A recently renovated house has GFCI outlets throughout the kitchen, EXCEPT for the two outlets that are within 1’ of the sink. The electrical work was done all at the same time, and by the same electrician.
Should I look for a GFCI circuit breaker? It seems hard to believe that any electrician would put non-GFCI outlets within 1’ of a sink.
What does a GFCI circuit breaker look like? Are they commonly used?
Okay, I’ve partly answered my own question. It seems that GFCI circuit breakers have a test button and reset button, just like GFCI outlets. It doesn’t have one of those.
If the outlets by the sink are on the same circuit as the other GFCI outlets, they are protected, is that correct? Shouldn’t there be some kind of labelling on the outlet that it is GFCI protected in this fashion? No way to tell by casaul observance that two outlets are on the same circuit.
Are you sure they’re not protected by wiring them through the load side of the GFCI receptacles that are there? That’s what I’d rather believe. Trip the GFCI’s you can find there in the kitchen, and see if the one’s in question next to the sink go dead. Better yet, plug in a GFCI tetser in the one’s next to the sink, press the test button, and see if a GFCI someplace trips.
Nathan: you are correct about the breakers.
Standard outlets can be “daisy chained” off of a GFCI outlet and are not necessarily marked. Use your GFCI test button on the outlets that should be GFCI protected and they should trip the GFI outlet that they are connected to. They may not be the closest one and sometimes you might have to look for the GFCI outlet that it is wired to. But they should be protected at that distance.
Recently renovated should have brought the kitchen circuitry up to the current Code. This would require the 2 20-amp small applaince circuits and the GFI protection of all the receptacles serving the countertops.
With that said it does not mean that everything happens that should.
GFI protection should be at the head of the circuit, so, if you have two 20 amp circuits in the kitchen, you should only need two 20 amp GFI outlets.
If you have more than two, you either have more than 2 circuits, or someone doesn’t understand how GFI outlets/breakers work.
Think of the GFI outlet as a light switch. No matter how many lights are hooked up to that switch, when you turn off the switch (the GFI outlet or breaker trips), all of the lights go off.
There doesn’t have to be a GFI outlet near the sink. Those outlets are most likely, or should be, protected upstream.
This may help: http://www.magnuminspections.com/GFI.htm
Remember
We inspect only with our eye - not test equipment
We also know that times have changed and a GFCI tester plus some other items are a must
Check out the InterNACHI electrical course – required
It will help
rlb
So, I flipped the GFCI test switch on the other outlets in the room, and the seemingly unprotected outlets by the sink no longer had power. So, it appears that the “unprotected” outlets are on the same circuit as other GFCI protected outlets in the room, and are therefore protected.