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Full Member
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Jun 15, 2017, 05:45 PM
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GFI Plug Popped / Breaker Didn't?
Have Two Outside Recepticals , One is a GFI Plug and the Other a Regular Plug.. The Wiring in this Household is full of surprises.. Just discovered there is two regular plugs in the Basement and all is off the same Breaker.. In the Basement there is only the UV Light and Water Softener plugged in.. Outside there is 2 small aquarium sized pumps plugged into the Regular Plug and into the GFI Plug is a 1/3 hp pump to the Water Pond and a 6 light string for the front flower garden.. We know the 1/3 hp Pump is a big draw alone, if one forgets to unplug it if you want to power the ie: Miter Saw the GFI pops..
Having said all that , If the GFI Pops outside is there a chance the Breaker itself could Pop?
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Uber Member
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Jun 15, 2017, 07:05 PM
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GFI and a regular breaker are 2 different things. If you have a GFI breaker, you don't need a GFI outlet. The breaker protects overloads, the GFI protects against a ground fault in the system If the miter saw pops the GFI, you have a defect in the Saw or possibly the GFI.
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Uber Member
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Jun 16, 2017, 07:08 AM
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If wiring is in conduit, I would try to pull/push additional wiring and place on additional breaker(s). Or try to refeed the nearest recpticles?
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Full Member
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Jun 16, 2017, 07:42 AM
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@ Stratmando.. Have plenty of room on the Panel, Looking at Installing a Dedicated 20 amp Breaker with 2 separate Outside Recepticals solely for Power Tools.. Curious just how many Power Tools could we run at the sametime before popping the Breaker...
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Uber Member
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Jun 16, 2017, 09:41 AM
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How many is purely dependent on the ratings of the tools. Most have a much higher demand at startup than when its running... and like asking how many sausages fit in the pan... you may know the size of the pan (20amp) but how big are the sausages... ergo... you might fit 10 hotdogs in it... but no way is 10 Kielbasa Sausages going to fit.
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Full Member
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Jun 17, 2017, 12:42 PM
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Originally Posted by smoothy
you may know the size of the pan (20amp) but how big are the sausages... ergo... you might fit 10 hotdogs in it... but no way is 10 Kielbasa Sausages going to fit.
Been told a Chop Saw really jolts the Amps.. Just curious as we've popped a (15amp) Breaker one to many times, forgetting to unplug the 1/3 hp pump in the Water Pond.. Not so bad if your alone as the chances of a 2nd pair of hands using a power tool while the Table Saw is being used is all..
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Uber Member
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Jun 17, 2017, 01:41 PM
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Chop saws.. table saws... all have motors and getting the mass of a blade started results in a big startup surge current way higher than it needs to keep running... and of course how much that operating current really is, is load dependent too, depending on what you are cutting and how fast. What sorts of tools do you think have a chance of being used at the same time... would help us tale a wild guess. Keep in mind, nail guns are driven from compressed air, and you have the intermittent load of a compressor, a lot of construction tools are cordless as while you are likely to have power in a renovation... new construction its much less likely.. then the hassle of cords etc.
Pond pump is likely continuous duty... with that AND the startup a chopsaw takes, I can see that happening. I know a 14" chop saw takes some time to spin up and you can hear it strain doing it.
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Printers & Electronics Expert
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Jun 19, 2017, 11:58 AM
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Do you understand what a GFIC receptacle/breaker are for? They are personal safety devices that are in place to prevent an electrocution, not as overcurrent protection. That is the purpose of a breaker or fuse.
A GFCI receptacle basically looks for a 0.006 difference between the source current and the return current. If that happens, the receptacle will cut out and depending on how it is configured in the circuit down stream points may also be cut out. If it only protects itself, a GFCI receptacle will cut out and the remainder of the circuit could still be hot.
Over amperage protection is provided by a circuit breaker or a fuse. They are looking for amperages greater that what they are listed for. For example, a 28 amp flow on a 15 amp circuit. When a breaker opens, the entire circuit is killed, until the breaker is reset.
With respect to motors. Any motor is going to use a higher amount of current during start-up. This is called an "Inrush Current" and it is needed to overcome the inertia of stopped motor. Once the motor is running at rated speed, then the current drops off to the rated level.
You have to plan your circuits so that you do not overload the circuit and pull to much amperage because that is what will trip the breaker.
You need to look at and understand the motor's specifications before you just start dropping motor driven tools on a circuit.
One other note, you cannot just change the breaker to increase the amperage of a circuit. If you have a 15 amp circuit with 14 AWG conductors, to make that circuit a 20 amp circuit, you must change the conductors to 12 AWG otherwise you seriously risk fire.
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Full Member
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Jun 23, 2017, 02:17 PM
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@donf.. Yes I Understand a 20Amp Breaker requires 12/2 Wire.. Have Plenty of Room on the Panel to add another Breaker.. Looking into going that Route. It's a matter of exiting the Basement Wall to the Outside and the most logical place to install an Outside Plug Receptical..
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