Guess I need a new pump

BeanAnimal

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
5,071
Reaction score
8,108
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
their should not be 2 GFI receptacles on a circuit.
This is a very misconception and misunderstanding for several reasons.

Daisy chaining GFCIs (Load side of GFCI #1 feeding the line side of GFCI #2)
- This will work and both GFCIs will offer ground fault protection.
- Resetting can be confusing if you are unaware that (2) GFCIs in series may have tripped.
- Nuisance tripping due to different sensitivities can (in theory) happen. It typically does not. The parasitic consumption of the comparator circuit is negligible in a modern GFCI. First generation devices were a different story.
--- bottom line, the general advice to not put GFCIs in series is reasonable.

Feeding the LINE side of numerous GFCIS from a circuit is perfectly acceptable and is done regularly. There is no issue with this whatsoever. GFCI #1 and GFCI #2, etc, have NOTHING to do with each other. They work independently.

EDIT: I scrolled back up to read the rest of the thread. Steve Zee added even more context.
 
Last edited:

BeanAnimal

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
5,071
Reaction score
8,108
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
you can wire in parallel as long as you dont wire line to load from one to the other. Why would you want more than one anyway? I just get a gfci and be done.
Single point of failure. One fault or nuisance trip takes down the whole system.

Why would you NOT want to isolate critical equipment on separate GFCIs?
 

KStatefan

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 24, 2015
Messages
4,560
Reaction score
4,375
Location
MHK
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Single point of failure. One fault or nuisance trip takes down the whole system.

Why would you NOT want to isolate critical equipment on separate GFCIs?

This is the main reason I do not like gfci breakers for tank setup.

I have three separate GFCI for my setup. Two on the dedicated circuit and one on the secondary.
 

BeanAnimal

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
5,071
Reaction score
8,108
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is the main reason I do not like gfci breakers for tank setup.

I have three separate GFCI for my setup. Two on the dedicated circuit and one on the secondary.

This was the original operator board and relay control prior to migration to GHL profilux


(3) 20A branch circuits
(6) GFCIs - 2 per branch circuit
(18) individual circuit breakers and relays, 3 per GFCI.
(18) current transformers for monitoring
(18) Hand Off Automatic switches for output mode
(1) mil circular 36 pin connector for relay logic input
(1) mil circular 36 pin connector for current transformer output.

Indicator lamps for output status and individual breaker status for each channel.
GFCI and Branch Circuit Indicator status lamps.

All hand punched and hand wired and hand labeled in a NEMA enclosure with NEMA circular mil connectors for each of the (16) 120V outputs. Front panel was originally designed to have tiny char LCD for each output name, but I decided at some point to stop spending time and money on design and just do a static graphic.

1726862381811.png

1726862393047.png
 

KStatefan

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 24, 2015
Messages
4,560
Reaction score
4,375
Location
MHK
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This was the original operator board and relay control prior to migration to GHL profilux


(3) 20A branch circuits
(6) GFCIs - 2 per branch circuit
(18) individual circuit breakers and relays, 3 per GFCI.
(18) current transformers for monitoring
(18) Hand Off Automatic switches for output mode
(1) mil circular 36 pin connector for relay logic input
(1) mil circular 36 pin connector for current transformer output.

Indicator lamps for output status and individual breaker status for each channel.
GFCI and Branch Circuit Indicator status lamps.

All hand punched and hand wired and hand labeled in a NEMA enclosure with NEMA circular mil connectors for each of the (16) 120V outputs. Front panel was originally designed to have tiny char LCD for each output name, but I decided at some point to stop spending time and money on design and just do a static graphic.

1726862381811.png

1726862393047.png

I wish more equipment that I purchased for work still had switches like that. Everyone wants to put touchscreens in which over complicate daily operation of machine.
 

Dom

Full Time Reef Keeper
View Badges
Joined
Apr 29, 2016
Messages
6,449
Reaction score
6,945
Location
NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looks like it may be a hydor koralia in there? Every one I have had leaked electricity after using them for a while.

EDIT : mine never tripped a gfci when they leaked. I only new it when I would get zapped.
There has to be a better way...;)
 

PharmrJohn

The Dude Abides
View Badges
Joined
Mar 19, 2019
Messages
2,761
Reaction score
6,561
Location
Shelton, Washington
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
GFCI’s work by measuring CURRENT not Voltage. Make sure your garage circuit has a GFCI while mixing water. And my pet peeve is why anyone puts relevance on a cheap meter with test leads dropped in the water. It literally means nothing. I can get 60 volts by sticking a probe in a potato on my kitchen counter. That’s with a True RMS meter.

Splitting up your current leakage over multiple GFCI’s is a good idea! Each GFCI is set to trip before the current imbalance reaches 6mA. That’s MILLI-AMPS. A normal house circuit is typically 15 or 20amps. So 6mA (6/1000th of an amp) is barely enough to cause any real current draw. However, because every component has some level of current leakage it degrades your protection circuit by making it even more sensitive. Meaning, if you have multiple devices plugged into one GFCI, you could have a leakage level of 4mA and now one device can trip the circuit with as little as 2mA. More GFCI’s spread this leakage over multiple branches and give more leeway for all devices.

And yes, It’s almost always the heater! Heating coils and expansion from the heat makes it hard to keep waterproof. Never skimp on your heater.
Oh, good Lord. The stuff ya learn on this site. I need to re-evaluate my set up.
 

BeanAnimal

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
5,071
Reaction score
8,108
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Meaning, if you have multiple devices plugged into one GFCI, you could have a leakage level of 4mA and now one device can trip the circuit with as little as 2mA. More GFCI’s spread this leakage over multiple branches and give more leeway for all devices.

I wish more people understood this - many nuisance trips are the result of multiple devices contributing to the baseline average, leaving the GFCI just a few mA from tripping. Something as simple as turning s switch on or off and the resulting arc is often enough to cause the nuisance trip. People then spend time trying to solve the perplexing problem of "which device" is faulting, when one does not actually exist.
 

HAVE YOU EVER KEPT A RARE/UNCOMMON FISH, CORAL, OR INVERT? SHOW IT OFF IN THE THREAD!

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
Back
Top