aekdbbop

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Ok, so I was away for 4 days, and came back to find that my fermenting fridge was off because my GFCI outlet tripped. I tried to plug it back in, and it would start up, then trip again.. If i plugged in just the fridge, it would be ok, but if i used the fridge with the temp controller, it would trip, unless i plugged in the temp controller first, then added the fridge..
but i dont know how long it will be until it trips again..

1. my beer was done fermenting, so it should be ok right? It could have been warm (high 80's ) for a couple of days..

2. can I do something about the outlet? what do you think is wrong with it? if anything else, can i remove the GFCI and replace with a normal outlet? or is there a GFCI with a higher amperage?

thanks for any help!

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"Straight from the earth"

sirsloop

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I'm no electrician, but good to see your have your priorities straight! At least the beer is ok!! HAHH!

What amperage breaker are you using?

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~~~~~~~~~~~___//_ ____________________________~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~_/ [][]| | /```\/```\/```\/```\/```\ |~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~_/_______| |____NOW TRIPLE HOPPED______|~~~~~~~~~~
~~~___/[_]| 00 /| | \,,,/\,,,/\,,,/\,,,/\,,,/ |~~~~~~~~~~
~~|___|___|___/_| |___________________________|~~~~~~~~~~
~~|=(*)[________]==(*)(*)=| \________/=(*)(*)=|~~~~~~~~~~

jay075j

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It may not be the GFCI, I would look back at your service panel, and identify how many amps that circuit is and how many amps are you pulling off of that circuit? Is the GFCI tripping or is the circuit?

I'm assuming that if you are plugging into a GFCI, that you are near a water source or in a garage. Is there water anywhere on the floor? You could have a short somewhere in the fridge or in your temp control too. It could also be a bad GFCI.

I'm no electrician, but I do know a bit about electrical systems. It sounds to me as though you may want to bring in an electrician just to be safe. Both Circuit breakers and GFCI's are designed to trip for safety purposes, it could be worth it to bring in a qualified technician.

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Jay

"All right, brain, I don't like you, and you don't like me, so let's just do this and I'll get back to killing you with beer." - Homer Simpson

aekdbbop

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pff.. dont know that.. i will have to go look at it when i get home from work..

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GreenwoodRover

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I had a GFCI go bad. It worked fine for 2-3 years with my electric razor plugged in, then one day it just started tripping. I replaced it 6 months ago and plugged the same razor in and it's been fine since. You can buy GFCI's rated for different apms, but I wouldn't get a gfci rated for a gigher amperage that the breaker it is on (ie don't put a 20amp GFCI on a 15 amp breaker circuit)

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<Insert list of brews planned, fermenting, or being consumed here>

aekdbbop

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how can i figure out what amp my breaker is? should it be on the box? lol

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SC_Ryan

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Any chance there is moisture in the temp controller? If it trips every time you plug in the temp controller, your problem could be right there.

aekdbbop

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dont know about that.. it has been outside in my garage since i started using it.. really dry.

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aekdbbop

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another note.. i have two outlets in the garage, and i tried plugging it into the other outlet (also GFCI i believe) and it was tripping the both. does that help?

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Dycokac

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If those 2 outlets are on seperate circuits (50/50 chance) then it's something with your fridge or temp controller. Most likely those 2 outlets are on the same circuit. But it does sound like something with the temp controler, or the fridge.

Did you buy the temp controler or DIY it?