Inkbird and GFCI trouble

[swampbrewcrew]

I have a Keezer that doubles as a fermentation chamber through the spring and summer. I have an Inkbird temp controller hooked into a GFCI outlet. It never runs more than a couple of days before it trips the ground fault. I don't have any trouble running the freezer by itself. Going out and resetting the switch isn't that bad, but inevitably I am always out of town when it happens.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1492522399.778853.jpg

 

[bajaedition]

sounds like you have an intermittent ground fault in the keezer.
I have found they can be tricky with GFIs, when the compressor turns on it draws a huge load for a second and sometimes can trip the GFI. Or, how old is the GFI? GFI technology has come a long way in the last few years, they have straitened out some problems the original ones had. call an electrician to change it out. Use someone who knows how to hook one up please. hooking one up wrong can cause it not to protect the circuit, or just not let anything work.

 

[IslandLizard]

Most motors (like your freezer's compressor) and GFCIs don't play well together. Why would you need a GFCI there? (Good) grounding should be enough.

 

[swampbrewcrew]

Didn't mean to post and disappear like that. The outlet is in the garage which at one time was just a carport. All exterior outlets around here are GFCI. I guess there wouldn't be any harm in having an electrician come out and put in a dedicated outlet. Be a good time to have a 220 installed for my future electric brew setup.

 

[swampbrewcrew]

sounds like you have an intermittent ground fault in the keezer.
I have found they can be tricky with GFIs, when the compressor turns on it draws a huge load for a second and sometimes can trip the GFI. Or, how old is the GFI? GFI technology has come a long way in the last few years, they have straitened out some problems the original ones had. call an electrician to change it out. Use someone who knows how to hook one up please. hooking one up wrong can cause it not to protect the circuit, or just not let anything work.

I don't know what would cause a ground fault in the keezer. I bought the chest freezer new and simply put a collar on it with three taps. It's nothing too fancy. This is Mississippi so humidity could be my problem.

 

[bajaedition]

not to get into theory, if any electrical does not return down the neutral, the gfi will trip, and on a hard start like a compressor does, that is possible.
It would be best to set up a plug that is not on a GFI for the freezer.

 

[IslandLizard]

Didn't mean to post and disappear like that. The outlet is in the garage which at one time was just a carport. All exterior outlets around here are GFCI. I guess there wouldn't be any harm in having an electrician come out and put in a dedicated outlet. Be a good time to have a 220 installed for my future electric brew setup.

[EDIT]
You should always consult and hire a qualified professional to do any work for you.

Plan well ahead of what you want to get done and where before hiring an electrician. They're pricey!

DISCLAIMER:
I'm not an electrician or qualified to give advice on electrical systems or fixing issues with them. The following is just layman's advice and opinion on a public forum and if you decide to venture into this dark and dangerous world, please be advised to proceed at your own risk while IslandLizard, my true person and identity, my family, my estate, and my assigns are held harmless and take NO responsibility whatsoever for what happens based on what I spewed out below:

[Beginning of spewed opinion]
If you feel you're qualified to work with domestic electricity and wiring, you can replace the GFCI breaker with a regular one. If it's just the outlets that are the GFCI type, they may be replaced instead, with regular, non-GFCI ones.
[End of spewed opinion]

 

[bajaedition]

Being an electrician, I would never tell a layman to change out a gfi breaker. It is not as simple as just changing it out, the wiring is different

and as far as replacing the gfi with a regular outlet, remember when you do you open yourself up to liability, legal liability. The codes were written for a reason.

That said, so does the person who told you to do it.

adding a recepticle dedicated to the freezer gets around all those issues.

 

[IslandLizard]

Being an electrician, I would never tell a layman to change out a gfi breaker. It is not as simple as just changing it out, the wiring is different

and as far as replacing the gfi with a regular outlet, remember when you do you open yourself up to liability, legal liability. The codes were written for a reason.

That said, so does the person who told you to do it.

adding a recepticle dedicated to the freezer gets around all those issues.

Fixed!