Fnewman]

Based on my home inspection experiences in this area, pool guys are the second worst electricians - well pump guys are the worst! Just sayin...

 

[peterlarsen.suntec]

If load neutrals are pigtailed rather than fed thru the GFCI would this cause the tripping?

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[peter d]

If load neutrals are pigtailed rather than fed thru the GFCI would this cause the tripping?

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Yes it certainly would.

 

[roger]

Originally compliant or not, if that GFCI is tripping now, find out why before anyone uses that pool.

Agreed!!!!

Roger

 

[kwired]

Based on my home inspection experiences in this area, pool guys are the second worst electricians - well pump guys are the worst! Just sayin...

Though you have to give this guy some credit for saying something is wrong and telling them that it can't be turned on until the problem is solved.