i have an in law suite where i dont have much space for a washer/dryer. i had to install one closest to an existing water connection which is by refrigerator. they will be on the same outlet. will that be a problem and if so, how do I go about fixing it so they wont overload the circuit?
refrigerator/washing machine same circuit
- Thread starter ro_cubs
- Start date
75gmck25
Well-known member
Many refrigerators draw quite a bit when the compressor starts up, and then taper off. If you have the washer running and the refrigerator starts up you might trip the breaker.
Is it a 15 amp or 20 amp? I thought a washer/dryer combo would need at least a 20 amp just by itself if it's all electric. Or maybe it's a gas dryer?
Is it a 15 amp or 20 amp? I thought a washer/dryer combo would need at least a 20 amp just by itself if it's all electric. Or maybe it's a gas dryer?
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
washer should be on a GFCI protected circuit (either breaker or receptacle). I would NOT put a refrigerator on a GFCI protected circuit.
theres only one outlet there, which isnt gfci protected. how do I go about this?
mitusa
Well-known member
If the breaker trips while you're away, you will come home to spoiled food.
I would hire an electrician or diy and run a separate circuit to run the washing machine (with gfci).
I would hire an electrician or diy and run a separate circuit to run the washing machine (with gfci).
Viper98912
Well-known member
I think you should run a new circuit; a fridge is normally on it's own circuit and the washer is on it's own circuit (or at least, a circuit that's not shared outside of the laundry room)
Do you do a lot of laundry when you are away from home?
mitusa
Well-known member
The boss does start the washer and leaves while it's still running. I do the same thing at times!!
nadogail
Well-known member
Refrigerators with Self Defrosting features used to have more than enough allowable leakage current to trip a GFCI, the newer ones may have less.
I personally would not willingly put a refrigerator or freezer on a GFCI protected circuit.
I personally would not willingly put a refrigerator or freezer on a GFCI protected circuit.
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My fridge started tripping the breaker (only 30 years old,what a gyp!).........seems its the fan gets moisture in the connectors .......what to do?.........simple really ,disconnect the earth .......,problem solved...........I bought a new fridge ,still havent tried it out.
A ton of the compressors these days will do it too. All coming out of the same garbage factory.
Think LG had a class action on it.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
umm thats a horrible idea. the ground is there to protect life.
if an ungrounded conductor touches the frame, it can energize it because the low impedance fault pathway is not connected which is how the breaker trips upon ground fault
And then people wonder why the NEC will one day require the entire premise be protected by GFI.
They can write in my obit I died getting a beer from the fridge......I reckon Im pretty safe ,cause the door is plastic ,door handle is plastic, interior is all plastic,shelves are mounted in plastic brackets ....in fact youd have to try pretty hard to find any bare metal outside of the electric compartment underneath.
acer66
Well-known member
When was the GFCI requirement for a washer added?
TRWham
Well-known member
In 2014 NEC all receptacles in laundry areas were required to be ground fault protected, and in 2005 if the laundry room had a sink within 6 feet of the receptacle.
AntonLargiader
Well-known member
Can you change the recep to a quad, and have one side GFCI and one site straight?
Viper98912
Well-known member
I learned my lesson not to do this when I was a wee young lad in my first apartment.The boss does start the washer and leaves while it's still running. I do the same thing at times!!
I put some clothes to wash, and was watching tv. After a while, I noticed that I could still hear the washer filling, and thought to myself, odd, it's been filling for a while...
I walk out to the kitchen, and there's half an inch of water on the floor and growing. I stop the washer and start the cleanup. At the time, I did not have a wet vac (and later bought one during Black Friday at Lowes), so I used whatever towels I had and did the slow work of soaking up the water and wringing it out in the kitchen sink.
After cleanup, I took to disassembling the front of the washer. I found a small bit of lint stuck in a clear plastic tube that was hooked up to a port in the bottom of the drum. This tube went up to the pressure switch on the Small/Medium/Large setting knob, which was the trigger to stop the water. The lint was clogged up hard enough in the plastic tube that it never registered the pressure change of the drum filling.
I was on the third story of an apartment building, and I luckily never received any complaints from the neighbor next door nor below that water had entered their apartment and potentially destroyed things.
But similar to a post above, there were many times where I'd start the laundry and then leave to go run errands. Can you imagine if I would've been gone 2, 3, 4 hours and come back to a flooded apartment and water running down the walls to the apartments below? Because of this episode, I NEVER start the laundry before I leave the house now. Sure, I bet things are more digital nowadays than my original $168+tax washing machine, but still, you never know.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
I have yet to see a plastic sided refrigerator. every frig i have owned had metal exterior sides and top.
Aren't All circuits in a kitchen are supposed to be on GFCI, 23 code anyway.
Leaflessshadetree
Well-known member
Could be done. Probably won't be code compliant with a non GFCI outlet that close.