Why would a fridge require a non GFI circuit?

[supratreo]

That was not "goofy ****" it really was a good idea if the garage & bathroom were sharing the GFCI to install it in the bathroom, but current & previous recent NEC editions no longer allow that, although bathrooms & garages on the same circuit would be cutting corners, which is to be expected with tract homes, they are built as cheap as they can get away with.

"cheap" is the conclusion we came up with after seeing a few other things throughout the house but you are right, this is a tract house and is to be expected. would have made more sense to spend the $10 to add 1 extra GFI in the garage and tie it into the bath that shares a wall and leave the upstairs on the one existing outlet.

Actually thats not true. A GFCI will not trip due to an overload. It is NOT an OCPD. It doesnt have that functionality.

How do you even know the circuit was overloaded? Did you put a clamp meter on the ungrounded conductor in the panel?

i was assuming thats what it is because it would trip while running the fridge and a hair drier on the same circuit. they have since taken the fridge off that circuit and has been no problems. i was also told by an electrician that an overload could cause it but still doesnt make sense to me but at the end of the day, hes a professional electrician and i am not.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

"cheap" is the conclusion we came up with after seeing a few other things throughout the house but you are right, this is a tract house and is to be expected. would have made more sense to spend the $10 to add 1 extra GFI in the garage and tie it into the bath that shares a wall and leave the upstairs on the one existing outlet.

i was assuming thats what it is because it would trip while running the fridge and a hair drier on the same circuit. they have since taken the fridge off that circuit and has been no problems. i was also told by an electrician that an overload could cause it but still doesnt make sense to me but at the end of the day, hes a professional electrician and i am not.

just because he's an "electrician" doesnt mean he actually knows the theory or how a device functions.... i once had to school my now former "licensed" boss (yes licensed electrical contractor) on the differences between a neutral/grounded conductor and a ground/EGC/grounding conductor, because in his mind they were the same since they terminated on the same bar. smh

your electrician may only know how to install electrical and has no clue how to troubleshoot it. installing and troubleshooting electrical are 2 vastly different things and require different knowledge sets... many electricians i know couldnt troubleshoot to save their lives... but they can install **** real good!

 

[supratreo]

just because he's an "electrician" doesnt mean he actually knows the theory or how a device functions.... i once had to school my now former "licensed" boss (yes licensed electrical contractor) on the differences between a neutral/grounded conductor and a ground/EGC/grounding conductor, because in his mind they were the same since they terminated on the same bar. smh

your electrician may only know how to install electrical and has no clue how to troubleshoot it. installing and troubleshooting electrical are 2 vastly different things and require different knowledge sets... many electricians i know couldnt troubleshoot to save their lives... but they can install **** real good!

your right about that.
so what else could be going on?

 

[Norcal]

your right about that.
so what else could be going on?

Many years on a now defunct electrical chat room was talking to a old timer electrical contractor & we were discussing AL residential branch circuit wiring, & he was saying if there was a $20 difference between AL and copper when wiring tract homes, AL was chosen, it boils down to cheap & people don't care about the wiring when buying homes, it's after living in them for a while when the cheapness shows up.

 

[supratreo]

funny you mantion AL wiring. he was also having issues with tripping the A/C breaker. found out they replaced the breaker for some reason (old one was at the bottom of the panel and seemed fine) and the lugs were loose. also noticed they use AL for the condenser while everything else in the house is copper. thought maybe it was run after the house was built but the way its routed, it would be impossible to do without a lot of demo. so must be original.

 

[Jim greengo]

your right about that.
so what else could be going on?

'Voltage leak' from fridge.

 

[alfredeneuman]

a now defunct electrical chat room was talking to a old timer electrical contractor

Romex Racer wasn't much of an electrical contractor

 

[Norcal]

Romex Racer wasn't much of an electrical contractor

It was not RR.