Garage GFCI Keeps popping

[ps2cho]

I have a GFCI in the garage, and it keeps popping for some unknown reason. I lost all the food in my garage freezer last week...Got an alarm now so that wont happen again.

Problem is I put a amp reader on the outlet, and nothing is pulling anywhere close to 15amps. My Air Compressor I turned off to be sure it wasn't that, and last night it tripped again. The only things plugged in were some drill batteries and the deep freezer, pulls no more than 2amps.

I have very minimal electrical background. Would you guys suggest I just replace the GFCI outlet entirely first (I should be able to do that with the breaker off). Or is there anything else I should check first?

 

[duneslider]

Fridges and freezers generally have a higher amp draw when starting up then drop lower when running. I have had a lot of nuisance trips with older gfci's but don't seem to have much of that issue with newer quality gfci's. I would buy a nice name brand gfci and swap it out and see if it improves. Usually when I have had them go bad though they trip and won't reset.

It could be some leakage current from all the stuff you have plugged in too. You could try leaving everything but the freezer plugged in and see if it stops happening. I was told you really should have dedicated circuits for the fridge/freezer so this doesn't happen. I am not an electrician so I can't intelligently comment on why exactly this is the case but maybe someone else can.

 

[bbbarracuda]

GFCI's will pop for ground faults.
I had one that would pop very intermittently, several days, or a few hours, never knew when it would go.
After much troubleshooting, moving things to other outlets with extension cords, etc., I found an outlet strip was the cause of the problems. After replacing that, it hasn't popped in several months.
So look at everything plugged in to it, and move them one at a time to another outlet to see if problem goes away, or moves to other outlet.

 

[bdbecker]

@duneslider summed it up well.

I had the same thing happen - older GFCI in the garage started tripping, but thankfully I didn't lose the contents of my freezer. Other than the garage door opener, the freezer is the only other thing on that circuit that regularly draws power. I swapped it out for a new one and haven't had any issues since. Hopefully the case is the same with you.

 

[cvairwerks]

I've got one that thunder or a low jet will cause it to pop off. Even happens with nothing on the circuit. Replaced it twice and have learned to live with it.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Don't tell the inspector, but I removed the GFCI breakers from my garage freezers once sticker was on my panel.
Independent/dedicated circuits to each freezer & fridge.

 

[PCustoms]

This isn't an amperage issue, and gfci outlets don't trip because of excessive current.

Gfci trip due to ground faults. The freezer is likely leaking current to ground.

Is this a GFCI outlet or breaker? I think Breakers have an indicator telling you if it was a over current or ground fault trip.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

This isn't an amperage issue, and gfci outlets don't trip because of excessive current.

Gfci trip due to ground faults. The freezer is likely leaking current to ground.

I cannot really agree. My small air compressor for nail guns would trip the GFCI in my house if I was trying to run it when it was very cold and pulling a lot of current. No problem at all when the compressor was warm. I also had a problem once with the refrigerator in my garage popping the GFCI receptacle. (Lucky, no food was involved, I just had warm beer.) I replaced the GFCI, and the problem kept happening. Pulled the 'frig out and found the airflow through the bottom and condensor was partially blocked and restricted by dirt, debris, spider webs, and general bug type ****. Cleaned it out, and all was well again. I think the blockage was causing the compressor or fan to draw more current.

 

[u3b3rg33k]

I have a GFCI in the garage, and it keeps popping for some unknown reason. I lost all the food in my garage freezer last week...Got an alarm now so that wont happen again.

Problem is I put a amp reader on the outlet, and nothing is pulling anywhere close to 15amps. My Air Compressor I turned off to be sure it wasn't that, and last night it tripped again. The only things plugged in were some drill batteries and the deep freezer, pulls no more than 2amps.

I have very minimal electrical background. Would you guys suggest I just replace the GFCI outlet entirely first (I should be able to do that with the breaker off). Or is there anything else I should check first?

GFCI's will pop for ground faults.
I had one that would pop very intermittently, several days, or a few hours, never knew when it would go.
After much troubleshooting, moving things to other outlets with extension cords, etc., I found an outlet strip was the cause of the problems. After replacing that, it hasn't popped in several months.
So look at everything plugged in to it, and move them one at a time to another outlet to see if problem goes away, or moves to other outlet.

GFCIs don't actually detect ground faults, they detect imbalance between L/N. over 4mA and they're supposed to trip. sometimes they fail, sometimes you have a problem to fix, and many of them hate HF noise.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

I cannot really agree. My small air compressor for nail guns would trip the GFCI in my house if I was trying to run it when it was very cold and pulling a lot of current. No problem at all when the compressor was warm. I also had a problem once with the refrigerator in my garage popping the GFCI receptacle. (Lucky, no food was involved, I just had warm beer.) I replaced the GFCI, and the problem kept happening. Pulled the 'frig out and found the airflow through the bottom and condensor was partially blocked and restricted by dirt, debris, spider webs, and general bug type ****. Cleaned it out, and all was well again. I think the blockage was causing the compressor or fan to draw more current.

120V GFCIs trip for only current imbalance between hot and neutral. Never for excess current. They don’t even attempt to measure the current flowing through them.

Startup surges on some motor driven appliances can cause a temporary current imbalance and result in tripping. Refrigerators and freezers are notorious for this.

 

[u3b3rg33k]

I think the 5-15R units only switch the hot, not the neutral.

 

[nadogail]

All of my food storage freezers and refrigerators are on Non GFC! dedicated circuits. I did that because when I was teaching Electrical Wiring i learned that the permissible leakage current in the heating element for a self defrosting Freezer or Refrigerator was sufficient to trip a GFCI.

The receptacles are singe, not duplex, and are high on the wall to avoid them being mistakenly confused as a general purpose receptacle.

 

[duneslider]

Are dedicated non-gfci even permissible in garages currently? I know in the past you could have dedicated non-gfci with a label indicating it but I thought I had heard that was no longer acceptable? I thought I had heard that even ALL outlets in basements have to be gfci now?

 

[CharlieCA]

Any chance you have mice? I had garage arc fault / ground fault breaker tripping every so often. Then it tripped permanently. Found first outlet, disconnected rest or the downstream outlets. No trip. Repeated until I found where one outlet worked, next one didn't. Between these two outlets, romex went up through header, across garage attic, back down through other end header. I found chewed wire going through the header.

Found where they were getting in. Had to rip out some drywall and wall insulation. Fixed entry, trapped mice over a couple weeks, and replaced the damaged romex run.

Hopefully not a critter issue.

But process of starting at first outlet and working your way along the run is still likely the best approach to find the issue.

 

[KenC]

Self defrosting ref/freezers often have unacceptable leakage in the heating circuit. I'd remove the GFCI if it were mine as long as it is a dedicated circuit. Barring that, maybe remove the heater and do without the self-defrost feature.

 

[Walkers]

Most only have to lose their freezer food once before replacing the GFCI outlet with a non-gfci. YMMV

 

[u3b3rg33k]

Self defrosting ref/freezers often have unacceptable leakage in the heating circuit. I'd remove the GFCI if it were mine as long as it is a dedicated circuit. Barring that, maybe remove the heater and do without the self-defrost feature.

makes you wonder why they don't put in better insulated heaters, eh?

 

[Walkers]

makes you wonder why they don't put in better insulated heaters, eh?

I don’t wonder. They are likely more expensive.

 

[buzzworth]

My septic tank pump did the same thing. I would have the alarm go off every now and then and the time it went off at 2 AM was the last straw. I removed the GFCI on the dedicated line.

 

[mmb617]

Most only have to lose their freezer food once before replacing the GFCI outlet with a non-gfci. YMMV

Indeed. Like a lot of older members I lived most of my life in houses without a single GFCI outlet and somehow I survived.

 

[jkuro]

If your GFCI is going bad, you will get nuisance tripping. Common problem with older GFCI's.

 

[CraigStu]

First step is replace the GFCI outlet. They are about $20 so not a huge hit. Be VERY careful about getting the correct wire to the correct lug on the new outlet. They are not all arranged the same so moving a wire from the right top lug on the old one to the right top on the new one doesn't always work. Also spend time finding every other outlet that is on that ones circuit. In the last house we had the exhaust fan over the MBR shower go out once in a while (every 3-6 months). It popped the GFCI in the hall way bathroom. I replaced the GFCI, the wall switch in both bathrooms, and the fan assembly and it kept doing it. One day we plugged something in to the outdoor outlet at the deck and it didn't work. Trying to figure out which breaker it was on I found that it fed off of the GFCI that was always popping. Main floor deck outlet fed off 2nd floor GFCI. Took it apart and it was corroded like crazy. Replaced it and sealed the outlet box better. Dang builders saved $15 by not using two GFCI outlets and cost me 2 years and about $200.

 

[PelicanPines]

My garage gfci had outlets on the load end... One was outside... got wet... constantly tripped the gfci. Installed a non gfci dedicated outlet for my freezer. It also has a temp display that mimics that value on my inside freezer display.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Had an issue with the garage gfci, then realized it was tripping due to an outside outlet that was powering a fountain pump that went bad. So it’s important to remember a gfci outlet can control a whole circuit, but just it’s outlet.

 

[mikedodge]

Replace it with a normal plug and avoid the future risk of food going bad.
GFCI's can be picky about certain motor loads but you don't hear as much about that anymore. They've been improved over the years.

 

[rpcraft]

makes you wonder why they don't put in better insulated heaters, eh?

No wonder, it's easier to make money off poorly made products with bare minimum insulation...

 

[Norcal]

All of my food storage freezers and refrigerators are on Non GFC! dedicated circuits. I did that because when I was teaching Electrical Wiring i learned that the permissible leakage current in the heating element for a self defrosting Freezer or Refrigerator was sufficient to trip a GFCI.

The receptacles are singe, not duplex, and are high on the wall to avoid them being mistakenly confused as a general purpose receptacle.

At one time that was permitted to have a non GFCI protected receptacle for a dedicated appliance, not anymore.

 

[nadogail]

At one time that was permitted to have a non GFCI protected receptacle for a dedicated appliance, not anymore.

To the best of my recollection, the non GFCI receptacles were installed when it was permissible, I ave owned and lived in this house continuously since 1988.

 

[Norcal]

To the best of my recollection, the non GFCI receptacles were installed when it was permissible, I ave owned and lived in this house continuously since 1988.

I was not saying your situation is good/bad, as did not have a clue when it was done, only that it was once okay.

 

[u2slow]

Self defrosting ref/freezers often have acceptable leakage in the heating circuit.

FIFY. Older units often had trace leakage current because they never anticipated their use on a gfci circuits.

I don't and won't use gfci in my garage or with fridges freezers. Weren't required for the first 25 years of my life and I'm not starting now.

 

[p00p]

I've got one that thunder or a low jet will cause it to pop off. Even happens with nothing on the circuit. Replaced it twice and have learned to live with it.

If all the items being plugged in, using that circuit are 100% fault free, check that entire circuit over for a loose screw, sloppy wire nut, chattering ground wire. An instructor once demonstrated how a loose connection can cause a fire if not corrected. It was also found that a loose wire typically develops if the wire material is aluminum or when serrated hardware should not be repurposed.

 

[p00p]

Are dedicated non-gfci even permissible in garages currently? I know in the past you could have dedicated non-gfci with a label indicating it but I thought I had heard that was no longer acceptable? I thought I had heard that even ALL outlets in basements have to be gfci now?

Last I knew; My local code allows non GFCI's in an attached garage if the wall that it is in, is an interior wall. Detached might be a whole different ball of wax, since it would be a standalone building & (in theory) burning itself down in to the ground if something went awry.

 

[kaffine]

Last I knew; My local code allows non GFCI's in an attached garage if the wall that it is in, is an interior wall. Detached might be a whole different ball of wax, since it would be a standalone building & (in theory) burning itself down in to the ground if something went awry.

GFCI are not made to prevent fires they are made to prevent electrocutions.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Indeed. Like a lot of older members I lived most of my life in houses without a single GFCI outlet and somehow I survived.

But not everyone who did so survived.

 

[Zeke]

I have a non defrost freezer plugged into a GFCI. If I had a problem I would simply hard wire the freezer to a handy box.
If the recep is flush, I'd install an extension with a blank cover. If need be, I'll run a dedicated circuit. Not losing any food.

 

[John in OH]

I guess I'm still not clear on what type of GFI the OP is using. If it is a GFI BREAKER in the breaker box, then it will trip on either over-amperage or ground fault. If it is a GFI OUTLET ( with multiple associated sub-outlets ) then it will trip on ground fault only. The OP needs to clarify what he actually has (or maybe he did and I missed it!!).

 

[Zeke]

^^^^He spoke of the "outlet" in post #1. I'm guessing no GFCI breaker.

 

[red61cj5]

Garage refrigerators are often old house fridges that the wife wanted replaced (at least that's my case). Older units often play hell with GFI receptacles. I just made a dedicated non gfi receptacle, which solved my warm beer problem. Will I die by electrocution? Possible, I suppose, but realistically there's about a million other ways that are more likely. My morning commute, for instance.

 

[JRC3]

As Said, replace it, maybe even go 20A. GFCIs are pretty compex and the electronics do fail over time.

IME, it's often caused by something on the load like other outside outlets or lights, as someone else said. More often it's a post light. Too often the direct burial wire gets nicked or cut by landscapers, irrigation, cable, etc and is either unknown, or a shoddy half-assed repair is made. Then, when it rains or whatever, intermittent problems arise.

 

[ez-duzit]

...I lost all the food in my garage freezer last week...My Air Compressor I turned off to be sure it wasn't that...
The only things plugged in were some drill batteries...

You have too many things plugged into your freezer outlet.