Two GFCI Devices On A Single Line ?

[Robert11]

Hello:

Moved into a 30 yr old house that has, apparently, one circuit going to an outside outlet having a GFCI circuit breaker in the main service panel.

Being so old, I have doubts about how good the GFCI circuit breaker may be, but really don't want to play with the panel and replace the breaker.

Any reason not to just add an additional individual GFCI outlet in place of the outside outlet there now (leaving the circuit breaker in the service panel alone) ?

Guess I'm asking if there is any harm, or potential problems, in having two, possibly both being functional, GFCI devices on a single branch line ?

Thanks, Bob

[Beeper]

[Doug Miller]

What leads you to believe that the GFCI breaker is 30 years old? What leads you to believe that there is anything wrong with it?

Waste of time and money. If you're concerned about the condition of the GFCI breaker, it's simple enough to test it to see if it works. Does it trip when you press the TEST button on the breaker? Does it trip when you press the button on a plug-in tester? If yes to both, leave it alone.

Obviously the potential for nuisance trips is at least doubled. And it will be more of a headache to reset two devices than one, if a fault trips both of them.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

[w_tom]

As others posted, press the test button. It duplicates a dangerous condition to humans; tests the GFCI. If the GFCI is OK, then it will trip.

However newer GFCIs have an even better advantage. Should the GFCI fail, then the circuit cannot be restored until the GFCI is replaced. Like everything else electronic in the house, the GFCI can be damaged by external transients - ie lightning. Then when you needed the protection most, the GFCI would not be working. That is unless you periodically press the test button.