z wrote:

My intention is to replace the vent fan in the shower stall with a
combined light/fan; easy access from the attic, don't want to separate
the two, just keep the one timer that ran the fan to run them
both.... but the fan/lights in the Home Dumpo all say "suitable for
installation in shower stall WITH A GFI" or similar. Why? If I wasn't
in grave danger of electrocution from the old fan two feet above my
head while taking a shower, why would I be in danger from the fan/
light? Am I missing something?



Your existing fan was probably purchased and installed at an earlier
point in America's history, before the liberals decided that it was
absolutely essential to try and protect as many of our citizens as
possible from their own stupidities, such as some fool deciding to
unscrew a burned out light bulb while standing nekked under a running
shower.

But, GFIs do make sense to me. You never know if you are going to live
long enough so your memory deteriorates to the point where you find
yourself making silly mistakes that put you in harm's way, or a child
too young to have been taught better drops a plugged in older hair dryer
(one without a GFCI plug on it's cord.) into mommy's bath water.

Chances are that timer gets its power from the same circuit which serves
a bathroom outlet. It may already be a CFCI protected circuit, and then
you're home free. But if it's not, and you're lucky about how the wiring
runs, you could replace the outlet with a GFCI one and have it protect
the feed going to the timeras well.

Jeff

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.