GFCI inconveniently located

I run tools of of an outlet in my garage, blower/vaccs, trimmers, drills, saws, etc. On occasion the circuit goes dead. I had a devil of a time locating the GFI to reset it. Had to buy a tine generator and traced the line to the other side of the house, to the basement, on the far wall, behind the HVAC system!

It is a bit inconvenient to make that trip if the GFCI pops. How difficult is it to relocate, if possible, the GFCI from its present location to the garage (maybe swap locations and put the standard outlet in the basement and the GFCI in the garage)?

Thanks,

Ferg

 

Welcome to the forums!

If the existing GFCI is in an unfinished part of your basement, and if the power goes from your panel to that outlet and then to your garage, then that GFCI needs to stay where it is. Here are some questions and suggestions.

• Is the existing GFCI in an unfinished part of your basement?
• Is the circuit 15A or 20A?
• How hard would it be to add one or more new circuits for your garage?
• One thought, if the circuit is 20A and if one 20A circuit is all you need, is to replace the breaker with a GFCI breaker and install all standard receptacles down the line.
• Another possibility is to change the connection for the cable feeding your garage to come from the LINE terminals on the existing GFCI receptacle and then install a new GFCI receptacle as the first device in your garage.
• Remember that every receptacle in your garage, including any in the ceiling, must have GFCI protection.

 

This is the simplest and easiest method to alleviate your immediate problem. What it doesn't do is fix the underlying reason why the GFCI is tripping in the first place.

I would make the wiring change and then test each and every one of your electric tools to find the one that causes the GFCI to trip and then figure out what is wrong with that tool.

 

Anther thing to remember...GFCI's don't trip on overload, but on ground fault. The GFCI is doing its job by detecting it. You have tools that create a ground fault, or the GFCI could be weak or bad.