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On a majority of the circuits on the house I’m building, I have used a GFCI outlet as the first receptacle on the circuit, so I could have that same protection on all the other outlets on the load side of the GFCI. Most all the circuits I ran have a combination of lights, and receptacles on them. Is this considered good practice? I’ve also started a circuit with a GFCI on the exterior of the house (with water proof cover+ sealant), and the remaining outlets on the inside of the house. Is this wrong?
Thanks, Greg Jenkins
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I'm not an electrician. You need to be mindful of your lights. Such as in a bathroom, you can do it all with one 20 amp circuit, but if a GFCI is first when the hairdryer trips it, the lights go out. Also, if a whole room with lots of receptacles come off one GFCI, nusiance trips will probably happen.
*GFI's nusiance trip alot. The more stuff you have on the circuit, the more things to cause a nusiance trip. I've put lights on circuits occasionally when I was too lazy, (or money was too tight) to pull a second circuit but I don't really like the idea.
*Greg - You might want to look into the new arc-fault circuit interrupters. They have a general application which may be more useful than GFCI protection. They will be a required installation in all (new) bedrooms with the next NEC code cycle (2002).Lee
*AFCI's do sound pretty cool. They check for the sort of zap-zap-zap short that indicates abnormal function. GFCI's do nuisance trip and can be pretty annoying if it's not clear where the circuit is fed from. I doubt they are of much beenfit where there is no nearby ground source, anyway (i.e., no water pipe, no actual earth, grounded metal appliances, and so on). GFCI's do not protect you against line-to-line shocks -- as you'd get if, say, you stuck your finger in a light socket. You can get GFCI circuit breakers, also.
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With a GFI outside the house supplying interior outlets - what happens if it trips. Who would think of looking outside for the reset? Same with ordinary outlets or lights in rooms. In bathrooms and kitchen counters where it is obvious - use GFI outlets. Otherwise use GFI circuit breakers. All too often home owners forget that someday someone else will own or live in the house. That's why standards and codes are developed.
*In general, I don't agree w/ the practice of putting GFIC on every circuit; especially mixed outlet/light circuits. Reasons why are stated above. Use them where they're needed/intended. Is mixing circuits w/ lights & outlets wrong? Not usually (see below) but it is a poor practice. When your vacuum (or worse, a power tool or appliance) blows a circuit, you don't want the lights going out too - might lose a finger.Based on state of MN code, you cannot have mixed circuits in bathrooms or the kitchen. The bathrooms require their own 20a GFIC circuit for outlets - no lights or other rooms can be on this circuit (however, all bathroom outlets can be on the same circuit w/ a single GFIC). The kitchen requires two 20a circuits - again, the same criteria as the bathrooms (no lights, no other rooms).
*Where can I get some good info on the arc-fault circuit interrupters? I'm interested in ease of installation and cost.thanks
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Cheap, cheap...lots of birdbrained ideas here....I think ya all need better electricians!!!!
Near the stream using proper GFI protection at the proper locations!!!
aj
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Is there some unwritten rule that sparky has to hide the gfci that serves the entire damm house in a new and unique place for every house? I inspect existing houses and trip test every recpt that should be gfci. And then i go on a hunting expedition to find where to reset it. My favorite is the garage gfci that the ding dong DIYer covers up with pegboard or the old kitchen cabinets. I usually don't waaste too much time wandering but sometimes it's a #*@ nightmare.
happy hunting ... Tim H
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Hey Tim -
The location of the GFI receptacle usually has to do with how well I'm getting along with the customer....(just kidding, though there was a guy once who was threatening not to pay, and I still laugh to myself about a fountain GFI that I installed in his crawl space).
Lee
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On a majority of the circuits on the house I'm building, I have used a GFCI outlet as the first receptacle on the circuit, so I could have that same protection on all the other outlets on the load side of the GFCI. Most all the circuits I ran have a combination of lights, and receptacles on them. Is this considered good practice? I've also started a circuit with a GFCI on the exterior of the house (with water proof cover+ sealant), and the remaining outlets on the inside of the house. Is this wrong?
Thanks, Greg Jenkins