DIY GFCI installation

[Brew12]

I have a reputation for having a passion for safety, especially electrical safety. I want to share how I will be implementing GFCI on my new system.

First, I made a big box store run and picked up a 2 gang, new construction style electrical box. I also picked up 2 heavy duty cords, 2 gfci receptacles, and a cover.

Doing this is very easy. You start by prying open or breaking the tabs on the back of the box. Pull the cords up through and wire them to the line side of the GFCI receptacle.

Make sure you connect them to the Line Side terminals and not the load side. This may keep the GFCI from working depending on the style receptacle you picked up.

I also recommend leaving the sticker marking the load side terminals on until it is wired. This will help prevent mistakes. You do want to pull it off before installing them in the box.

Put it together and you end up with something that looks like this. Its ready to screw into a 2x4 under my stand and start being used!

In this case, I am going to plug a controller power strip each GFCI. I used a cord with 14 gauge wire rated to 15 amps.

On my (soon to be) previous system, I created 4 of these and plugged each cord into a controlled outlet on my Apex power bar. This gave me controlled GFCI outlets that would only take out the faulted load on a trip. Doing this, I used 16 gauge wire rated to 13 amps.

Hope this helps!

 

[Reef-junky]

Nice

You know they have ones that just plug right in to the wall as well right? Is it better to change out the outlet itself then to use a plug in?

 

[Brew12]

Nice

You know they have ones that just plug right in to the wall as well right? Is it better to change out the outlet itself then to use a plug in?

My wall plugs are behind my tank and are difficult to get to. Much easier for me to do it with them in my stand.

I do keep a plug in kind for troubleshooting failed equipment.

And, if you would plug these into an Apex or Profilux, you would create a switchable GFCI outlet. That is the main reason I shared.

 

[Sleepydoc]

GFCI outlets can and do fail over time - if the wall outlet is going to be inaccessible or very difficult to access once the tank is in place, doing something like this to extend the outlet is an excellent idea. Also, make sure you leave enough room in front of the outlet to unplug the cords!

I have to say, Brew, I’m very disappointed in your wiring, though. You should have used those extra 12” pieces of 22g bell wire you had laying around and spliced them with electrical tape (better yet, duct tape!) instead of that nice, beefy 16g wire. :p

 

[jonboyau81]

GFCIs can and do fail over time. We are currently on the 2nd iteration of improvement of GFCIs mandated by UL that covers several features including improved corrosion resistance and self-testing. The OP looks to be using a Legrand GFCI (a little hard to be 100% sure) which tests itself every 3 seconds. If the GFCI fails self-test several times the indicating light will flash which means you should replace the GFCI. If critical components are detected as failed and protection is lost, power to the receptacle is disconnected. These changes came about from UL studies showing that significant amounts of GFCIs in usage for several years no longer were providing protection but still provided power with no notification to the user.

If you are concerned about using GFCIs because you might not know they have tripped, there are audible alarm GFCIs which will accuate a warning tone when they are tripped.

 

[Brew12]

GFCIs can and do fail over time. We are currently on the 2nd iteration of improvement of GFCIs mandated by UL that covers several features including improved corrosion resistance and self-testing. The OP looks to be using a Legrand GFCI (a little hard to be 100% sure) which tests itself every 3 seconds. If the GFCI fails self-test several times the indicating light will flash which means you should replace the GFCI. If critical components are detected as failed and protection is lost, power to the receptacle is disconnected. These changes came about from UL studies showing that significant amounts of GFCIs in usage for several years no longer were providing protection but still provided power with no notification to the user.

If you are concerned about using GFCIs because you might not know they have tripped, there are audible alarm GFCIs which will accuate a warning tone when they are tripped.

It is a Legrand. They work well except that they don't always trip at the 4mA-6mA range that they are supposed to. But, they almost all will trip under 20mA which is good enough for me.

I noticed Lowes was carrying the ones with the audible alarm and almost went that route. My GHL will send me an email if either GFCI trips so I decided to avoid the noise for now.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Does anyone know about the life expectancy of GFI breakers? I had a new circuit wired for my tank and the electrician put in a GFI breaker rather than one at the outlet. It's easy enough to replace, I'm just wondering how often I should test it.

 

[Brew12]

Does anyone know about the life expectancy of GFI breakers? I had a new circuit wired for my tank and the electrician put in a GFI breaker rather than one at the outlet. It's easy enough to replace, I'm just wondering how often I should test it.

I'm not sure the newest standard for GFCI breakers have been around long enough to get reliability data. As for testing, you will get recommendations all over the board. Some people recommend monthly (same as receptacles) and I have seen recommendations for every 3 years. Personally, I test my breakers annually and receptacles monthly.

 

[jonboyau81]

It is a Legrand. They work well except that they don't always trip at the 4mA-6mA range that they are supposed to. But, they almost all will trip under 20mA which is good enough for me.

I noticed Lowes was carrying the ones with the audible alarm and almost went that route. My GHL will send me an email if either GFCI trips so I decided to avoid the noise for now.

If you have one of these outside parameters or run into one in the future (Legrand GFCIs) I would be happy to replace it and send it in for testing. I promise you that no one is more interested in your GFCI operating as designed than we are as a manufacturer. I would provide you with whatever information we come up with through our testing process.

 

[Brew12]

If you have one of these outside parameters or run into one in the future (Legrand GFCIs) I would be happy to replace it and send it in for testing. I promise you that no one is more interested in your GFCI operating as designed than we are as a manufacturer. I would provide you with whatever information we come up with through our testing process.

I will keep that in mind! I appreciate Legrands reliability, even if they don't always trip within band. They still trip plenty early to keep people safe.

 

[Dragon52]

Removed
Sorry Wrong Thread

I do like the plugin wire outlets though. Nice idea.

 

[Billdogg]

Nice, but I'm curious as to why you used 16g 13A wire on a 15A receptacle. Isn't that a potential fire hazard especially when standard 14g 15A wire is so readily available?

 

[Potatohead]

Keep in mind as well your GFCI doesn't need to be where the actual tank stuff plugs into, just as long as it's on the same circuit. So if you don't have a big dedicated circuit and are using existing house wiring you can install the GFCI in place of say, the next recepticle on the wall over as long as you know it's the same circuit as the tank (test it).

 

[Billdogg]

Keep in mind as well your GFCI doesn't need to be where the actual tank stuff plugs into, just as long as it's on the same circuit. So if you don't have a big dedicated circuit and are using existing house wiring you can install the GFCI in place of say, the next recepticle on the wall over as long as you know it's the same circuit as the tank (test it).

This is true ONLY if the receptacle is upstream from the tanks receptacle. If it is after it in line it will do nothing for your tank or you.

 

[Brew12]

Nice, but I'm curious as to why you used 16g 13A wire on a 15A receptacle. Isn't that a potential fire hazard especially when standard 14g 15A wire is so readily available?

It's a fair question, and it could be considered a minor fire hazard. I could have used 14g and it would have very slightly reduced the fire risk but the difference isn't substantial. When you consider that these circuits are allowed to be fed by a 30A breaker, a 16g wire is not significantly more likely to start a fire than a 14g cord.

Nothing wrong with using a 14g wire, but for most applications it isn't going to be required. As long as your planned non-fault load is less than 13A this practice is just fine.

 

[Matt Carden]

I have a reputation for having a passion for safety, especially electrical safety. I want to share how I will be implementing GFCI on my new system.

First, I made a big box store run and picked up a 2 gang, new construction style electrical box. I also picked up 2 heavy duty cords, 2 gfci receptacles, and a cover.

Doing this is very easy. You start by prying open or breaking the tabs on the back of the box. Pull the cords up through and wire them to the line side of the GFCI receptacle.

Make sure you connect them to the Line Side terminals and not the load side. This may keep the GFCI from working depending on the style receptacle you picked up.

I also recommend leaving the sticker marking the load side terminals on until it is wired. This will help prevent mistakes. You do want to pull it off before installing them in the box.

Put it together and you end up with something that looks like this. Its ready to screw into a 2x4 under my stand and start being used!

In this case, I am going to plug a controller power strip each GFCI. I used a cord with 14 gauge wire rated to 15 amps.

On my (soon to be) previous system, I created 4 of these and plugged each cord into a controlled outlet on my Apex power bar. This gave me controlled GFCI outlets that would only take out the faulted load on a trip. Doing this, I used 16 gauge wire rated to 13 amps.

Hope this helps!

You aren't worried about moisture inside your cabinet getting into your outlet box? I was going to do this but with outdoor receptacle box.

 

[Brew12]

You aren't worried about moisture inside your cabinet getting into your outlet box? I was going to do this but with outdoor receptacle box.

Not in the least. I've yet to find an outdoor receptacle box that in moisture tight with something plugged into it. I do mount them up and away from the sump though, so they aren't able to be sprayed.

 

[spsick]

Made one of these ahead of upgrading to a BRS heater which acts as a grounding probe. I’m still super wary of one tripping while on vacation so not sure how I will run return pump but the thought is 1 EB8 on each GFCI. I used Weather resistant Eaton GFCI as they seem to be the best. I did also buy a In-use outdoor outlet cover that I may employ but this won’t be near any moisture or water splashing. Thanks for the suggestion! I rent my house so changing outlets isn’t an easy/honest option.

 

[drawman]

Made one of these ahead of upgrading to a BRS heater which acts as a grounding probe. I’m still super wary of one tripping while on vacation so not sure how I will run return pump but the thought is 1 EB8 on each GFCI. I used Weather resistant Eaton GFCI as they seem to be the best. I did also buy a In-use outdoor outlet cover that I may employ but this won’t be near any moisture or water splashing. Thanks for the suggestion! I rent my house so changing outlets isn’t an easy/honest option.

Nice you could always run your return on another outlet when you're away.

 

[Omgitsjoe]

Made one of these ahead of upgrading to a BRS heater which acts as a grounding probe. I’m still super wary of one tripping while on vacation so not sure how I will run return pump but the thought is 1 EB8 on each GFCI. I used Weather resistant Eaton GFCI as they seem to be the best. I did also buy a In-use outdoor outlet cover that I may employ but this won’t be near any moisture or water splashing. Thanks for the suggestion! I rent my house so changing outlets isn’t an easy/honest option.

Where did you find this box and cover? Im looking for something similar but in 4 or 6 gang