ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area GFCI Plug

Hi, I have a portable outdoor appliance (pressure washer)that has a GFCI male plug affixed to it. It's 20amps 120v. I was going to install a receptacle outside for it but it got me thinking. If I was installing a receptacle outside I would install a GFCI receptacle ( I have to). But I always thought that you can't put a gfci on a gfci. I don't want to cut the gfci plug and replace it with a regular one. I like to keep things the way the manufacturer does. If I plug the pressure washer into it wouldn't it just trip the receptacle? Am I wrong? Any suggestions.

There's no technical reason why you can't feed one GFI through another. If they are of similar characteristics with regard to tripping time though, it will just be a gamble as to which one trips first in the event of a fault, or indeed whether both trip out together.

Thanks for the info. Now I know.

I have GFCI plugs in GFCI circuits all over the place, no problem. All new boat lifts and pressure washers have them, even my 5HP unit with the 240v plug (perhaps the most needed since the 120v receptacles you would likely plug into should be GFCI).