"Mark Jones" 127.0.0.1 wrote in message
...
In (Michael A. Terrell):
Gary Tait wrote:

On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 02:47:00 -0600, wrote:

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 15:44:40 -0700, Jim Thompson
wrote:

Went outside to add another electrical circuit at the BBQ and
discovered that all of my nice wire-tagging had faded to
non-readable.

So I couldn't figure out which common went with which hot.

Then it dawned on me to simply trip the GFCIs which releases *both*
hots and commons so a simple ohm-meter check would do the trick.

NOT! Both GFCIs wouldn't trip when I pressed the test buttons :-(

Went to Radio Shack and bought a Receptacle/GFCI tester for $5.99.

At the same time I noticed a gadget to locate breakers... bought it
also ($29.95).

Went home and tested the GFCIs... both have failed :-( Tester was
verified on some indoor GFCIs... it would trip them.

Both bad units are outdoors, so maybe it was the heat (they both face
the western sun... it gets over 120°F here :-). Any other ideas
about why they fail?

The breaker locator is neat... plug a sender unit into an outlet,
then scan the breakers... works like a champ.

...Jim Thompson


That is why the electric company should install a GFCI up on the pole
at the transformer. That way, everyone and everything is protected in
the whole neighborhood.

It would be inconvenient to wait for the Poco to reset it. The best
thing would be a whole house GFCI, as is oftern used in most of the
rest of the world.

So something minor happens, and all the lights go off? THIS IS A VERY
STUPID IDEA. The code here requires separate lighting and receptacle
circuits so the room doesn't go dark if you trip a breaker. Also, most
areas of a home do not need GFCI protection. Wet areas, areas with bare
concrete floors, or outdoors make sense. Some circuits it is illegal to
use a GFCI breaker, like a refrigerator, or a freezer.


Really. If we have to ground-fault an entire house (because the occupants
are too stupid and keep getting electrocuted to death) then maybe they
should just go live in a hut somewhere in Afghanistan, where there is
little
risk of electrocution?


I believe most european contries have a GFI, certainly we have them in
Denmark where I live. I'm very happy we have those installed in the main
power inlet because it is a lifesafer. Many houses fail to have correct or
even installed ground/earth protection at all (before 1970 or thereabouts it
was not illegal to run appliances without earting). In these cases the GFI
serves a great purpose and which is why it was installed in the first place

I have only experience lightning strikes mistakenly triggering the GFI
two/three times over 30 years, so I see no reason to apply them only to
certain areas in the house. The only times I have been bothered by the GFI
is when I'm doing experiements in my lab, and in these cases I have been
surprised sometimes because I did something stupid (like connecting the
scope to the phone wire, tripping the GFI because the phoneline neutral is
grounded also)

Cheers

Klaus