Sump pumps -- GFCI required?

I have a sump pump in an unfinished basement. It is on a dedicated 15-amp

120-volt circuit, the outlet/receptacle is on the ceiling, and it is a duplex GFCI receptacle.

The sump pump failed because the GFCI receptacle tripped, and the basement flooded.

Are sump pumps required to have a GFCI receptacle according the National Electrical Code (NEC) even if the receptacle is on the ceiling about 7 1/2 feet from the floor?

Could I change the receptacle from a duplex GFCI receptacle to a single receptacle that is not GFCI, and still be in compliance with the NEC?

Reply to
Jay-T
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For whats its worth during selling home 2 seperate home inspectors wqrote up my sump pump:(

first for no GFCI.......... sale fell thru........

\but I installed GFCI, second home inspector wrote it up saying you should never GFCI a sump pump. second buyer bought home anyway......

I beleve a single non GFCI outlet is proper

Reply to
hallerb

Home inspectors are not by any stretch, electrical inspectors. If you had five different ones, you'd probably get five different opinions. Typically, electrical wiring is inspected and certified, when installed, and grandfathered until such a time when changes are made to it, otherwise, virtually all the wiring in a home that isn't 90 degree, would have to be replaced. If the outlet that you plug your pump into was installed before GFCI protection was required, there is most likely no legal reason why you should have to replace it.

Reply to
RBM

Thanks. I may end up going with the first option, "Cheat, and replace the GFCI with a standard outlet", since having a sump pump that trips the GFCI when in use doesn't make sense.

I guess I could do the second option of cutting the plug off and hard wiring it. But, I would have to figure out how to do that because the sump pump I have has a plug with two cords going into it -- I assume one is power to the pump and the other is from the float switch. If I did that approach, would I have to have a shut-off switch added to the circuit, or would the dedicated sump pump circuit breaker be sufficient to serve as the shut-off?

Reply to
Jay-T

Reply to
RBM

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Just make sure that the GFCI doesn't feed other outlets downstream. If it does and you eliminate it from the sump pump outlet, make sure to re-install it in the next downstream outlet.

Reply to
trader4

*The latest code edition now requires that all unfinished basement receptacles as well as all garage receptacles regardless of their location be GFI protected. This apparently was changed because people will plug things in no matter where the receptacle is and what it is for. I have seen plenty of extension cords hanging from garage ceilings to agree with the requirement that garage door opener receptacles be GFI protected.

Unfortunately that does present a problem as you found out the hard way. I suggest that you write to the NFPA about your personal experience in this case.

My thought is that there should be another type of receptacle for the sump pump such as a twist lock without GFI protection. That would make the receptacle unavailable for general use and keep it for sump pump use only and thus eliminate the potential damage from nuisance tripping. If GFI protection is required for the pump, an equipment GFI can be installed along with the twist lock receptacle. An equipment GFI does not have the same low threshold for tripping as the one used for people protection and consequently is less prone to nuisance tripping.

Reply to
John Grabowski

2008 NEC, yes -- which IMHO is completely insane. 2005 and earlier NEC, no.

Won't matter.

Yes, but note that it also says "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." [2008 NEC, Article 210.8(A)(5)]

So put a TV, easy chair, and your beer fridge within a yard or two of the sump pit, and you've turned that "portion or area of the basement" into a "habitable room" -- which means that "for purposes of this section" it's no longer "unfinished" and therefore *not* required to have a GFCI.

There's another workaround: the GFCI requirement applies only to "125-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-ampere receptacles." So install a 30-amp circuit and receptacle, and change the plug on the sump pump.

Note also that the *2005* NEC contains the same language, and additionally two pertinent exceptions to the GFCI requirement that were removed in the 2008 Code: "Receptacles that are not readily accessible" and "Receptacles located within dedicated space for each appliance that, in normal use, is not easily moved from one place to another and that is cord-and-plug connected..."

So if the governing authority in the OP's jurisdiction is the 2005 (or earlier) Code and not 2008, he apparently has no worries.

Reply to
Doug Miller

Not in Oregon. There are local amendments to this rule and a GFCI is not required on a sump pump (in Oregon).

Check with your local electrical inspector.

Reply to
Bill

To the O/P

does the pump trip the GFI whenever the pump is underwater, or only during the on/off surge?

If it trips whenever the pump is underwater, then you may want to investigate the source of the leakage. And don't put your hand in the water when the pump is plugged in.

Mark

Reply to
Mark

Then it is not UL listed - it was designed and tested on a 20A ckt.

I would replace the GFCI with a single (not duplex) 15A receptacle. If at some point in the future (like a home inspection) this is flagged it is not that hard to reinstall a GFCI.

I would call 7 1/2 feet high not "readily accessible". If it was installed before the 2008 NEC and is a single receptacle it should be compliant now. (And who is to say if a single receptacle is not what was installed.)

Or if you are having any electrical work inspected, ask the inspector if they would theoretically approve a single receptacle in that case. If they would, have it inspected. An inspector has discretion to modify what is required, and this is a reasonable modification. If passed, it IMHO is compliant in the future.

Reply to
bud--

I am the OP. I do not know for sure when the sump pump trips the GFCI. I own the property but another family lives there, not me. When I checked the basement recently, there was water in the basement in the sump pump area, about 1-2 inches above the floor level. There was no power to the sump pump, and resetting the GFCI made the pump turn on and it pumped out all of the water without tripping the GFCI again.

The sump pump is on a dedicated circuit that goes directly from the main panel (on its own 15-amp breaker) to the GFCI receptacle in the ceiling. Nothing else is on that circuit -- no switches, no receptacles, etc.

The sump pump had been there for 3+ years and used to be plugged into a regular, non-GFCI, outlet elsewhere in the basement with an extension cord. During those 3 years, it never failed to work.

The new dedicated sump pump circuit with the ceiling GFCI outlet above the sump pump was installed 6 months ago by a licensed electrician. I guess it is possible that the pump tripped the GFCI some time during the last 6 months and no one noticed it. The family that lives there rarely goes into the basement and may not have thought to check the basement for water after a rain. But, my guess is that the GFCI was tripped more recently.

Reply to
Jay-T

Good, the main panel is less than 30 feet away and in direct sight of the sump pump. The dedicated sump pump circuit breaker is very clearly marked and is at the bottom of the panel away from the other circuit breakers. So, I assume that would serve as the disconnect. I would rather do that than have another switch somewhere that someone could accidentally turn off or turn off intentionally and forget to turn it back on.

I would still have to figure out how the wiring in the sump pump plug is set up. It's a molded plug and two cords go into it -- one from the back and one from the side. I am guessing that the cord that ges into the side of the plug is a switch loop coming up from the float, but I don't know. I would have to figure that out if I decided to cut the plug off and hard wire the sump pump.

Reply to
Jay-T

Thanks. The sump pump is on its own circuit and nothing else is on that circuit -- no sitches, no outlets, etc.

Reply to
Jay-T

If I figure out who the NFPA is, and what their contact/mailing information is, I may just do that.

I think that is a good suggestion. It makes sense and it solves the problem that is intended to be solved by the new NEC. Maybe you could write to the NFPA too and submit your suggestion to them.

In terms of safety, one problem with the latest code for sump pumps in unfinished basements is that the GFCI could cause the pump to fail and the basement to flood. Then, there would be the newly-created hazard of someone walking in the water and accidentally coming into contact with any electrical power source in the basement.

Reply to
Jay-T

I am having a little trouble figuring out the "single (not duplex) 15A receptacle" option.

When I do a search for single 15-amp receptacles, all I see are receptacles that have differently-shaped holes for the plug to go into -- there is a ground hole and then 2 flat slots that are in the same line, not parallel with each other. So, I would need a different style plug than the standard one that is now on the sump pump.

Meanwhile, I can find a single 20-amp receptacle that has a slightly different configuration than a standard 15-amp plug, but it looks like a standard plug could go into it (I don't know if that's true). But, then I would have a receptacle that looks like it is for a 20-amp circuit, but the existing sump pump circuit is on a 15-amp circuit breaker. I would have to go to the property and check, but I suspect that since it is a dedicated

15-amp circuit that is only for, and only connected to, the sump pump, it probably is wired with 14/2 wire not 12/2 wire.
Reply to
Jay-T

If the area is an unfinished area/workshop, then the exception to the rule would seem to apply, if I read earlier posts correctly.

Reply to
hrhofmann

To be technically correct, he may then have to install additional outlets, as per habitable rooms rules

Reply to
RBM

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