ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area gfci and x-mas lights

Getting alot of calls from peeps about gfci tripping when it rains.And of course their x-mas lights go out also.Theses lights should be on a gfci,right?And is there anything to keep the water out of the plugs.Im talking the customers plugs between their string of lights.I have a bubble cover installed where the gfci is.

Just a shot in the dark.

They might be using indoor type lights outside.

Outdoor type lights might be more durable.

They should be on a GFCI.

Can try wrapping the plugs with tape, after all they come down after 90 days right?

Squirt a dab of silicon caulk between the male and female plugs. In January, when you take them down, just rub your thumb on the dried caulk to remove all traces.

Almost heaven ... West Virginia ..... duct tape works.

the problem is that every light socket and plug/outlet is exposed to water. in each strand there are 102 potential places for current leakage. (100 bulbs, 1 plug, 1 outlet) im surprised christmas lights work at all on a GFCI outlet.

The only solution i can think of is to recommend to the customer that they keep the connections away from the ground and out of puddles. if theres still a problems, try splitting up the load among multiple GFCIs if it is possible.


my house is old and doesn't have GFCI on the outdoor outlets, so ive never had that problem even though i hang a couple thousand lights. unfortunately, i don't think it would be a good idea to remove your customers GFCIs