More dehumidifier trouble

markshan

Sir Thrift a Lot
My dehumidifier powers up, fan runs but when the compressor goes to kick on it trips my GFI. This is (of course) a new behavior. Any ideas what I should check? TIA
 
First - my suggestion: new thread, this is an active thread.
second - try a different GFI - they can get squirrely.

The unit I bought to replace it has no issue on that circuit. Even though I bought another, I would still like to fix this one if it's not over my head as I could use two.
 
A GFI is supposed to detect an imbalance between what goes out to the load and what comes back from the load. In a perfect world what comes back would be the same as what went out. However, the world ain't ways perfect. A difference is considered leakage. For the typical GFI in the home the threshold is 6mA to trip.

Unless there is something visibly obvious, the source of the leakage may be elusive. Could be wiring/insulation, a leaky cap, moisture where it doesn't belong, etc.
 
Unless there is something visibly obvious, the source of the leakage may be elusive. Could be wiring/insulation, a leaky cap, moisture where it doesn't belong, etc.
I would lean toward leaky cap out of those possibilities. This was on the first start up of spring, so I don't think it was moisture related, and it hadn't been moved, so I don't strongly suspect wiring/insulation. Thanks for the observations, they are appreciated.

Would you try to run in on a non-GFI and see what happens or would you proceed with tearing it down?
 
If it's just the GFI tripping, not the overcurrent protection, I don't know what there would be to learn by plugging into a non-GFI.

Not sure what I'd do. Maybe I'd give it a cursory teardown and visual just to see if there was anything obvious. If nothing stood out it'd probably go to the recycling center on Wednesday.
 
Refrigeration units don't get along with GFCI devices very well. I would just use it on a plain circuit. My dad had to take his freezer in the basement off the GFCI breaker because it was faulting. Brand new freezer. The guy at the electrical supply store said that is common.
 
Bear in mind, sorry if it's repeat, you'd be looking for something that would cause leakage to the equipment grounding/out of the circuit. Leakage from hot to neutral shouldn't cause the GFI to trip because in and out currents would still be equal. The GFI has to think current is leaving the normal hot to neutral circuit path to trip out.
 
Bear in mind, sorry if it's repeat, you'd be looking for something that would cause leakage to the equipment grounding/out of the circuit. Leakage from hot to neutral shouldn't cause the GFI to trip because in and out currents would still be equal. The GFI has to think current is leaving the normal hot to neutral circuit path to trip out.
Thanks, I appreciate it. I know nothing about GFI.
 
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