In a dwelling kitchen, they either have to be on a dedicated "refrigeration equipment circuit" or on one of the "small appliance" circuits. You are not supposed to just grab any general lighting circuit although in an older house it may have happened. Mine is on with the bathroom lights (circa 1963) and that used to also be the bathroom receptacles until I upgraded the wiring and added a separate bathroom receptacle circuit.
It is in my house and yes, it is located behind the fridge. My house is
34 years old so it is not GFCI.My second fridge and freezer do not have individual circuits, but both are not on the same one so little chance they would start at the same time and cause an overload. They do take small loads running these days though, just that startup may be more.
It can be protected by a GFCI that is upstream, but I don't think it is good practice to have it on the same circuit as an electric fry pan, toaster, and coffee maker. *ersonally, I don't see the need to have a GFCI on a refrigerator but there may be some statistics that show otherwise. I wonder how many service techs get clled out and all that is needed is a reset.
I have a receptacle on the deck that of course is downstream from a GFCI. It is located in the bathroom downstairs though.
This isn't Australia. We require boxes behind the wall ;-)
The only place it has to be on a GFCI is in a garage, basement, unfinished utility room or outside. (dwellings) All 120v receptacles in a commercial kitchen need to be GFCI tho
What are you trying to say? And where is the picture from? Not australia I will bet.
We use seperate circuits from the main board for lighting and General purpose outlets.
Thanks for the clarification.
GFI protection.
*An icemaker is not a consideration for the 6' rule. Over six feet it is u sually not possible for a human to touch the refigerator and the sink at th e same time. This is why dishwashers are now required to be GFI protected. You can easily touch a dishwasher and the sink at the same time in many c ases.The electronic components that control appliances can break down over time and leak small amounts of current that won't trip a regular circuit breaker .
*In NEC 2014 article 210.8(A)(7) "Sinks___Where receptacles are installed within 1.8 m (6') of the outside edge of the sink." Also required under 210.8(B)(5)
Did you remove "located in areas other than kitchens" or did NFPA?
Interesting. I didn't know that -- not that I claim to know all of the codes. But, when I was re-doing kitchens in places that I own (a few years ago), I remember thinking that the books and other information that I had (not the NEC) seemed to be a little vague about the actual requirements for a refrigerator.
Did the code requirements recently change to the above, or have they been that way for years and I just didn't know it?
More news that I never knew about -- until now! Thanks for posting that.
So, for a residential kitchen fridge: a dedicated refrigeration circuit; on a GFCI; and the GFCI cannot be behind the fridge.
Did I get that right?
Oops, that changes another post that I just wrote above.
O "I am still waiting to see someone tell me where it says refrigerators in the kitchen need to be on a GFCI. (in a dwelling) The 2014 did add the dishwasher to the list and the whole kitchen is on the AFCI list."
So, a residential fridge in the kitchen does not need to be on a GFCI.
I wish you people would make my mind up :-)
...everyone blew-over my question? 'Thinking'~maybe they all have me kill-filed~ Such is life in mediocrity.
What question? About icemakers and the 6 foot rule? I think John G answered that one. I'd add that most icemakers I've seen are plumbed with plastic tubing which would tend, IMHO, to mitigate any shock hazard.
ahh take a power failure situation that lasts for awhile. in this case both fridges will likely turn on at the same time, breaker trips and if no one is home you could lose both fridges food
Yes but if it is not within 6' of the sink ... on the 2014 code (new rule), it doesn't need to be GFCI at all.
*The receptacle for the refrigerator only needs to be GFCI protected if it is within six feet of the sink. As someone pointed out, it needs to be acc essible for testing purposes. If you want it to be dedicated, you could pu t a faceless GFCI somewhere accessible to protect the refrigerator outlet. It does require AFCI protection as well.
The wording was changed in the 2014 code. The decriptive terms were delete d and the only word left is "Sinks". Any outlet within six feet of a sink, including commercial installations, requires GFCI protection.
Isn't water conduction the point of GFCI?
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