Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange
Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [gfci]

For questions about ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), which are safety devices that break a circuit when they detect a leakage current to ground. Consider using in conjunction with related tags such as "safety", "protection", etc., if applicable.

For questions about ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), which are safety devices that break a circuit when they detect a leakage current to ground. Consider using in conjunction with related tags such as , , etc., if applicable.

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Minimum current level to trip a GFCI

TLDR I originally asked "Minimum current level to trip a GFCI"? But the answers pointed out that my biggest problem in this question is that I shouldn't use a general-purpose DMM to find an electrically insulated component whose insulation is going…
Mike Pennington
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Do I still need a fuse if I'm using a GFCI?

RE: PD involving a small health & beauty product similar to a foot spa whereby the user will come into contact with water. General description: Because malfunctioning foot spas have been known to kill, we have chosen to use a silicone heat pad…
tayglo
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How does a RCBO trip from a vapourised PCB trace?

I was replacing a power board with a new (plastic insulated) one, which resulted in a trip of the 20A 30mA RCBO on the circuit instantly upon turning on one of the board outlets. The built-in 10A breaker on the power board did not trip. Since all…
小太郎
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Automatic Self-Test Circuit in GFCI outlet

What kind of self-test circuits or method do they used in the GFCI outlets generally? Is it just firmware or is there a physical addition (and what it is usually?) This is because after 2015, it is required by UL. But there were many old stocks…
Samzun
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Static dissipation mat tripping AGFCI breaker

I have a home lab that I try to keep some level of static protection on, so I have a cheap anti-static mat that is grounded to a normal outlet in my lab. I recently installed a AGFCI circuit protector on that lab space (extra bedroom) because I'm…
Sam
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How can I prevent my multi-meter fuse from blowing with a brief 120VAC surge?

I wanted to test how much power a GFCI outlet uses while idle, so I hooked up my multi-meter to test the current flow. I put my test lead in the amp socket, and confirmed the current was on the order of a milli-amp, so I was safe to plug my lead…
Steve Sether
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120v Inverter and GFCI

I have a 48vdc to 120vac inverter with a 3 wire output (hot, neutral and ground). I installed a GFCI outlet using those output wires. I tried putting a resistor (I tested with 1k 100 and 22 ohm values) between the hot and ground but the outlet…
Daniel Caoili
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Selecting residual current for RCBO

I'm creating a portable test socket for electrical appliances that comes equip with a RCBO, power meter and possibly emergency stop button. My test socket will operate at max 240V AC and 10A. The purpose of the RCBO is to protect myself when I'm…
Max
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Does this circcuit pose a safety risk that could be avoided?

I was looking over the circuit design for OpenEVSE. I was specifically interested in the GFCI portion of the circuit: This circuit measures the current difference between Line and Neutral on a 120/240v 50-60Hz power source using a current…
Matthew Goulart
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Safety precautions when developing and testing mains voltage devices

Specifically, I am planning to design and build an energy meter to measure power drawn from mains - 120V 60Hz. What are the risks associated with developing and testing this device and how to minimize/eliminate them?
Fiebbo
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Extension cord from grid through GFCI outlet to off grid inverter. Does the extension cord ground need connected?

I have an off grid system: PV, charge controllers, inverters, and batteries. I want to add a 120V grid input from a GFCI outlet through an extension cord directly into the inverter AC input. However, the GFCI trips when the AC input connects. But…
Lost Puppy
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Will this scenario trip the GFCI?

An inline GFCI rated at 15A 120VAC with 4-6mA trip level is used to provide 120VAC to an AC-DC converter. The converter outputs +12VDC with max 1A current. This is then used to power a high voltage DC-DC converter that takes +12VDC input and outputs…
earl
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GFCI tripping when using hair trimmer, but only when using an extension cord

I have a GFCI socket in a recently-build bathroom. My hair trimmer trips it often when stopping under some conditions and while I have a fix I'd like to better understand what exactly is going on here. I need an extension cord to use my hair trimmer…
Thomas Guyot-Sionnest
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Should I expect the heating element in new cartridge heaters to be electrically isolated from the stainless steel exterior sheath?

I have two five-year-old 16 mm x 428 mm, 115 VAC, 1000 W cartridge heaters that have approximately 200 kΩ from the heater leads to the exterior stainless steel sheath. Is this normal or should I expect more isolation in newer cartridge heaters? I am…
ajschauer
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What are the implied peak current ratings of GFCI's?

Using GFCIs with transformer or other high-inrush current loads is problematic, because in some designs the differential transformer core can locally saturate and produce an invalid output in the sense winding, tripping the GFCI - without any ground…
Kuba hasn't forgotten Monica
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