Premium GFI outlets?
 

Was looking for a new GFI outlet for the bathroom. Went to the local
big box hardware store. Saw a GFI brand selling for about $7. Saw
another brand, costing about $12 that said it was a "premium" GFI.
Obviously nobody is going to risk their life for a difference of $5.
So what does "premium" mean: Do they give you less false trippings? Do
they trip faster? Are the internal components in so way more
heavyduty? Bottomline - do "premium" GFIs keep you safer?

Premium GFI outlets?
 

On Dec 24, 12:25*pm, Edge wrote:
Was looking for a new GFI outlet for the bathroom. Went to the local
big box hardware store. Saw a GFI brand selling for about $7. Saw
another brand, costing about $12 that said it was a "premium" GFI.
Obviously nobody is going to risk their life for a difference of $5.
So what does "premium" mean: Do they give you less false trippings? Do
they trip faster? Are the internal components in so way more
heavyduty? *Bottomline - do "premium" GFIs keep you safer?

Could be. The low cost may be foreign made, the premium, USA. The
latter may have a better circuit board, more robust connections,
better quality control and a design that exceeds the minimum
performance specifications. If you are not a contractor struggling
with your bottom line, consider paying a bit more and you will likely
have a longer service life product. A bathroom environment is meaner
for electronics than most other locations in the house, so skimping
there seems penny wise and pound foolish.

Joe

Premium GFI outlets?
 

No idea what your "premium" product meant.

Pick up one of the +/-$1 receptacles. Plastic, no metal on the
back, very light weight

Pick up one of the +/- $15 receptacles. Nylon, full metal back,
heavy screw plates.

The industry buzz words are things like residential, commercial,
industrial, spec grade, hospital grade.

The cost changes, the quality changes. They are probably all UL
approved, they will all work, the better grades last longer and
survive plug in and outs better.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DanG
Keep the whole world singing . . .


"Edge" wrote in message
...
Was looking for a new GFI outlet for the bathroom. Went to the
local
big box hardware store. Saw a GFI brand selling for about $7.
Saw
another brand, costing about $12 that said it was a "premium"
GFI.
Obviously nobody is going to risk their life for a difference of
$5.
So what does "premium" mean: Do they give you less false
trippings? Do
they trip faster? Are the internal components in so way more
heavyduty? Bottomline - do "premium" GFIs keep you safer?

Premium GFI outlets?
 

On 12/24/2010 10:25 AM Edge spake thus:

Was looking for a new GFI outlet for the bathroom. Went to the local
big box hardware store. Saw a GFI brand selling for about $7. Saw
another brand, costing about $12 that said it was a "premium" GFI.
Obviously nobody is going to risk their life for a difference of $5.
So what does "premium" mean: Do they give you less false trippings? Do
they trip faster? Are the internal components in so way more
heavyduty? Bottomline - do "premium" GFIs keep you safer?

That''s a good question, and unfortunately all I can say in reply is
that I have no ****ing idea.

Just found a perplexing and irritating situation at a neighbor's house.
They have 2 GFCI outlets in kitchen, which I checked when I replaced a
bad outlet (for garbage disposal, not on GFCI). Turns out the one GFCI,
which no longer worked, had the other GFCI needlessly wired to its
"load" side (they coulda used a regular outlet there, since it's
downstream of another GFCI).

But it makes me wonder about those devices, and how good their
protection really is. Because here was an outlet in daily use, looking
(to the homeowner) like it was "working" (hey, you can plug something
into it and it works!), and yet offering *zero* protection.

There seem to be several failiure modes for these things, and I think
some of them may be purely mechanical. Keep in mind that these are
electromechanical devices; they rely on a spring, tensioned when you
push that red "RESET" button, to force the contacts open when there's a
ground fault. Of course, since they contain fairly sensitive electronics
(a circuit board with an op-amp comparator and other components),
there's always the possibility of an electronic failure as well.

So far as the speculation offered here that maybe the "premium" outlets
had higher-grade electronics inside, I doubt it. I'll bet if you open up
a "premium" and a "regular" GFCI, you'll see exactly the same circuit
board inside. As someone else pointed out, the premium jobbies seem to
have better cases and connections, which are probably worth the small
extra cost.

I believe in GFCIs as a safety concept, but I have little faith in the
devices themselves.


--
Comment on quaint Usenet customs, from Usenet:

To me, the *plonk...* reminds me of the old man at the public hearing
who stands to make his point, then removes his hearing aid as a sign
that he is not going to hear any rebuttals.

Premium GFI outlets?
 

On Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:25:43 -0800 (PST), Edge wrote:

Was looking for a new GFI outlet for the bathroom. Went to the local
big box hardware store. Saw a GFI brand selling for about $7. Saw
another brand, costing about $12 that said it was a "premium" GFI.
Obviously nobody is going to risk their life for a difference of $5.
So what does "premium" mean: Do they give you less false trippings? Do
they trip faster? Are the internal components in so way more
heavyduty? Bottomline - do "premium" GFIs keep you safer?

Was the ink in "premium" model gold? ;-)

The electronics inside will most likely be identical The difference won't be
in "false trips" or non-trips). Other than marketeering, the "premium" model
may be built a little better ("spec grade" or whatever). Look at them closely
side by side. If you don't see a difference, there isn't one.

Premium GFI outlets?
 

On Dec 24, 3:47*pm, "
wrote:
On Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:25:43 -0800 (PST), Edge wrote:
Was looking for a new GFI outlet for the bathroom. Went to the local
big box hardware store. Saw a GFI brand selling for about $7. Saw
another brand, costing about $12 that said it was a "premium" GFI.
Obviously nobody is going to risk their life for a difference of $5.
So what does "premium" mean: Do they give you less false trippings? Do
they trip faster? Are the internal components in so way more
heavyduty? *Bottomline - do "premium" GFIs keep you safer?

Was the ink in "premium" model gold? *;-) *

The electronics inside will most likely be identical The difference won't be
in "false trips" or non-trips). *Other than marketeering, the "premium" model
may be built a little better ("spec grade" or whatever). *Look at them closely
side by side. *If you don't see a difference, there isn't one.

It may be true that "premium" GFIs are slightly better built. But as
previously noted both standard and
premium types are UL tested. Maybe the bulk of the extra cost is a
placebo effect. You pay
more therefore you "feel" better protected. The marketing guys
probably think who isn't going
trade a little more money versus getting fried.

Premium GFI outlets?
 

On Fri, 24 Dec 2010 14:19:30 -0800 (PST), Edge wrote:

On Dec 24, 3:47*pm, "
wrote:
On Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:25:43 -0800 (PST), Edge wrote:
Was looking for a new GFI outlet for the bathroom. Went to the local
big box hardware store. Saw a GFI brand selling for about $7. Saw
another brand, costing about $12 that said it was a "premium" GFI.
Obviously nobody is going to risk their life for a difference of $5.
So what does "premium" mean: Do they give you less false trippings? Do
they trip faster? Are the internal components in so way more
heavyduty? *Bottomline - do "premium" GFIs keep you safer?

Was the ink in "premium" model gold? *;-) *

The electronics inside will most likely be identical The difference won't be
in "false trips" or non-trips). *Other than marketeering, the "premium" model
may be built a little better ("spec grade" or whatever). *Look at them closely
side by side. *If you don't see a difference, there isn't one.

It may be true that "premium" GFIs are slightly better built. But as
previously noted both standard and
premium types are UL tested. Maybe the bulk of the extra cost is a
placebo effect. You pay
more therefore you "feel" better protected. The marketing guys
probably think who isn't going
trade a little more money versus getting fried.

Maybe. There *is* a difference in regular outlets. A $.29 outlet is not the
same as a $5 outlet. The same difference could be in GFCIs as well. ...or
not. Again, some of these differences are pretty easy to see if compared
side-by-side.

Premium GFI outlets?
 

"Edge" wrote in message
Was looking for a new GFI outlet for the bathroom. Went to the local
big box hardware store. Saw a GFI brand selling for about $7. Saw
another brand, costing about $12 that said it was a "premium" GFI.
Obviously nobody is going to risk their life for a difference of $5.
So what does "premium" mean: Do they give you less false trippings?
Do
they trip faster? Are the internal components in so way more
heavyduty? Bottomline - do "premium" GFIs keep you safer?

The word "premium" might mean nothing - could be a scam like those
large stereo wires which just have more plastic around the wires.

Or it could in fact be higher quality.

They DO make higher quality electrical outlets and switches. These
typically will say 20 Amp, Commercial Grade, Industrial Grade,
Hospital Grade, or for Commercial Use.

The difference is like the door knobs used for a home as opposed to
the door knobs used for a business, school, or government building.
The door knobs used for commercial uses are designed to have thousands
of door openings a day whereas the home models just a few door
openings a day.

And same with switches/outlets. Commercial applications get more daily
switching/plugging-unplugging.

For example here are commercial grade vacuums (used all day long
everyday for hotels/businesses)...
http://www.vacuum-depot.com/commerical_vacuums.asp

And Commercial Grade GFCIs...
http://96.61.63.50/techlib/Hubbell/H..._spec_D603.pdf

http://www.hubbell-canada.com/wiring...d_brochure.pdf

Premium GFI outlets?
 

Edge wrote in :

Was looking for a new GFI outlet for the bathroom. Went to the local
big box hardware store. Saw a GFI brand selling for about $7. Saw
another brand, costing about $12 that said it was a "premium" GFI.
Obviously nobody is going to risk their life for a difference of $5.
So what does "premium" mean: Do they give you less false trippings? Do
they trip faster? Are the internal components in so way more
heavyduty? Bottomline - do "premium" GFIs keep you safer?

Other replies have good info.

Another piece is if it was tamper resistant? Nice flash animated graphic at:

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCC...minisite=10021

"NEC 2008 Code Change Requiring TR Receptacles in all New Construction"