I have a fridge in the garage that has been plugged in for about 5 years. Recently it has started tripping the GFCI that the plug is tied to. I noticed last night that it is fine when the fridge is off, but when I turn the temperature dial on the freezer compartment it immediately trips the GFCI.

My question is, should I call an appliance person, or an electrician?

As background, I know it is not a good idea to have a fridge on a GFCI, but the fridge is our garage fridge, and it is not plugged directly into the GFCI, but rather into an outlet tied to a GFCI that is located on our back porch. Unfortunately all of the plugs in the garage are tied to the GFCI.

IF an electrician comes out, have a drop a single line to plug your fridge in. Shouldn't cost more than $100

^truth. Refrigerators need a dedicated circuit

Unfortunately the only way to fix this is pretty expensive. You have to change all of the GFCI's out in the garage except the one that the refrigerator is plugged into. That one has to be changed to a single receptacle so you eliminate the master/slave setup and go with multiple GFCI's. For example, if you have 4 plugs in your garage currently, you would need to replace 2 with GFCI's, reuse the one GFCI you already have and buy one single receptacle. Cost would be somewhere between 100 and 200 dollars for an electrician to do that, if you are technically saavy enough to do it yourself it would cost you around $75 for parts.

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^truth. Refrigerators need a dedicated circuit

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Not the newer ones, I have a 28 cuft that draws 3.9 amps FLA.

Elite,

Thanks for the information. Does that have to be done every though all of the outlets in the garage are just regular plugs that are controlled by one GFCI which is located on the back porch?

I am not schooled on electrical stuff.

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Elite,

Thanks for the information. Does that have to be done every though all of the outlets in the garage are just regular plugs that are controlled by one GFCI which is located on the back porch?

I am not schooled on electrical stuff.

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Yes all of them would become GFCI's so that way they are still protected, it would be replaced with a scenario similar to this



But the last receptacle would be a single

So is it basically just swapping out the receptacles, or do I need to run new wire? I already changed out the GFCI on the back porch to make sure it wasn't bad.

Swapping receptacles and making pigtails on the wiring

Look at the 2nd image I posted and note the pigtails.

I posted a sketch on our Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elite-Electric-LP/164748583565885
I can't post it here for some reason but feel free to check it out, may be helpful.

Thanks for all of the information Elite. Really appreciate it. looking at all the diagrams, I am thinking I can handle this, but I am still not sure. If I decide to go against DYI, I will give you guys a call to set up an appointment.

No prob. it is mid level DIY job, not the easiest but by no means the most difficult. If you need anything else let me know.

One last question. Do I have to rewire the one on the back porch, or is it OK as is?

Yes you have to pigtail it, each outlet will be a "stand alone" GFCI except for the fridge which will have no GFCI protection, which is allowed as long as you install a single device just for the fridge, it has to be a single receptacle.

Here is the solution:


Call Elite and tell him to come do it.

Then rest each day while you are at work, and each night while you are sleeping.

Electricity is not a hobby!

^ Only thing I do not around the house myself.

Quality info shared by Elite here.

And I agree, just call Elite & let them handle it.

The second picture still has the last (refrigerator) outlet on the load terminals of the third GFCI.
You probably would have to work hard to get the parts up to $75. You can get GFCI outlets from Lowes for $12 or if you don't mind cheap Chinese $7 at harbor freight.
Also thought that you NEC requires 12/3 on 20 amp branch circuits. Not that it matters since you will be recycling the existing runs.
Also find many times a small capacitor across compressor relay fixes gfci trips. When the circuit opens the inductive kick causes out of phase currents in the line and neutral which trips the GFCI.
If you don't know what you are doing, for sure hire a professional.

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The second picture still has the last (refrigerator) outlet on the load terminals of the third GFCI.
You probably would have to work hard to get the parts up to $75. You can get GFCI outlets from Lowes for $12 or if you don't mind cheap Chinese $7 at harbor freight.
Also thought that you NEC requires 12/3 on 20 amp branch circuits. Not that it matters since you will be recycling the existing runs.
Also find many times a small capacitor across compressor relay fixes gfci trips. When the circuit opens the inductive kick causes out of phase currents in the line and neutral which trips the GFCI.
If you don't know what you are doing, for sure hire a professional.

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I would buy 20a, not the 12 dollar 15a, and replace all with a good name brand like Hubbell around $20 per each. Also for clarity the pic I used as an example shows 14/2 wire, but few to no homes around here are wired that way, the overwhelming majority use 12/2 minimum.

The 2011NEC which at least College Station concurs with requires GFCI on all circuits even refrigerators and freezers in garages even if they on dedicated circuits. College Station also amended it to disallow 14 AWG on anything except withing UL listed fixtures (no 15amp branches). With individual GFCI's for most applications the 15Amp would be fine since the outlets are 15 amp not 20 amp varieties.
Best way, call the pro's.

I have decided to let the pros handle it. Elite is sending someone out next week.

If it is tripping the GFCI as soon as you turn on the freezer it sounds as if the compressor in the frig is starting to have problems, especially if it has not had any problems in the last five years. Also it would be faster and cheaper to run a single new circuit with a new receptacle from your panel but with the new code you have to make sure that is a GFCI receptacle, if there is an empty breaker space available, than to rewire all of the existing GFCI's. That way you are leaving the GFCI circuits intact and will have the fridge on a circuit by itself.
You don't have to have a dedicated circuit but this is easier than trying to wire the receptacles correctly and making sure the circuit is complete, if you are not experienced in electricity.