On Dec 17, 12:51*am, "Jay-T" wrote:
"RBM" wrote in message

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"Jay-T" wrote in message
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I have a sump pump in an unfinished basement. *It is on a dedicated 15-amp
120-volt circuit, the outlet/receptacle is on the ceiling, and it is a
duplex GFCI receptacle.

The sump pump failed because the GFCI receptacle tripped, and the
basement flooded.

Are sump pumps required to have a GFCI receptacle according the National
Electrical Code (NEC) even if the receptacle is on the ceiling about 7
1/2 feet from the floor?

Could I change the receptacle from a duplex GFCI receptacle to a single
receptacle that is not GFCI, and still be in compliance with the NEC?
It's not done by the appliance, but the receptacle location. The NEC
requires all outlets in unfinished parts of basements to be GFCI
protected. I do a lot of work with pumps, and from my experience, about 1
in 10 sump pumps will trip a GFCI, when brand new, right out of the box..
You have two choices: Cheat, and replace the GFCI with a standard outlet,
or cut the plug off of the pump and hard wire it with a switch to shut it
off, which wouldn't require GFCI protection

Thanks. *I may end up going with the first option, "Cheat, and replace the
GFCI with a standard outlet", since having a sump pump that trips the GFCI
when in use doesn't make sense.

I guess I could do the second option of cutting the plug off and hard wiring
it. *But, I would have to figure out how to do that because the sump pump I
have has a plug with two cords going into it -- I assume one is power to the
pump and the other is from the float switch. *If I did that approach, would
I have to have a shut-off switch added to the circuit, or would the
dedicated sump pump circuit breaker be sufficient to serve as the shut-off?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Just make sure that the GFCI doesn't feed other outlets downstream.
If it does and you eliminate it from the sump pump outlet, make sure
to re-install it in the next downstream outlet.