Fault Interrupter
 |
 General Wire MR301A Mini Rooter Ground Fault Interrupter EC 2 1  US $45.00
|
 Hubble Circuit Guard Portable Ground Fault Interrupter US $45.00
|
 CCI 14 3 25 SJEOW GROUND FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER US $41.25
|
 CUTLER HAMMER CH115AFCS ARC FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER US $38.00
|
 NEW Square D HOM120CAFIC AFCI Combination Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter 20 AMP US $37.77 |
 Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter US $36.00
|
 NEW Sealed MURRAY Arc Fault Breaker Interrupter 20A US $35.00
|
 CEP GFCI GROUND FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER OUTLETS NEW US $34.99
|
 New Shock Shield 14000 Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter US $34.95
|
 Seimens 20A Combo Type Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter Q120AFC US $17.48
|
 Cooper Ground Fault Interrupter TRVGFH20V US $16.15
|
 Leviton 6899 W Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter White 20A 125VAC US $16.00
|
 Cooper GFCI Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter XDGF20LA US $3.99
|
 Cooper GFCI Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter XDGF20V US $3.99
|
 Cooper GFCI Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter VGFD20A US $3.99
|
Understanding the Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)
A Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) is a type of electrical outlet that should be installed in certain areas of every home. This outlet looks similar to a traditional outlet, but has two additional buttons in the middle of the unit which should read "test" and "reset". Usually installed near potentially wet locations, including bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms and outdoors, GFCI outlets can prevent electrocution and death, as well as some electrical fires.
Electrocution via electrical outlets occurs when a person's body completes a circuit from the electrical hot to the ground. This can happen if a metal object is inserted into an outlet, if there is a short in the outlet, or if water is touching the outlet or touching an appliance that is plugged into that outlet. When properly functioning, a GFCI senses any fluctuation in power and shuts off the power to that outlet in a fraction of a second. While the person touching the shorted circuit may receive a painful shock, the power is usually shut off before serious injury occurs.
GFCI receptacles should be tested once a month to ensure that they are providing proper protection. This is done by plugging a night light into the outlet, then pressing the "test" button; the light should go out. Pressing the "reset" button should bring the light back on. If the GFCI fails to operate properly, an electrician should be called to replace the receptacle.
For more information, please check out the source at Understanding the Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)
About the Author
Licensed and insured professional NJ Electrical Contractor
Am I crazy to do my own electrical work - changing a regular light switch to a dimmer and replacing a dimmer?
This is an older house. I've replaced light fixtures and did that wiring okay. Now I'm thinking about changing a dimmer switch to a regular switch, replacing an old dimmer switch with a new one, and replacing a regular outlet with a ground fault interrupter outlet.
Is that too complicated or are those things pretty easy? The one thing I worry about is that this is an older house with several owners over the years. Some of the wiring I've seen is pretty outdated. I wonder if an electrician would notice a safety problem in the existing wiring and I wouldn't.
Replacing the switch is no problem. A single pole switch is just that. It breaks the current flow on the "hot" wire so there is no in and out. If you are dealing with 3 or 4-way switches be careful to recognize the existing hook-up.
The outlets are a different deal. They need to be hooked up properly to maintain polarization. There is a designated positive (hot), neutral, and ground. You have to have a"ground" to hook up a GFCI outlet. You can achieve this best by wiring back to your electrical service with 12/2 WG (with ground) wire.If this isn't probable you may be able to run an additional wire to a water pipe (not recommended, but can be done). The wire should have green sheathing to designate it as a ground wire. Hook your GFCI up per instructions and push the test button. If everything is hooked up right it should "trip". There are also plug in testers available to test for proper polarity and ground. Hope this helps! Oh, buy the way, turn off the power.
How Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters Prevent Electrical Fires
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Comments are closed.