Strange electrical issue

[ecam]

@Brew12

I need some help. I’m stumped!!!!

I have a situation in my bsmt. Where the GFCI keeps popping. It happens every summer and rarely in the winter.

On that circuit I have
1 deep freezer
1 refrigerator
And my frag tank.

I’ve been suspecting the refrigerator since it’s older. But here is the stumper

I ran an apex eb8 over to my frag tank to finally connect it to my apex. I haven’t connected amything to the eb8 yet. So it’s just sitting there connected to he wall and nothing else.

I did this two weeks ago.

Since then the GFCI has popped 4x. What I’ve noticed is this. When the GFCI pops I get a spike read on the eb8. Again. Nothing is connected to the eb8 at all

 

[Dom]

@Brew12

I need some help. I’m stumped!!!!

I have a situation in my bsmt. Where the GFCI keeps popping. It happens every summer and rarely in the winter.

On that circuit I have
1 deep freezer
1 refrigerator
And my frag tank.

I’ve been suspecting the refrigerator since it’s older. But here is the stumper

I ran an apex eb8 over to my frag tank to finally connect it to my apex. I haven’t connected amything to the eb8 yet. So it’s just sitting there connected to he wall and nothing else.

I did this two weeks ago.

Since then the GFCI has popped 4x. What I’ve noticed is this. When the GFCI pops I get a spike read on the eb8. Again. Nothing is connected to the eb8 at all

Defective eb8?

 

[ecam]

No. I don’t think so. I think it actually might be detecting the spike that has been driving me nuts for the last year.
I just don’t understand how it can be picking up amps from the circuit with nothing connected. Is this indicative of a bigger problem ?

I’m setting up to buy a new fridge but don’t want spend 1000 bucks and find out the fridge wasn’t the issue

 

[Brew12]

How old are the GFCI receptacles? If they are over 4 years old I would try replacing it first.

 

[ecam]

Less than two years old.

But the question I’m trying get answered. Is how can he eb8 be registering any spikes At all ?

 

[ecam]

The GFCI is upstream of the eb8. The eb8 is connected in standard outlet. FYI

 

[Dennis McGrath]

I had a GFCI outlet in my kitchen that was 6 years old and started off resetting once a week, then it got to be once a day. After I replaced it, it's been 5 years now without a single trip. The same thing happened a year later in my bathroom. I went and replaced all the GFCI outlets then.

 

[Brew12]

The GFCI is upstream of the eb8. The eb8 is connected in standard outlet. FYI

But, the EB8 does lose power when the GFCI trips, correct?

I wouldn't read too much into the EB8 reading if it is losing power due to the GFCI trip. It may be worth it to unplug it to see if the trips stop though.

If the GFCI is new, I would consider cleaning the electrical connections on the fridge and freezer. You may be getting this trips because of higher humidity during the summer.

 

[ecam]

The trips were happening way before the eB8.

It’s just that the spike on the eb8 coincides with the trip. Which can’t be a coincidence

 

[redfishbluefish]

Is there a need for the freezer and frige to be on a GFCI curciut? What happens if they are plugged into another outlet, and the EB8 stays on the GFCI?

 

[Brew12]

The trips were happening way before the eB8.

It’s just that the spike on the eb8 coincides with the trip. Which can’t be a coincidence

I agree it is related. But, since the EB8 uses electronics, you may be seeing outrush as a result of the trip and not the actual cause of the trip. You might be able to verify that by hitting the trip test button on the GFCI and see what the EB8 reads. You may need to do this several times to get good information as it likely depends on where in the sine wave the GFCI actually trips.

 

[ecam]

But this is not indicative of any dangerous.

And you still believe switch out the GFCI could solve the problem ?

 

[Brew12]

Is there a need for the freezer and frige to be on a GFCI curciut? What happens if they are plugged into another outlet, and the EB8 stays on the GFCI?

The latest NEC revision requires unfinished basements to be protected with GFCI's.

 

[ecam]

Is there a need for the freezer and frige to be on a GFCI curciut? What happens if they are plugged into another outlet, and the EB8 stays on the GFCI?

Paul. I ordered a 12 gauge extension cord to run the fridge on another circuit to see if it pops again.

 

[ecam]

The latest NEC revision requires unfinished basements to be protected with GFCI's.

This part of my bsmt is unfinished. The rest is

 

[Brew12]

But this is not indicative of any dangerous.

And you still believe switch out the GFCI could solve the problem ?

Not if it is only 2 years old. I suspect it could be dirt accumulation inside the fridge or freezer electrical connection areas.

 

[ecam]

So I should do what ? Clean the coils on the fridge?

 

[fermentedhiker]

If I had to guess that whatever the fault is that's tripping the GFCI is causing a momentary voltage drop and the EB8 doesn't know how to interpret the momentary "brownout" for lack of a better term. It's designed to monitor the draw on each of it's outlet, not the incoming line.

FWIW I've had trouble with GFCI outlet going bad prematurely in locations that are damp/high humidity. Especially Leviton ones. I recently switched out the one under my 90 gallon peninsula to a Pass and Seymour brand one and haven't had any trouble since. If you have some extension cords you can identify the issue by plugging the fridge/freezer/frag tank into another ckt one at a time and see when the trouble moves. If it never does then it's the GFCI.

 

[ecam]

Gotcha. That is the plan.

Thanks everyone. Glad to no it’s nothing overly dangerous.

 

[ecam]

I have a leviton too. Will be switching that out