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View Full Version : Ground fault trips occasionally.


jwabell
Apr 30, 2007, 06:47 PM
I have a new house and have a problem with a certain group of circuits going out. It includes my screened in porch and exterior outlets (landscape lights). Occasionally, the circuit trips (the ground fault outlet in my laundry room has to be reset). I'm worried because I have refrigerators plugged in on my porch and it it trips and I don't notice... could loose refrigerated items. Should I increase the breaker in the fuse box from 20 to 30 amp? Help please...

MaintMan
Apr 30, 2007, 07:18 PM
I have a new house and have a problem with a certain group of circuits going out. It includes my screened in porch and exterior outlets (landscape lights). Ocassionally, the circuit trips (the ground fault outlet in my laundry room has to be reset). I'm worried because I have refrigerators plugged in on my porch and it it trips and I don't notice... could loose refrigerated items. Should I increase the breaker in the fuse box from 20 to 30 amp? Help please...
Does your landscape lighting plug in outdoors? If so, install 3 separate GFI's. One at the laundry, porch and outdoors for your landscape lighting. Wire the recepts to "line" only so that they will work independently of each other. This will isolate your problem. Landscape lighting and old buried electrical lines in moist areas will play havoc with GFI recepts.

Stratmando
May 5, 2007, 11:11 AM
Like MaintMan says, Except I would turn power off. Take Line and Load side, off GFI
And connect both to line side, then to frige( If it is in middle, Leave alone or install
Single recpticle for frige only). Then install GFI for Landscape Lighting.
Frige will not be on GFI. That's fine
Increasing the breaker would not help and bad idea(Dangerous) Breaker needs to be
Weak link, not wire. Good luck