Note: All of this predates my work with wiring up my new lift. My garage was built in 2007 and has a 100Amp service, fed from my 200A home service. Mostly, it is trouble free but every once in a while, some of the GFCI breakers will trip and I don't know why. None in the house trip with any randomness or frequency like the garage does. They don't all trip at once but I think all of them have tripped at one time or another. The one that gives me the most trouble is the farthest from the panel and also runs the battery tender on my car. The same type of battery tender runs on my mower and is closest to the panel and rarely trips. This information may be anecdotal but I wanted to give as much info as possible. For instance, I was using my drill and if I revved it up a few times, the GFCI would pop. I attributed that to the drill being old and possibly a shock hazard. However, recently I was in the garage and not blaring music for a change. I was using the torque wrench and heard a click next to me. A different GFCI had randomly popped and nothing was plugged into it nor down stream of it. The lights never flickered or anything else. The heat nor AC kicked on and only the overhead fluorescent lights were in use. So, do GFCI outlets wear out and randomly trip? There are 7 or 8 in/on my garage. I've taken one or two of them out to see if any wires are loose. All seemed physically OK.
Yes they will become overly sensitive, and also the devices you are using will be worn as they age also causing the GFCI to react. Some, maybe 1 out of 50 fail immediately on install. My advice is replace it with a regular receptacle and use a GFCI breaker in the panel instead, much more reliable.
The "offender" may not be the one that is tripping, sometimes it is due to a device that is inducing a fault, and causes one with a load to trip. Any outside GFI is also subject to water induced corrosion. Check the ground and connections on those, loosen the screws and retighten if they are not corroded. Never back stab outlets. And never trust a back stabbing electrician...
It generally isn't a problem. Just an annoyance. I'll get a GFCI breaker and see what happens. If that works, I'll install a few more.
Moisture. I got rid of all of them in my shop. Only place you really need one is the kitchen and bathroom. They dont handle much amperage anyway.
I like GFCIs wherever there is moisture, shops included. $12 to get a fresh one. No harm in swapping out with fresh... if the new ones pop you need to do some digging
They do get extra sensitive over time. I have to replace them at the apartment complex I do maintenance at. They actually get where they won't reset. GFCI breakers are nice when you have a lot of GFCI outlets. But if you use the ones that are GFCI/Arc Fault combos they will be even more sensitive. They will trip if it "thinks" it detects anything wrong with a tool or cord. I personally like individual GFCI outlets because only that outlet trips with a problem, not everything on the line with it. Also, there are 15a and 20a GFCI outlets, and should be matched to the circuit.
GFCI are for the birds....... Take a HOT steaming shower dont turn on the fan.. You want the steam... Snap.. Now your in the dark. Just get rid of those things... They were not in your childhood home...
I've had this problem in our kitchen (house built in 2006). I replaced all but 1 of them 2 years ago, along with all of the outside and garage GFCIs. Now that old one in the kitchen keeps popping, and it's the most important one... The coffee make is plugged into it!
OK, I think I will replace the most troublesome one and see how that goes. If that doesn't fix it, I'll have a spare.
Reality they do more damage than good.... In Fact one thing you dont hear about is the fact refrigerators used on GFCI circuits fail more . In comparison to non GFCI homes. Stupid people just blame it on the refrigerator itself. They dont get their electricity verified..........I run my vintage tube stereo at 117-118 volts AC.. the rest of my crap washer fridge, computer, TV, ETC. is at 120 -124 volts AC... I live in one of the older homes with no CFGIs in the hood.. I've seen most all the homes around me R&R the fridge more than once...
Just for the heck of it place a notebook & pen,, Multi-meter in plain site for a period of a few days and check your line voltage at different times of the day. Walk by and check take notes.....
We just built a house and 3 gfi outlets didn’t work out of the box, as mentioned they do fail over time and just need replacement. Not to mention out new out of the box defective smoke detectors, shorted light fixtures, and the list keeps growing.
From what I've seen it appears that most companies have opted to eliminate the quality control departments and gave the CEO'S that money instead. Keith
