(Ground fault interruptor)

[red90xj]

hey guys im right now installing a hot tub into my home and i need your brains.
if any of you have installed one of these things you will know its certainly not an easy task especially doing some of the wiring.
i installed the "GFI" breaker. Now to test the breaker im supposed to push a little yellow button. what is actually suppose to happen when i do this? should the breaker switch off? should the pump shut down? or what?

any help would be great let me know if u need more info
thanks
anthony

[RichP]

The test button on the gfi will simulate a short and will trip the breaker. We have one in each bathroom and the outlet by the kitchen sink.

[bajacalal]

Ground fault circuit interruptor. It is supposed to cut the power to anything connected through the GFCI or plugged into it when electricity is discharged to ground. Pushing the button should cut power to anything you connected through the GFCI but not to connections that do not go through the GFCI.

Funny how nobody seems to like wiring. That is my favorite type of repair.

[DWK]

What instructions are you using to do this?


If you are not ABSOLUTELY sure about everything that you've done to hook this up, have a trained LICENSED electrician look it over. There are very specific electrical codes that MUST be followed, and if not done properly you could cause a fire, shock or electrocute someone. And it wouldn't necessarily happen the first time you try to use. Even if it cost a few bucks, it's better than losing a loved one or your house.
:flame: :shocked: :skull2:
As a licensed electrician I've seen some even fairly experianced people do things that they didn't know was wrong. (the National Electrical Code is not an easy book to read and understand):huh:

[jml1911a1]

There are instructions. It's not rocket science to hook up, and if the test button causes the breaker to "trip" (switch moves to center, and current is cut to that circuit), then the thing works.

They also make small testers that plug into a receptacle that test whether the GFI is wired proper-like, and then simulate a ground fault to test GFI breaker operation.

(I'm an electrician.)

[Rev Den]

and if the test button causes the breaker to "trip" (switch moves to center, and current is cut to that circuit), then the thing works.
(I'm an electrician.)

If you are an electrician and think that the test button on a GFI outlet should cause the breaker feeding that circuit to open...you need to go back to school. The test button should cause that outlet, and (if it is a thru protection unit) and outlets connected AFTER it to lose AC. The breaker feeding that circuit should NOT open.

Rev

[87manche]

If you are an electrician and think that the test button on a GFI outlet should cause the breaker feeding that circuit to open...you need to go back to school. The test button should cause that outlet, and (if it is a thru protection unit) and outlets connected AFTER it to lose AC. The breaker feeding that circuit should NOT open.

Rev
x2,
the purpose of the GFCI is to react a whole lot quicker than a circuit breaker can.

[Rev Den]

Also keep in mind that a GFCI is NOT a fuse, or a circuit breaker (in the traditional sense) it reacts to the differences in current traveling thru the HOT and Neutral wires....not a total current to the outlet.

Rev

[Lou]

RED90 and JML....are talking about GFI breakers which are breakers, installed in the panel, which also incorporated GF trip circuitry.

[Matthew Currie]

The Square D GFCI breaker in my power panel, which controls my bathroom, trips the breaker when I push the yellow button. You cannot tell from the breaker whether it has tripped due to a ground fault or a current overload. It should shut the circuit down cold either way, just faster for a ground fault.

[Rev Den]

Good point....maybe I should actually READ the originol post?


Naaaaa.

Rev