Autopsy on the GFCI and the ants......

I did the RAID spray Monday, 21 May.

Replaced the GFCI todya with a visually similar Leviton unit, 20 amp.

New unit has those fraggin' back clamp, not back stab connectors as
well as the screw terminals. Used the screw terminals of course.

New unit has cutesy green pilot light. New unit made in China.

Old Leviton unit had only screw terminals. So old it was Made in USA.
Old unit had no pilot light.

Used high pressure air to blow old unit clean of surface piles of very
dead ants. Lots of dead ant. Had to clean out the exterior box the
same way.

Put old unit ina vise, opened the four tiny Phillips screws in the back,
popped off the two plactic "clamshell" type covers. Lots, lots more dead
ants inside clamshell, under PC board and generally
every where. cleaned it all, reassembled,
the "Test" and "Reset" buttons push in fine now, and pop back
out as they should.

Thought about mounting in in a box and using and old three wire to check
to see if it sill functions. Thought better odf that and just tossed the
old unit.

Interesting experience with the ants.

jJim McLaughlin wrote:
I have a 12 ga, grounded line (black, white and green conductors) in 3/4
inch
metal conduit buried about 3 feet deep that goes out of the garage to a
point in
the back yard about 40 feet from the house, where it comes up, again in
conduit,
and goes into a metal all weather box with hinged, gasketed cover. GFCI
outlet
in box. Has worked fine for 30 years, since I moved in here in 1977.

Line originates at a 20 amp dedicated breaker at the main panel in the
garage,
runs as 12 ga romex to a point in the garage wall where it exits
into a box and then goes down through conduit into the ground, out to the
GFCI box.

Plug in the leaf blower yesterday and no juice. Figure I need to test
and reset
the GFCI. Buttons on the GFCI won't move. Neither the red "test" nor
black "reset"
button can be pressed in. Tiny tiny ants all around the GFCI and the box.
I think the box has become an nest/ colony.

The breaker at the main panel has not repeat not tripped.

Anybody ever run into this sort of thing?

I can spray the ants, kill the breaker and pull the GFCI and really
clean the box and
spray it and the top 8 - 10 inches of the conduit with Raid or some such.

But, Raid and insulation on the wire in the conduit? Any known effect?
(I really do not want to do the old stand by of pouring boiling water on
the ants around a 20 amp circuit thank you, even one on which I've
killed the breaker.)

Also, being cheap, I'd rather not have to replace the GFCI device, and
would like to remove it and blow it clean with high pressure air.
Any thoughts on other methods to clean the interior of the GFCI device?

Ain't home ownership fun? The work never ceases.