![]() You need to figure out which one that is and replace it with a GFCI outlet wired to protect all of the "downstream" outlets and appliances. This means that one of those kitchen outlets is "upstream" of all the others and the power flowing from the breaker panel passes through that outlet on its way to all the others in the kitchen. If your house is older you probably have a single circuit providing power to all of the outlets in the kitchen. Replacing all of them would be a real bear and it isn't necessary. Replacing them is time conusming but fairly easy as electrical projects go. If you have the old steel wall boxes they are simply too small for GFI outlets. However e did use it on one circuit where we just could not fir a GFCI inot any of the outlet boxes on that circuit.Īnything in a kitchen, bathroom, garage, unfinished basement or outdoors should have GFI protection.Ĭoldjensens makes a good point about GFI outlets "not fitting". If it trips, you have to go into the basement to reset it. You an get a GFCI breaker to protect the entire kitchen circiut(s) That is expensive and not as convenient. OUr inspetor required every outlet in the kitchen to be GFCI protected. (Hopefully that makes sense to those more knowledgeable about these things.) The original electrician apparently did this because he had a problem with the GFCI constantly tripping, and rather than solve the problem he just dropped the other outlets off the circuit, leaving none protected in the two upstairs bathrooms. We discovered through an inspection that each subsequent outlet had been wired by dropping each from the circuit rather than running the circuit through it. A circuit looped from the downstairs powder room up to two bathrooms on the second level. I found this to be the case in a prior house I owned. For certainty, each outlet should be tested. One point worth noting: It's possible to wire a circuit such that the downstream outlets are not protected by the GFCI outlet (even though they are all on the same circuit). Good luck on the remodel and it is refreshing to see safety is a concern with your project! Since you are asking about GFCI's, have you ensured all of your bathroom outlets are protected? Another area is all 15 and 20 Amp receptacles servicing countertop areas and/or within 6' of wet bars and sinks in other areas? Another very important place are exterior accessory outlets and garage outlets as well. ![]() If you do not have a dedicated outlet for the refrigerator you might want to consider handling this while doing the remodeling. However, there is always the possibility the GFCI can trip, without you knowing it, and be off for extended time periods. Most newer GFCI outlets can tolerate refrigerator motors cycling on and off without nuisance tripping. You can leave this refrigerator outlet on the existing branch circuit being serviced by the GFCI. On many older homes the branch circuit used to service the refrigerator was often times part of the outlet branch circuits. I would expect this is an older home that was never equipped with GFCI's? One thing to be careful and take note of. That would be the outlet that is closest to the serving breaker (not necessarily physically closest but electrically closest), if you can easily identify that outlet. You would only need one GFCI outlet on the first outlet of the branch. That would include any outlets on walls, behind wet areas (sinks, etc.) that have features such as countertop breakfast bars on them (open counter surfaces above sinks used to sit at on the opposite side). ![]() In kitchens all outlets that serve countertop surfaces should be equipped with GFCI outlet protection. The outlets next to the sink both have a switch next to them (disposal and a light), so the outlet plate has them both. ![]() I need to replace the outlets anyways since they are not a bright white (25 year old dull white). ![]() I have 5 outlets in the kitchen and wondering how many should be GFCI. We are in the middle of remodling our kitchen from ground up. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |