outdoor power outlet keeps tripping

[alisa1965]

A couple of years ago, I had problems with my power outlet to the pond. I have the outlet (15 amp) set in a outlet box specifically designed for outdoor use. It is off the ground and it is weatherproof. It had started tripping and everything in my pond would shut off. I was told to run it through a breaker attached to my garage which is 30 amp. Not sure how that would help but I did. It is still the power box followed by a breaker so the first thing that will go during a storm is that box. We did not have any issues for quite a while. We get thru the winter without issues even before switching to a breaker. Unfortunately, a month ago, it happened again. We had a storm which knocked out our power and, of course, tripped the breaker. I had to buy a new outlet, and that gets expensive after awhile. We were going great until last night. Another storm. No power outage. Just in case, I went into my garage and shut off the main breaker. The next morning, I reset the breaaker and the outlet does not work. What the heck am I supposed to do? There must be an easier (and less expensive) way to do this. Any ideas? I try to make sure all plugs are protected against the weather (plastic fake rocks etc). The images show the style of outlet and the type of box it is in. Again, these are both rated outdoor use.

 

[Waterbug]

I was told to run it through a breaker attached to my garage which is 30 amp.

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I didn't follow that. You mean you moved the wire from a 15 amp breaker to a 30 amp breaker?

It is still the power box followed by a breaker so the first thing that will go during a storm is that box.

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Not following this. To me there is an electric panel full of breakers, one of those breakers has a wire that goes to the outlet which I assume is a GFI outlet. So the breaker in the panel can trip and the GFI outlet can trip. I don't understand "power box" followed by a breaker. By power box do you mean the box the outlet is in? And "go out" means the GFI trips and you have to push the "reset" button to get it to work?

Pictures of your actual electrical panel breakers and the outlet up would help.

 

[alisa1965]

To clear things up, the pond accessories are plugged into a GFCI 15 amp weather resistant outlet that is contained within a box to protect it. Like this image. This has a reset button. That is what trips. From there, my contractor placed underground wires to run into the garage into a 30 amp breaker. I understand that the pond is the first thing that will attract severe weather and that the 15 amp will go first. I was just wondering what I can do to prevent this because the 15 amp is expensive to constantly replace whenever there is a storm. I am thinking I may have to shut down all power to my pond every night or before leaving for vacation but that is shutting down my filters as well.

 

[sissy]

Then there has to be a short some where or moisture getting in some where .Are you sure it is hooked up right copper to copper screw and silver to silver screw.Easy to test with a tester you plug into the outlet ,you can buy it anywhere and good to have around the home and not expensive .Has 3 lights on it and plugs into the outlet and if the lights come on right it is right .There could be a loose wire or wire cap not tight enough .When I put my wire caps on I always wrap them with electrical tape ,one little step but makes the whole job safer .It could be when the outlet is pushed back into the box something is touching .How old is your house could it have the dreaded aluminum wiring in the house .That will cause fires as it overheats the wires and that can trip wires .

 

[ididntdoit99]

Why do you have to replace it every time there is a storm? I'm so confused... it trips, you reset it, why do you have to replace it?

 

[alisa1965]

It trips and I reset it but it constantly trips. It does not stay reset once I plug in my cords. The only thing that might be causing an issue is I have 3 prong plug adapter. Either water is getting in there or I have too much on the 15 amp outlet. The home is 1996 and nothing wrong as I can tell with my wiring. It is just strange this only happens mostly during storms, not just a normal rain, and not in winter.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Best thing to do is go to a hardware store, or better yet, a electronics store and carefully describe your problem and show them the GFI outlet, and ask what the problem is and can they recomend how to fix the problem. I think the problem as Sissy suggested, it's just getting moisture in there and tripping, that's what they are designed to do. They do go bad sometimes, but we can't tell that from here.

 

[Waterbug]

In general...
GFI outlets don't generally last forever. Moisture, heat (sun), lots of trips can reduce life imo.

You can replace the breaker in the panel with a GFI breaker. About $100. These are built to be outdoors. The deal of putting an indoor GFI outlet outside is allowed when these weather tight boxes are used...but they're not completely weather tight. You can use plug caps to fill unused outlets so less moisture gets in thru the holes. Might help a little. Anything you can do to protect the box will help.

With the GFI breaker in the panel you can use regular 15 or 20 amp outlets rated for 30 amp pass thru. These last a lot longer outdoors.

Your case...
The short (sorry) answer is you should have an electrician look at it. I say that because it's unusual to have GFI outlets on a 30 amp circuit. I'm used to seeing two 15 or 20 amp circuits run instead of a single 30 amp. Makes little sense to me.

Most 15 amp outlets are rated for 20 amp pass thru as long as more than one 15 amp outlet is on the circuit. A 15 amp outlet with a 30 amp pass thru would be unusual, I assume they exist. So I'd be wondering if the wrong outlet is being used. The pass thru issue can cause trips depending on what's plugged in where and when devices turn on and off.

 

[ididntdoit99]

You said you have a three prong plug adapter, can you post a picture?.. not sure what you mean.

are you using both outlets on the GFI?

looking at your picture, if you arent using both outlets and you have to have the door propped open, you would want to plug that other outlet up like waterbug said, or get a different type of box like this to prevent rain from going into the other outlet if it is empty.

 

[sissy]

They sell those protectors if you have small children and cheap .I think she is talking about one of those extra plugs that have an end for a 2 way plug and the other end is 3 prong plug .Also are you maybe using an extention cord that is not rated for the usage it is intended for .All cords are rated for indoor out door and heavy and light duty .Also check the cord on what you are plugging in is there any damage to the cord or twisting of the cord from being stepped on .

 

[ididntdoit99]

That is what it sounded like to me too Sissy, not sure why you would need one? GFI have three prongs, all of your pumps should be grounded, so they would have three prongs. If your pump doesnt have three prongs, its not grounded and the GFI is useless anyway.

 

[sissy]

I still wonder about the power cord I would inspect it really good because if there is something wrong with that cord and you put your hands in the water you may get a bad surprise .Stepping on power cords is never good and even some cords can dry out and crack from weather changes .Next time it trips I would plug something else in it after you reset it and if it does not trip then that tells you the cord is bad on the item tripping it .

 

[Waterbug]

If your pump doesnt have three prongs, its not grounded and the GFI is useless anyway.

GFI doesn't use the ground at all, it only monitors the hot and neutral. The breaker at the panel also doesn't use the ground to trip. The ground is a separate type of protection. It can be involved sometimes in causing a trip of either breaker, but isn't required.

 

[ididntdoit99]

Yeah your right, you dont need to be grounded to use the gfi, but thats besides the point.
If your are plugging in a two prong cord to a GFI, why would you need an adapter?
Not to mention who sells a pump made to go into water that isnt grounded, unless its a very small fountain pump?

 

[Bullfrog]

If the GFI outlet keeps tripping, something is going to ground somewhere. You mentioned a storm, rain running past an unprotected plug or any other active circuit, the GFI senses this drop and throws it's switch, that's what it is for. Let's say that where your pump, lights or anything else is plugged in gets wet in a driving rain and a connection is made, however minute to the ground, it will cut off. The answer may be as simple as building a larger cover, or shield over this outlet, like a small wooden bucket inverted over it to shield it from driving rain. Just a random thought, see below for detailed information about the GFI.

That outlet is called a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). It's there to protect people from electrical shock, so it is completely different from a fuse.
The question on appliance plugs talks about fuses. The idea behind a fuse is to protect a house from an electrical fire. If the hot wire were to accidentally touch the neutral wire for some reason (say, because a mouse chews through the insulation, or someone drives a­ nail through the wire while hanging a picture, or the vacuum cleaner sucks up an outlet cord and cuts it), an incredible amount of current will flow through the circuit and start heating it up like one of the coils in atoaster. The fuse heats up faster than the wire and burns out before the wire can start a fire.
A GFCI is much more subtle. When you look at a normal 120-volt outlet in the United States, there are two vertical slots and then a round hole centered below them. The left slot is slightly larger than the right. The left slot is called "neutral," the right slot is called "hot" and the hole below them is called "ground." If an appliance is working properly, all electricity that the appliance uses will flow from hot to neutral. A GFCI monitors the amount of current flowing from hot to neutral. If there is any imbalance, it trips the circuit. It is able to sense a mismatch as small as 4 or 5 milliamps, and it can react as quickly as one-thirtieth of a second.
So let's say you are outside with your power drill and it is raining. You are standing on the ground, and since the drill is wet there is a path from the hot wire inside the drill through you to ground (see How Power Distribution Grids Work for details on grounding). If electricity flows from hot to ground through you, it could be fatal. The GFCI can sense the current flowing through you because not all of the current is flowing from hot to neutral as it expects -- some of it is flowing through you to ground. As soon as the GFCI senses that, it trips the circuit and cuts off the electricity.