GFCI receptacle on my wall; what can I do with it?

[DMartin9N-2N]

My bathroom has a GFCI receptacle on the wall.. What can this gadget do for me, what can I do with it? Please don't refer me to you-toob, too much of those folks are hard to understand.

 

[kencombs]

It can be used as any 120v receptacle. It's sole purpose is to trip whenever a leak to ground is detected. It does that by comparing the current on the white wire with the current on the black wire. If they're not equal, some of the power is going to ground, maybe through the body of a person using a leaky hair dryer(or one in contact with water).

Happens with older power tools too, I had a 1/2 drill that would trip one instantly, same with a 50s vintage saw.

In other words, it is no different than any other outlet until it prevents you from being shocked. Just use as any other outlet in your home.

 

[Mule Meat]

As Ken stated. Use it as you would any other 120 outlet.
A GFCI is required by code to installed wherever water is present or a device can come into contact with water.

 

[Janicholson]

I agree with Ken. If it trips every time you plug something in, try a different thing to plug in. If everything trips it it is broken, and can be replaced easily with the same type outlet. There is a test button on the front panel, push it to see if it trips. if it dies, great, if not replace the outlet, it is bad, (or not properly installed) there is a reset button to put it back in operation. Some of the GFIC outlets can be wired so all outlets on that circuit are protected even if not GFIC. This "daisy chain" can be easily thought to be a fault at the other outlets. Tracing it back to the "master" GFIC outlet can solve that. GFIC systems trip at a very small fraction of harmful electrical shock, and are so fast that the person may not feel any issue at all. Jim

 

[wp6529]

"What can this gadget do for me, what can I do with it?"

It can keep you from getting electrocuted. You can be less careful with what you plug into it and use near water.

 

[DoubleO7]

You can be less careful with what you plug into it

The very words no manufacturer of GFCI's want to ever see or hear, lol.

 

[MarkB_MI]

One thing to be aware of: A GFCI can provide power to other outlets. Although the downstream outlets are usually in the same room (e.g. kitchen or bathroom), it's not uncommon to have an outlet in one room getting power from a GFCI in a different room. Or even an outside outlet powered by a GFCI in a bathroom. You'll think you've got a bad outlet when it's only a tripped GFCI in a different room.

 

[DonB]

The gfci receptial is set to trip on 5 miliamps which you can take across your heart. Try another device if trip again replace. If it has more than one cable don’t mix them up

 

[DMartin9N-2N]

One thing to be aware of: A GFCI can provide power to other outlets. Although the downstream outlets are usually in the same room (e.g. kitchen or bathroom), it's not uncommon to have an outlet in one room getting power from a GFCI in a different room. Or even an outside outlet powered by a GFCI in a bathroom. You'll think you've got a bad outlet when it's only a tripped GFCI in a different room.

Good evening, MarkB_MI and all: My small half/bath room has a large light fixture, and a fan, both work via their respective wall switches. However, there is a receptacle on top of the large light fixture, I believe it is wired via the GFCI. At present, I can plug a test light (using a 7watt night light) into the GFCI receptacle, or into the recept on top of main fixture. Both show dead. The 7watt light works in other receptacle in other rooms. So, I am supposing I should go downstairs to the breaker panel and find a tripped breaker? Or does the GFCI only shut off itself and possibly downstream receptacle(s) ?

 

[Hemmjo]

Good evening, MarkB_MI and all: My small half/bath room has a large light fixture, and a fan, both work via their respective wall switches. However, there is a receptacle on top of the large light fixture, I believe it is wired via the GFCI. At present, I can plug a test light (using a 7watt night light) into the GFCI receptacle, or into the recept on top of main fixture. Both show dead. The 7watt light works in other receptacle in other rooms. So, I am supposing I should go downstairs to the breaker panel and find a tripped breaker? Or does the GFCI only shut off itself and possibly downstream receptacle(s) ?

YES, the GFCI shuts off itself and anything downstream wired into the GFCI. Does the light work? It is possible the light and the receptacle on the light fixture are wired together so they both go on and off together, OR they could be wired so the receptacle is always hot. If the receptacle is in the bathroom, it SHOULD be protected by GFCI.

 

[John T]

Mornin DM great question "What can this gadget do for me, what can I do with it?" Here's an old power engineers answer

1) What it CAN do for you is possibly save your life in the event there's a GROUND FAULT in which current could pass near your heart and kill you dead
2) The NEC requires Ground Fault protection near kitchen and bathroom sinks/fixtures plus outdoors and other locations since water, plumbing or say the earth is readily available that could provide a return fault current path hopefully NOT via your body !!!
3) A GFCI device will trip and shut of power if it senses around 0.005 amps of Fault Current when as little as 0.030 can cause your heart to fibrillate
4) A GFCI operates by monitoring the outgoing current versus the normal return current and if its not all being returned (within 0.005 Amps) theres a leak and current flow elsewhere..
5) A typical GFCI receptacle can also protect other non GFCI receptacles located downstream which are connected to its LOAD terminals so in required locations protection is still afforded via regular receptacles. IE a different receptacle in a different room/location or another ground fault causing a certain GFCI to trip..
6) Cheap big box store GFCI's are more prone to failure versus commercial grade
7) If a GFCI is tripping find the cause,,,,,,,,repair any ground faults,,,,,,,replace a faulty receptacle CALL A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN to fix it

CAUTION where fire and life safety are concerned consult professional help and do not rely solely on anything posted here including by me as Im retired from power distribution practice !!!!

Post back any questions hope this helps!

John T Live in the RV from a Bluegrass festival near Arcadia Florida

 

[John T]

Good evening, MarkB_MI and all: My small half/bath room has a large light fixture, and a fan, both work via their respective wall switches. However, there is a receptacle on top of the large light fixture, I believe it is wired via the GFCI. At present, I can plug a test light (using a 7watt night light) into the GFCI receptacle, or into the recept on top of main fixture. Both show dead. The 7watt light works in other receptacle in other rooms. So, I am supposing I should go downstairs to the breaker panel and find a tripped breaker? Or does the GFCI only shut off itself and possibly downstream receptacle(s) ?

If that receptacle is dead it could be 1) A circuit breaker is tripped that feeds it or 2) A GFCI is tripped that feeds it from its LOAD side terminal 3) A wire is open ? 4( The GFCI is faulty........ When I was a designer I never fed lights or ceiling fans from above stream GFCI receptacles but no telling what you have ?? A combination switch and receptacle in a single box may or may not have the receptacle portion fed via the switch

John T Live in the RV from a Bluegrass festival near Arcadia Florida

 

[drsportster]

My bathroom has a GFCI receptacle on the wall.. What can this gadget do for me, what can I do with it? Please don't refer me to you-toob, too much of those folks are hard to understand.

A GFI has a line side {feed in] and a load side {feed out] Feed out can cover more devices down line Tripped GFI often cause unnecessary calls for a service electrician . Porch outlet fed from laundry room Why is porch outlet not working GFI tripped in laundry room . The load side can also cover a lighting circuit.

 

[DMartin9N-2N]

A GFI has a line side {feed in] and a load side {feed out] Feed out can cover more devices down line Tripped GFI often cause unnecessary calls for a service electrician . Porch outlet fed from laundry room Why is porch outlet not working GFI tripped in laundry room . The load side can also cover a lighting circuit.

Good morning drsportster and all: It appears to me the GFCI receptacle is in the tripped condition, so its own receptacle is dead, and the single receptacle on top of the big bathroom light fixture is also dead. I know of no other devices connected to the GFCI's output, so I think I will have our periodic Hiller crew check it out. (I am getting too old to repeatedly go down/up stairs to flip the circuit breaker at main panel for safe troubleshooting.). Thanks much!

 

[drsportster]

If the GFI resets trip is fixed if still in fault it will not reset.

 

[DoubleO7]

Good morning drsportster and all: It appears to me the GFCI receptacle is in the tripped condition, so its own receptacle is dead, and the single receptacle on top of the big bathroom light fixture is also dead. I know of no other devices connected to the GFCI's output, so I think I will have our periodic Hiller crew check it out. (I am getting too old to repeatedly go down/up stairs to flip the circuit breaker at main panel for safe troubleshooting.). Thanks much!

Have you pushed the little reset button on the GFCI in question?

 

[jhwis]

My bathroom has a GFCI receptacle on the wall.. What can this gadget do for me, what can I do with it? Please don't refer me to you-toob, too much of those folks are hard to understand.

They weaken over time. Replace it.

 

[J.Wondergem]

I also had one that would run for a while , then kick out. Someone said just replace it. Did that and I had no more problems. Old one went into the trash.

 

[MarkB_MI]

Good evening, MarkB_MI and all: My small half/bath room has a large light fixture, and a fan, both work via their respective wall switches. However, there is a receptacle on top of the large light fixture, I believe it is wired via the GFCI. At present, I can plug a test light (using a 7watt night light) into the GFCI receptacle, or into the recept on top of main fixture. Both show dead. The 7watt light works in other receptacle in other rooms. So, I am supposing I should go downstairs to the breaker panel and find a tripped breaker? Or does the GFCI only shut off itself and possibly downstream receptacle(s) ?

Maybe, maybe not. All outlets in a bathroom SHOULD be protected by a GFCI, and if there's only one GFCI in the bathroom it's reasonable to assume all outlets in the bathroom are protected by that one GFCI. But the only way to know for sure is to dig into the circuit(s) in question. It sounds like your GFCI outlet has failed and won't reset. To confirm that is the case, you have to pull the outlet out of the wall and see if it's getting any power. If there's power going into the input side of the GFCI, but nothing coming out the receptacle or the output side, then the GFCI is bad.

Once you replace a defective GFCI, use one of the cheap GFCI outlet testers you'll find at any hardware store. They'll tell you if you got the polarity correct and test the GFCI functionality.

Here's a GFCI tale. We have a rental property in the fair city of Pontiac, MI. It has to get inspected every couple of years. Among other things, the inspector will use one of the those GFCI testers to make sure all the kitchen and bathroom outlets are protected. I didn't bother checking beforehand because I knew everything was wired properly. He plugs the tester into a kitchen outlet and trips the GFCI. Good. He tries to reset the GFCI and it won't reset. BAD! He goes into the bathroom which adjoins the kitchen and tests that outlet. Same thing: GFCI trips but won't reset. Two bad GFCI outlets right just a few feet apart I then realized that my tenant's greasy cooking, in addition to leaving a layer of filth in the kitchen and bathroom, had killed both outlets!

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

My bathroom has a GFCI receptacle on the wall.. What can this gadget do for me, what can I do with it? Please don't refer me to you-toob, too much of those folks are hard to understand.

It's so your wife can't plug in a toaster, and throw it in the tub with you to collect the life insurance money.