we are selling our wonderful lake home in MN and wouldnt you know some smart aleck home inspector came over and found this GFCI on my exterior which does not function correctly. well i knew that because i wired the whole house and happened to run this GFCI on to the ceiling fan dimmer. GFCI doesnt like that. whenever i turn the dimmer the GFCI ‘clicks’ and eventually trips, well i didnt care because i just left the dimmer alone and then we are ok but now its an issue. so i have two circuits in the box and i will switch to a different power conductor but that one already has kitchen lights (9 of them), and one exterior light, and two outlets on it. to make matters worse the ex light is on three way and i have headache enough with them without trying to rewire. then i will simply disconnect the conductor coming from the GFCI…and Voila!! i dont want to try to use formulas to figure out if this is feasible…im not smart enough. just hoping somebody who is really an electrica’l rock star could say ‘hey should probably be ok’ or ‘no way jack, hey dont even try it’
thanks for any input
mike in MN
Sounds like the person buying the house would be better served if you fixed everything to code. Are the two receptacles on with the kitchen lights in the kitchen?
yes the receps are with kitchen lights. actually they are in a kind of mini dining area. the actual kitchen area has two 20 amp circuits for outlets (to code). this was vintage lake cabin which i tore apart and put back together so there were some electrical headaches aplenty. i guess im pretty much looking for a will it work reasonably well answer…or will i be overloading and tripping the breaker anytime i plug in a vacuum while the ceiling fan is running and 9 lights are on? (worst case scenario example) To reiterate the inquiry more precisely: can a 15 amp circuit handle 9 lights, a ceiling fan running, and a heavy temporary load (eg vacuum)?
9 lights eh?
Incandecent?
CFL?
LED?
Sorry but you can’t get away from doing the math.
they are incandescent. and it is usually a battle with my wife to turn any off. and the ceiling fan is always on. so if this dramatic scenerio is playing out…and i plug in the vacuum, i wonder if the breaker will pop.
9 x .5 amps (60 watt incandescent)= 4.5 amps
Ceiling fan motor 300 watts? So another 3 amps
Vacuum 8-12 amps more at startup. It would be sketchy at best.
Travis
Doesn’t matter if there are 9 or 90 lights on with the kitchen receptacles, they are not permitted on the small appliance branch circuits that are required for powering wall and kitchen countertop receptacles.
Michael, as professional home inspectors most of us recommend repairs/upgrades are also performed by professionals of their trade, especially when it comes to electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc.
I’d assume you make such recommendations in your reports. In this situation it may be wise to hire a qualified electrician.
A standard receptacle should not be controlled by a dimmer. Sounds like a lot of non compliant issues.
Just my 2 cents, since this was a DIY job you should hire a professional and fix all of the non-complaint issues.
Hire a licensed electrician. I can’t make heads or tales what you are trying to say. Actually I just stopped reading since I thought you should hire an electrician to go trouble shoot and repair as needed.
I just booked the inspection on your home for Thursday! This should be interesting. 
That would be interesting!
Yes, it will be! 
Take the ceiling fan off the speed control and dimmer. Install a regular switch and then install a receiver in the fan canopy for an after market remote. $25.00 for all the material you need.
Jeff