ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area GFI breaker vs GFI outlet

who would win?

If there is a gfi breaker for outdoor outlets, but the outlets are regular outlets in an outdoor box, is that safe?

Or would it be a better to replace the outlets with gfi outlets, even though the power feeding this outdoor wiring is a GFI breaker?

If the entire branch circuit is GFCI protected, then there is no need to install GFCI recps.

thanks for the quick reply spyder

I'm curious. What can happen if you put a GFCI recptacle on a circuit already protected by a GFCI breaker?

Will it cause confusion if one of them trips, will both trip or neither, or will the outlet trip first?

Sven:
Dependent on the "sensitivity" of each device, and if they are wired properly..one will trip.
I see GFI receptacles that are inproperly installed, and I put the tester in, crank in 4-5- milliamps, and the "downstream" device trips. Then it's red sticker time.
John

At least one should trip, but if the tester is connected to the receptacle, they may both trip. It would depend on the speed of the trips and the actual trip point.
don

Heh...this scenario reminds me of the odd time when there is a short in a 15amp line in a house, sometimes the short by-passes the single 15A breaker and trips the 100A main.