I have tried every GFI swith that is on outlets in the house. Then, I
look in the breaker box and the breaker for the spa tub has it labeled
as a "GFI". Is THAT the required GFI switch for the tub or does there
necessarily have to be one in the house somewhere.

It showed up on an inspection report that he could not locate the GFI
for the tub - so now I am looking for it.
Thanks.

Is the breaker of GFI breaker?

Amy

wrote in message
ups.com...
I have tried every GFI swith that is on outlets in the house. Then, I
look in the breaker box and the breaker for the spa tub has it labeled
as a "GFI". Is THAT the required GFI switch for the tub or does there
necessarily have to be one in the house somewhere.

It showed up on an inspection report that he could not locate the GFI
for the tub - so now I am looking for it.
Thanks.

If the breaker in the box for the spa is a GFCI breaker, then that is
all that is required for GFCI protection of the spa. However, be sure
that the breaker is in fact a GFCI type. Sometimes a label could be
applied next to a regular breaker, indicating that a GFCI is somewhere
on that circuit. If it's a true GFCI breaker, it will have the usual
test button. If there is a GFCI in the panel for the spa, the home
inspector would have to be incompetent to not be able to find and
correctly identify it.

If the circuit breaker in the panel, labeled for the tub is a GFCI and
actually feeds the tub, that is sufficient. If there is only a standard
circuit breaker in the panel feeding the tub, there must be a GFCI device
between it and the tub. Often it is a GFCI outlet under the tub, with the
tub equipment plugged into it.


wrote in message
ups.com...
I have tried every GFI swith that is on outlets in the house. Then, I
look in the breaker box and the breaker for the spa tub has it labeled
as a "GFI". Is THAT the required GFI switch for the tub or does there
necessarily have to be one in the house somewhere.

It showed up on an inspection report that he could not locate the GFI
for the tub - so now I am looking for it.
Thanks.

On 30 Jul 2006 06:19:30 -0700, wrote:

I have tried every GFI swith that is on outlets in the house. Then, I
look in the breaker box and the breaker for the spa tub has it labeled
as a "GFI". Is THAT the required GFI switch for the tub or does there
necessarily have to be one in the house somewhere.

It showed up on an inspection report that he could not locate the GFI
for the tub - so now I am looking for it.
Thanks.


GFCI doesn't mean the actual item or device, but the protection the
device offers. So when something needs to be GFCI protected, this can
be accomplished with the two most common devices, a GFCI
receptacle(normal and faceless) and a GFCI breaker.

So if you have a GFCI breaker, and labeled for the tub, I would test
it. Press the test button to verifiy it is safely operating, and see
if the tub losses power.

Little inside secret, Home Inspectors don't have to experts about all
systems in a house. I've heard of older homes getting written up for
NO GFCI protection in the kitchen, becaue there was no ground. The
GFCI's present worked, and tested sat, but there was NO ground. The
inspector said there HAD to be a ground. The NEC tells you to use
GFCI receptals on ungrounded circuits, to provide ground protection.

Now remember, I'm not there, so only guessing. Only a qualified
electrician should work on your equipment, per the NEC.

good luck, imho,

tom @ www.IRantAndRave.com

wrote in message
ups.com...
I have tried every GFI swith that is on outlets in the house. Then, I
look in the breaker box and the breaker for the spa tub has it labeled
as a "GFI". Is THAT the required GFI switch for the tub or does there
necessarily have to be one in the house somewhere.

It showed up on an inspection report that he could not locate the GFI
for the tub - so now I am looking for it.
Thanks.

The breaker itself could be a GFI breaker. If it is, there would be a test
and a reset button on it.

In my house, the builder was so cheap that the bathroom GFI is downstream of
the GFI receptacle in the garage.

If you cannot find the GFI, then can you find a receptacle controlled by the
same breaker as the SPA? If so, you can plug in a GFI tester and try to
listen for the click sound when GFI is tripped.

peter wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
I have tried every GFI swith that is on outlets in the house. Then, I
look in the breaker box and the breaker for the spa tub has it labeled
as a "GFI". Is THAT the required GFI switch for the tub or does there
necessarily have to be one in the house somewhere.

It showed up on an inspection report that he could not locate the GFI
for the tub - so now I am looking for it.
Thanks.

The breaker itself could be a GFI breaker. If it is, there would be a test
and a reset button on it.

In my house, the builder was so cheap that the bathroom GFI is downstream of
the GFI receptacle in the garage.

It's not at all unusual to find it done that way. Many builders do
it, regardless of the cost of the home.



If you cannot find the GFI, then can you find a receptacle controlled by the
same breaker as the SPA? If so, you can plug in a GFI tester and try to
listen for the click sound when GFI is tripped.

In almost all cases, a spa is going to be the one and only load on the
circuit because of the current requirements.

It's not at all unusual to find it done that way. Many builders do
it, regardless of the cost of the home.
Past tense, it was a cost effective way of meeting the GFCI requirements,
but is no longer applicable as the GFCI requirements have changed


wrote in message
oups.com...

peter wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...
I have tried every GFI swith that is on outlets in the house. Then, I
look in the breaker box and the breaker for the spa tub has it labeled
as a "GFI". Is THAT the required GFI switch for the tub or does there
necessarily have to be one in the house somewhere.

It showed up on an inspection report that he could not locate the GFI
for the tub - so now I am looking for it.
Thanks.

The breaker itself could be a GFI breaker. If it is, there would be a
test
and a reset button on it.

In my house, the builder was so cheap that the bathroom GFI is downstream
of
the GFI receptacle in the garage.

It's not at all unusual to find it done that way. Many builders do
it, regardless of the cost of the home.



If you cannot find the GFI, then can you find a receptacle controlled by
the
same breaker as the SPA? If so, you can plug in a GFI tester and try to
listen for the click sound when GFI is tripped.

In almost all cases, a spa is going to be the one and only load on the
circuit because of the current requirements.

RBM (remove this) wrote:
It's not at all unusual to find it done that way. Many builders do
it, regardless of the cost of the home.
Past tense, it was a cost effective way of meeting the GFCI requirements,
but is no longer applicable as the GFCI requirements have changed




Interesting. What exactly does code now say that prevents one GFCI
from being used to protect both a bathroom and garage outlets?

Bathrooms can be wired two ways: One 20 amp dedicated circuit can feed one
bathroom, including lights, fans, and GFCI outlets in ONLY that bathroom.
Or: One 20 amp dedicated circuit can feed all GFCI outlets in bathrooms
only, and bathroom lights, fans, etc can be on general lighting circuits


wrote in message
oups.com...

RBM (remove this) wrote:
It's not at all unusual to find it done that way. Many builders do
it, regardless of the cost of the home.
Past tense, it was a cost effective way of meeting the GFCI requirements,
but is no longer applicable as the GFCI requirements have changed




Interesting. What exactly does code now say that prevents one GFCI
from being used to protect both a bathroom and garage outlets?