Electric experts/question

[cougarfreak]

I've read some conflicting advice onto whether you can plug a small freezer into a GFI outlet. I have a small (5-6 CF) freezer I am thinking about moving downstairs into my basement, but the outlet I would plug it into would be a GFI, and I've read that refrigs/freezers would constantly cause that kind of outlet to trip. Anyone know?

[flounder]

I don't know about constantly tripping, but if it ever did trip and you didn't notice it, you would lose a lot of food.

[stevew]

I'm sure they make some sort of freezer alarm. Would be worth it in this case. Also can't you just switch the breaker out? PM CUTiger. He's the expert on this kind of stuff.

[PilotMan]

Hey man, I have one in my basement, on a dedicated circuit with my treadmill and the electrician who put it in said that he had to put the GFI down there per code. He did mention that some people didn't like the idea of a freezer being on a GFI because if tripped obviously you would lose the food. He did hint around that it wouldn't be hard to change out for a normal outlet if that is what you desired, but that it wasn't his idea being an electrician and all. FTR, I have not had any trouble with it tripping the 20A circuit with or without the treadmill running. My freezer is just a bit bigger than yours.

[cartman]

A lot of manufacturers do not support plugging freezers into a GFCI outlet. My garage freezer/fridge died last week, and that was one of the questions they asked me, was what kind of outlet it was plugged into. So I'd check with the manufacturer of the freezer for an authoritative answer.

[CU Tiger]

There are 2 kinds of "GFI" there is the common GFI outlet installed in every bathroom and kitchen and then there is the less common (or even non-existent depending on location) GFI breaker..or GFI circuit.

Let's figure out what you have before I make any recommendation.

A GFI outlet will not harm the freezer. If a manufacturer claims it will, I'd love to see their supporting documentation, hell I'd even love to read a logical theory. That sounds like nothing more than warranty avoidance to me.

A GFI outlet MAY trip when the compressor cycles and you may lose your food. GFI receptacles work by monitoring the current flow between the hot and the neutral (I am keeping this simple please don't star an argument on whether it monitors or meters...we can have another thread for that) in theory the rte of flow in should equal the rate out, if not the current has found a path to ground, which could potentially be through a human body or a pool of water which becomes charged ready to discharge on an unsuspecting human. When this differentiation is observed it opens the circuit. (the test button on the front of the outlet pop out) So when a motor starts a phenomenon commonly referred to as "current in-rush" happens while the motor (freezer compressor in this case) spools up Where current is seemingly consumed in the motor as it leaves a a state of rest and overcomes inertia until it is started and then returned to the circuit. (Again I am trying to make this simple to understand...it is not 100% accurate from an EE perspective but accurate enough for this description..I'm sure an asshole will be around in a minute to argue) This in rush will result in the neutral current being much lower and then much higher than the "hot leg" current. We are talking mili-seconds of time here. So in that case the GFI could trip....if it is a good GFI. If its the run of the mill cheapo from lowes it will probably never sense the loss and keep right on plugging on.

If it were in my house and we are talking about a GFI recep and not a GFI breaker, I would swap it for a regular outlet, with the understanding that you are giving up some level of personal safety protection.

[cougarfreak]

I'll check when I get home. Thanks CU.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

A GFI outlet will not harm the freezer. If a manufacturer claims it will, I'd love to see their supporting documentation, hell I'd even love to read a logical theory. That sounds like nothing more than warranty avoidance to me.

I didn't say that they claimed it would void the warranty or cause damage to the appliance. They simply do not support and/or recommend using a GFCI circuit, because of the off chance of it tripping when the compressor kicks in and someone not catching it before losing a freezer full of food. Garage door openers are also known to trip GFCI circuits.

Now, for commercial refrigeration, GCFI is mandated, and there are changes to those models to support the "false positive" ground faults.

[cougarfreak]

Looks like just a GFI outlet, I see nothing special about the breaker.

[Glengoyne]

Just a question here; If you replace the outlet, but there are other GFI outlets on the circuit, will a tripped GFI on another outlet not also shut down the freezer?

Meaning that my take on a GFI outlet is that it disables all outlets down the line as well. I could be completely wrong, and it probably has no bearing on Cougar's question. I'm just looking for clarity...Not being an asshole arguing about CU's technical speak for lay people.

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

Just a question here; If you replace the outlet, but there are other GFI outlets on the circuit, will a tripped GFI on another outlet not also shut down the freezer?

Meaning that my take on a GFI outlet is that it disables all outlets down the line as well. I could be completely wrong, and it probably has no bearing on Cougar's question. I'm just looking for clarity...Not being an asshole arguing about CU's technical speak for lay people.

On that one, I can tell you it is an emphatic yes. I've had it happen before.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

Just a question here; If you replace the outlet, but there are other GFI outlets on the circuit, will a tripped GFI on another outlet not also shut down the freezer?

Meaning that my take on a GFI outlet is that it disables all outlets down the line as well. I could be completely wrong, and it probably has no bearing on Cougar's question. I'm just looking for clarity...Not being an asshole arguing about CU's technical speak for lay people.

depends on the particular brand of outlet and how it is wired.
There are products out there that will allow downstream outlets to stay on while that individual outlet is "tripped"...in my experience when they are used they are then installed wrong and it works just like you described. But there are products designed and available to prevent just this problem.

BTW no worries about the asshole comments that was really directed at 1 member who loves to pick fights and force me to type 3 pages to justify what I said in one sentence.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

I've read some conflicting advice onto whether you can plug a small freezer into a GFI outlet. I have a small (5-6 CF) freezer I am thinking about moving downstairs into my basement, but the outlet I would plug it into would be a GFI, and I've read that refrigs/freezers would constantly cause that kind of outlet to trip. Anyone know?

Is there some type of building code in your area that requires GFI outlets in basements? If you are that worried you could always change the outlet to a non GFI, if you are comfortable with doing that.