Gfci trips on new furnace

I have a new furnace and a condensate pump the code requires the pump to be on a gfci so they installed a combination switch receptacle the receptacle is gfci the switch is not the pump is the only thing on the gfci they replaced the pump and it still trips any thoughts?

Reply to
Tom
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Does outlet trip with nothing plugged in ?

Does it trip with anything else (lamp, etc) plugged in ?

Reply to
Retired

Inspect the wiring and be sure there is nothing touching the enclosure or the ground (hot or neutral) If you have a meter, be sure you have no continuity between the motor leads and ground (with it disconnected from the hot and neutral)

Reply to
gfretwell

Get a different pump, but don't be surprised if it still trips.

Reply to
clare

Check the wiring of the GFCI. Those combination devices can be a little tricky.

John Grabowski

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Reply to
John G

No, iI'd try a "different" pump - not just another identical unit. If it trips too ----, I'd just get rid of the GFCI after it has passed inspection. The pumps virtually ALL have minor electrical leakage in real life operation. The electrics are NOT hermetically sealed, and they are damp.Not only damp, but the condensate is also acidic/corrosive. Requiring a GFCI on the pump is ludicrous. Just ground it well and it is not a safety hazard.

Reply to
clare

Almost guaranteed to be either the GFCI or its wiring. Make sure that Neutral as well as Hot is going to the GFCI.

But as Dev Null said (paraphrasing here), You paid someone to do this. Don't let them get away with sticking you with an installation that, while they say it meets code, doesn't work.

Reply to
rangerssuck

I have a Little Giant condensate pump on a GFCI receptacle, which is required by code, because it's in a basement. No tripping, ever. The issue with the receptacle and safety hazard are that something other than the pump can be plugged in. Probably not likely, but a homeowner with a flooded basement could be using a shop vac and plug it in.

Reply to
trader_4

Also unanswered is does it trip instantly when the pump is plugged in? As soon as the pump comes on? Or only after some period of operation. Probably the latter, or the installer issue becomes even more interesting.

Reply to
trader_4

replying to trader_4, Tom wrote: It may go weeks before it trips the installer said basically the same thing that Clare said he will replace it with a standard outlet after the inspection

Reply to
Tom

Removing a safety feature is not a good idea and of course a code violation . Get someone who is qualified to work on electrical wiring as your install er does not have a good attitude and is setting himself up for possible lia bility if someone got hurt or died from using a non-GFCI receptacle. Would you want a family member to plug into that unprotected outlet?

John Grabowski

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Reply to
John G

The only legal out is a 240v pump in a 6-15 or hard wiring the 120v pump.

Reply to
gfretwell

That "unprotected outlet" is a dedicated single use outlet - and we've plugged into "unprotected outlets" for about 100 years. There are some circuits that have NO BUSINESS being on GFCI protected circuits. Perhaps there is a condensate pump that will never false-trip a GFCI - but I haven't seen many.

Reply to
clare

Or a 12 volt pump or a medical grade isolation transformer. Or some inspectors will accept a single 15 amp twist-lock outlet - making it a "dedicated" outlet for a single use. - equivalent to a "hard wired" device.. Or install the outlet inside the case of the furnace. The furnace isn't GFCI protected either.

Reply to
clare

12v would work but the wall wart would be on a GFCI. Isolation transformers are not a fix for anything in the code. They still must have a grounded conductor if you use a chapter 3 wiring method on the secondary (unless it is part of a listed assembly). .

Not for the last couple cycles.

"210.8 Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection for Personnel. Ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel shall be provided as required in 21O.8(A) through (C). The ground-fault circuit-interrupter shall be installed in a readily accessible location"

"(A)(5) Unfinished basements - for purposes of this section, unfinished basements are defined as portions or areas of the basement not intended as habitable rooms and limited to storage areas, work areas, and the like"

That is seen to be pretty unambitious. All of the old exceptions are gone except for a fire alarm system (that is not a smoke detector)

Maybe but you might get cited for a 110.3(B) modifying a listed product.

Why not just fix the friggin pump? If water is getting into the windings or the wiring compartment the mo fo is broke.

Reply to
gfretwell

The wall wart on a gfci powering the pump won't trip the GFCI An isolation transformer constitutes a seperately derived power source and a "medical grade" isolation trasformer has zero leakage It can be grounded with no effect on the GFCI because the GFCI compares line to neutral - it does not measure ground current. The isolation transformer removes the ground reference from the neutral so there is no shock danger from either line or neutral (now technically l1 and l2) and ground

Here in ontario they still did a couple years ago

And 90+ percent of them out there ARE "broke". Same with sump pumps. If I had a house that required a sump pump to keep the basement dry there is no way in hell I'd have it on a GFCI. One day it WILL trip, and the water level will rise, causing water damage .

My preference is a house sitting high enough on a well enough drained area that no sump pump is required - which is what I own now. I just did some investigating - and in ontario a sump pump does NOT require a GFCI under certain conditions. The same applies to water pressure pumps. I can see it also applied to condensate pumps -

as quoted below

Question Does the Ontario Code require ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection for sump pumps or water pressure system pumps in homes? Answer No, the Code does not require GFCI protection of these specific appliances unless they are supplied by receptacles that happen to be within 1.5 m (5') of a sink, are installed out of doors and located within 2.5 m (8' 2") of ground level, or are within 3 m (10') of a pool or hot tub, or as required by manufacturer installation instructions.

Rules 26-700, 26-710, 26-714, 68-068.

I have been told a single twist lock ceiling mounted outlet for a sump pump is allowed without a GFCI

Reply to
clare

... but a medical isolation transformer is not legal to serve a receptacle that is not part of a piece of listed medical equipment. If you read the rules on an SDS, you see one side needs to be grounded.

Is the OP in Ontario? ... and it sounds like you are saying the CeC caught up with the NEC.

There are plenty of defective refrigerator compressors out there too that are happily sparking and arcing inside the can but it is still not legal to avoid GFCI requirements, just because you don't want to buy a new one.

How long ago was that? I can dig through old code books and find a rule that says it is legal to ground a receptacle to any convenient cold water pipe but it is not 1975, even if you still have a leisure suit in the closet.

Reply to
gfretwell

So you plug the iso;lation transformer into the GFCI with a grounded pluf, and then you connect the pump to the isolated secondary, bridging the ground - assuming the pump has a grounded plug, not a polarised one.

In Ontario it is - depending where the refrigerator is. Not required for the refrigerator in my main floor kitchen or in my finished basement. In fact not even recommended for the refrigerator.

Because my refrigerator and outside outlet are on the same circuit, I could not use a GFCI breaker and had to install a GFCI outlet in the weatherproof exterior outlet enclosure. That was a requirement of my inspector

From ECMWEB: GFCI protection devices are also required for all 15A and 20A, 125V receptacles located in garages and grade-level portions of unfinished or finished accessory buildings used for storage or work areas of a dwelling unit [210.8(A)(2)]. However, there are a couple of exceptions to this rule. GFCI protection is not required for receptacles that are not readily accessible, such as a ceiling-mounted receptacle for a garage door opener. Nor are they required for a receptacle on a dedicated branch circuit located and identified for a cord-and-plug-connected appliance, such as a refrigerator or freezer.

This was confirmed by an inspector last year when I looked at buying a house with a sump pump (and a lot of drainage issues which forced me to pass on an otherwise very desireable house). See the above ecmweb reference for confirmation.

Reply to
clare

Those exceptions that you mentioned have been eliminated from the current 2

014 National Electrical Code. A ceiling receptacle in a garage does need G FCI protection, but the GFCI needs to be located where it is readily access ible for testing. A single dedicated outlet in the garage for a refrigerat or also is required to have GFCI protection as well as a sump pump. I thin k someone mentioned in another post that the only exception is an electrica l outlet dedicated for an alarm system. Your jurisdiction may still be ope rating under an older code.

John Grabowski

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Reply to
John G

On Thursday, December 8, 2016 at 8:45:45 PM UTC-5, snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca wrote :

tion. Get someone who is qualified to work on electrical wiring as your ins taller does not have a good attitude and is setting himself up for possible liability if someone got hurt or died from using a non-GFCI receptacle. W ould you want a family member to plug into that unprotected outlet?

Or just do it right. There are lots of condensate pumps on GFCI, including my Little Giant. Six years of operation for both heat and AC and no trips. There is no reason a new pump and a new GFCI should be tripping. It's very likely either something is defective or it's wired incorrectly. THAT is the bottom line.

Reply to
trader_4

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