Just realized how much power those little GFCI outlets save

I was swapping out an old outlet in my sister's kitchen last Saturday and noticed the GFCI was tripping every time she ran the dishwasher and microwave together. Looked it up and found out a single GFCI can handle up to 20 amps, but most people don't check the load. Turns out her circuit was pulling 19.7 amps at peak, which is right on the edge of the breaker rating. Has anyone else run into hidden overloads like this after a simple outlet swap?

2 comments

2 Comments

johnthompson22d ago

Right, nothing quite like the smug satisfaction of a DIY job crumbling the second you turn on a hairdryer. The multimeter in the dark with a confused look is basically the official posture of home improvement. People really do treat GFCIs like magic boxes that can handle anything, not realizing they're just glorified fuses with a fancy button. It's a bit like being proud of building a bookshelf that collapses the minute you put a dictionary on it. Glad you got it sorted, even if it meant having to rethink your whole electrical empire.

tessa39422d ago

Oh man, that is such a classic kitchen nightmare. I once did a swap in my own bathroom and the GFCI kept tripping every time I used a hair dryer and a space heater at the same time. Turns out I had daisy chained like three outlets off one GFCI and the load was way too high. I felt like a total amateur standing there in the dark with a multimeter and a confused look on my face. The funny thing is, I was so proud of myself for wiring it myself, but really I just created a ticking time bomb of tripped breakers. It's wild how much power these little boxes can handle but most of us just jam stuff in without thinking about it.