I live in Florida and I just had an instant where we received our first rain in 8 weeks. The next morning I notice the outdoor pond and lighting was not working. I tried resetting the GFI’s but that did not work.
I then went to the breaker and it was tripped. I kicked it back in and witching 15 seconds it kicked again. I went back outside and visually went to each outlet and checked them – animal/ bugs/ lizards. Anyhow I found nothing, however, when going back inside I saw one of the outlets on the side of my house burnt and the surrounding area covered with smoke. At this point I did not even check that outlet as we do not use it.
Thus my situation, I hate electric work. I am capable of changing a GFI but usually pay someone to do it. I live in the area devastated by Ian, any contractors are working on bigger issues than this. Short supply of labor. With this said can someone please give me technical advice on what type of GFI I would use on a double pole GFI breaker of two 15 amp switches? Also would the breaker be damaged from this type of situation?
Thank you for any help you could supply me with.
Replies
I'm not sure what you mean by a double pole GFI breaker. That would be for a 240v circuit and it would have to be balanced. Your problem is most likely the burnt out outlet. I've never seen any kind of fault at one location cause a burn out at another location. Check that first. It doesn't matter if you use it or not it's bad.
The double pole would be a breaker with 2 15 amp pulls. I have noticed that the breaker in the box is not a GFI breaker. Not sure if that has anything to do with the damage. I had an electrician show up to look at it and he said the outlet breaker and possibly the line needs changed = $2100. I am with you in just changing out the box but should I be concerned with the breaker or not. There is no space in the box for a GFI breaker and apparently this electrician will not be using one either. 3 weeks before he can get to us.
$2100? Does that come with a reach-around? Replace the outlet that is burnt. Inspect the wires in that box for any damage. Turn on the breaker and try things out. See if the GFI works and the outlet that you replaced. Tripping a breaker seldom damages the breaker. I do not like GFI breakers. GFI outlets are much more convenient and cheaper. The point of the breaker is to protect your electrical system from damage when there is a short so the problem is most likely localized in the bad outlet. The 15A breaker is probably not a two pole breaker but a 1/2 size breaker that fits two switches in a single space. A two pole breaker carries both legs of your system ie 240V.