"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:v4qte.1743736$Xk.567991@pd7tw3no...
Pop wrote:
"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:EDote.1742996$Xk.57712@pd7tw3no...

Pop wrote:

wrote in message
legroups.com...


I agree with the guy that they do seem to do that.
If you had a
licensed electrician put the thing in I would not
sweat it. If though
the feed somehow could have gotten wet, that's
what gfci is intended to
react to, which may indicate some sort of leak
somewhere ? Did they
run the outdoor wire thru a conduit and all that
jazz ?


No offense, but you say that if it was a licensed
electrician it's OK don't sweat it, but then you
ask how the installation was done? The OP isn't
likely to know whether it was done to "all that
jazz" or he wouldn't have posted here.

IMO, that's an unacceptable situation and the
electrician/contractor needs to be put on notice
that it needs to be taken care of.

Hi,
Taken care of? OP'er said it rained. GFCI did it's
job.
Unless it keeps happening over and over, I wouldn't
worry about it.
Tripped once after rain and..... hmmm, What is your
idea? GFCI should
never trip? If not, when does it suppose to trip?
Tony


No, as another poster mentioned, lightning could
possibly do that. The OP didn't say anything about
that though; only a lot of rain. If it tripped
because of water entry, and since it's a new
install, it's going to trip more often and
shouldn't have tripped. The contractor teling him
not to worry was a tipoff that he should put the
contractor on notice so that if it trips next time
it rains, he will have to remedy it. Otherwise the
contractor gets to say it didn't bother until now?
Oh, not my job then.
I am reacting mostly to the glib response about
it being "normal" for them to trip. They should
NEVER trip unless they see an imbalance in the
current flows. If water's getting into a new
install, something's not right.
They should only trip when there is a fault in an
item plugged into that gfci protected line. And
water should not be getting into the wiring.
Hi,
So to prove the installation was not perfect, we have
to wait for another rain, right?
Tony

Well, from what has been said about the contractor's
response, maybe. It's only my opinion, but I'd have
been pretty exasperated by anyone that told me they
"just do that" without knowing why he said that.
Personally I would see if I couldn't get the guy to
come back out and take care of the problem now. Since
he's already been there after the storm, it should be
easy to find the place where water got into the system.
He probably already knows, but didn't want to fix it.
That's why I say to put him on notice that you want it
fixed, so he'll know you're goign to expect himn to
take care of it next time it rains or gets sprayed by
the hose, or whatever (which, BTW, could be, not IS,
dangerous).
Another poster mentioned the plug getting wet and
shorting, but if the receptacle is the proper kind,
with proper gaskets and flip-open covers, the plug pins
shouldn't be able to get wet from rain. A garden hose
yes, but not rain. Outdoor receptacles are a lot
different than indoor receptacles. IMO, it's more
likely the water got into a box or even the receptacle
box, or a joiner or other conduit fixture that was
either the wrong type or poorly assembled or had a
manufacturing defect.
Everything above assumes, of course, that you dont'
have any jerry-rigged plugs on equipment plugged into
that outlet; I don't think you mentioned whether
anythng was plugged into it when it opened, but I
assumed not, now I think of it. If something plugged
into it got wet, that equipment also could open the
gfci, of course.
At any rate, GFCI's do not "just do that". They
trip on a very specific current condition so that they
will turn the power off before it reaches lethal levels
where one could come in contact with it.
IN a perfect world, that guy would get right back
out there and look for the problem, and/or offer to
come instantly the next time it pops on you. I doubt
very much your contract specifies a GFCI that "just
does that", since you can't buy such a thing.
If he's resisting you, then a chat with your local
code enforcement office might be interesting and if
they're in a good mood, they might ask you a few
questions that could be enlightening too. Don't be
afraid to call; that's part of why they're there.
Was the work inspected? If you can, talk to the
inspector - he's actually seen the work and might have
a comment or two on it.

Anyone have an NEC read on this? I dont' have access
to the book right now.

HTH,

PopS