GFCI Outlets
- Thread starter ogitrev
- Start date
caymanlovers
Member
15 amps should be plenty. Also, go check your circuit breaker box and see what size breaker feeds the line in which you will be placing the GFI. Don't use a GFI with a higher rating.
chocochipper
Member
Chances are that the circuit you are replacing the outlet on is 15 amps so get the 15 amp one. Of course check to be sure. If for some reason you need an electrical inspection later on down the road for whatever reason and the inspector sees a 20 amp outlet on a 15 amp circuit he won't be too happy. On the other hand you can use a 15 amp outlet on a 20 amp circuit. So basically 15 is fine either way.
snowcrab
Member
I need to make a correction to the above comment. If the circuit was 20 amps you cannot put a 15 amp outlet on it safely. you see if the circuit was 20 amps this means it has the capacity of delivering 20 amps out the outlet to any devices connected. If you used the 15 amp outlet its contacts inside the outlet can only withstand 15 amps of current. if by chance you were using 20 amps of current this would excede the 15 amp rating by 5 amps causing excessive heat and premature falure and most probally a electrical fire. so... if it is a 20 amp breaker feeding the outlet then use a 20 amp gfci outlet. 
chocochipper
Member
Yes snowcrab you could overload the GFI if you used a 15 and were drawing 20 amps. But what I said was that it is acceptable and legal to put a 15 amp receptacle on a 20 amp circuit. Look it up in the NEC (National Electrical Code)book if you don't believe me. So I needed no corrections. Maybe a clarification, but no corrections.
chocochipper
Member
NEC Article 210-21(b)(3) quite clearly states that a 15 amp receptacle can be put on a 20 amp circuit. It would not be a big mistake and is quite common.
Unless of course it is the only recptacle on the circuit. Then you have to size them the same. Article 210-21(B)(1)
And then there is Article 210-21(b)(2) dealing with the total cord-and-plug-connected load. Which states that it should not exceed 80% of the receptacle rating. So if you really want to be sure of what you need, sit down and figure out everything in your house tonight that is cord-and-plug connected and figure out exactly what amps it is drawing and if you go over that 80% then you should find a new receptacle to plug stuff into. I know of absolutely no average person that lives in a house and computes their total load and rearranges accordingly. 99.9% of people just plug it in and expect it to work. The average aquarium in a persons home does not draw 12 amps (80% of 15). That's an average person's tank not a 10000 gallon tank with 10-250 watt halides, 10 vho's and pumps up the ---.
[ October 24, 2001: Message edited by: chocochipper ]
Unless of course it is the only recptacle on the circuit. Then you have to size them the same. Article 210-21(B)(1)
And then there is Article 210-21(b)(2) dealing with the total cord-and-plug-connected load. Which states that it should not exceed 80% of the receptacle rating. So if you really want to be sure of what you need, sit down and figure out everything in your house tonight that is cord-and-plug connected and figure out exactly what amps it is drawing and if you go over that 80% then you should find a new receptacle to plug stuff into. I know of absolutely no average person that lives in a house and computes their total load and rearranges accordingly. 99.9% of people just plug it in and expect it to work. The average aquarium in a persons home does not draw 12 amps (80% of 15). That's an average person's tank not a 10000 gallon tank with 10-250 watt halides, 10 vho's and pumps up the ---.
[ October 24, 2001: Message edited by: chocochipper ]
jbirdy
Member
hats off to chocochipper. I reviewed all your references and you are right.
which makes more sense to me now, because the prongs on 20A equipment will not fit in a 15A recept anyway. Of course most people turn one duplex receptacle into 12 with power strips and other splitters. Exceeding the 15A recept without the CB tripping. Possible fire hazzard. Legal yes, I would vote for a code change.
which makes more sense to me now, because the prongs on 20A equipment will not fit in a 15A recept anyway. Of course most people turn one duplex receptacle into 12 with power strips and other splitters. Exceeding the 15A recept without the CB tripping. Possible fire hazzard. Legal yes, I would vote for a code change.
chocochipper
Member
Yes it will once you or something else provides a path to ground. GFI's sense a difference between the supply and return currents to ground not hot to hot or hot to neutral. When that difference exceeds 4-6mA, indicating current flowing to ground, it will open the circuit. If the receptacle was grounded and the device shorted to ground then it would trip all by itself. But if there is no ground provided on the receptacle it will not trip until a ground path is introduced to the circuit. (ie you sticking your hand in the tank while you are grounded)If this is the case then maybe I would think about having that there ground rod put in the tank. So it would supply that path instead of you. Either way you still have protection the difference being one is set and ready to go and the other is waiting for you to finish the job so to speak.