Fuse for 38FBD 1/2 bath

[todalake]

Where is the fuse for the 1/2 bath wall socket in CC38FD? Don't see one labeled in fuse pane(in bedroom)l. Is there another fuse panel? What size is it? Have small chest freezer in place of the 1/2 bath. Worked last year but this year circuit is dead. Can I up fuse to 5 amp? Thanks

Update. Took freezer outside and plugged it to outside connection and didn't work. Hmmm, maybe outside socket not working. Tried a fan, no go. Tried inside basement socket, fan no go. But I see these 2 are both gfi labeled but no button to push. Knowing gfi is usually for bathroom, I tried gfi socket in bathroom and fan is a no go. BUT it has a button reset, push it and reset gfi. Fan works, now outside socket works, and freezer is working. But since it had rotten food in it(sit dead for 3 weeks) will pitch and get new freezer. So both bathrooms and outside sockets on same circuit. Free freezer stocked with aged chicken and beef.

[SeaDog]

I would call this a learning experience yes most of the plugs are on the same circuit protected by one GFI. Normally things like freezers and frig should not be plugged into GFI circuits for the reason you experienced.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by todalake

Where is the fuse for the 1/2 bath wall socket in CC38FD? Don't see one labeled in fuse pane(in bedroom)l. Is there another fuse panel? What size is it? Have small chest freezer in place of the 1/2 bath. Worked last year but this year circuit is dead. Can I up fuse to 5 amp? Thank.

All that you're talking about, run on 110v AC, NOT 12v DC.
So they are on circuit breakers, NOT fuses.
Only 12v DC things have fuses.
Your circuit panel should have one side for AC breakers and another side for 12v fuses.

[todalake]

Thanks for the help. Two other persons I talked to confirmed that never plug freezer to gfi circuit. How do i reroute gfi circuit in 1/2 bath that I converted to closet to a non gfi circuit? Want to leave small freezer in former 1/2 bath room.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by todalake

Thanks for the help. Two other persons I talked to confirmed that never plug freezer to gfi circuit. How do i reroute gfi circuit in 1/2 bath that I converted to closet to a non gfi circuit? Want to leave small freezer in former 1/2 bath room.

The GFI outlet (as you have learned), also protects two downstream outlets. It is a fairly simple matter to move one wire behind the GFI outlet, so the other two are no longer protected from ground faults. (They will still be protected from overcurrent by the circuit breaker.)

It would be no big deal to change the wiring if it were just the freezer outlet. But if you were to make the change, both the freezer outlet and the outside outlet would be unprotected.

I do feel your pain. We run a dehumidifier in the never-used shower and plug it into the GFI outlet. When we returned to the trailer two weeks ago, the GFI had tripped. (It must have been very shortly before we arrived, though, because the inside relative humidity was way lower than outside, even though it was warmer inside.)

Larry

[SeaDog]

Originally Posted by todalake

Thanks for the help. Two other persons I talked to confirmed that never plug freezer to gfi circuit. How do i reroute gfi circuit in 1/2 bath that I converted to closet to a non gfi circuit? Want to leave small freezer in former 1/2 bath room.

What you could do is add a receptacle in the closet upstream of the GFI. That way the added receptacle would not be on the GFI leg and you would still have the protection to the outside plugs and what ever else was on the circuit.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by SeaDog

What you could do is add a receptacle in the closet upstream of the GFI. That way the added receptacle would not be on the GFI leg and you would still have the protection to the outside plugs and what ever else was on the circuit.

Good thought...as long as the outlet can be located at least 6 feet from the nearest water. If I understand the OP's post, there's no water since the 1/2 bath option was not selected.

Here's what he could do:
Turn off the breaker (not fuse) to the GFI outlet. Test that it's off.
Take off the cover to the GFI outlet.
Remove the two mounting screws to the GFI outlet and determine whether the feed to the outlet enters from top or bottom.
Install one of these (https://www.amazon.com/RV-Designer-S...=fsclp_pl_dp_1) by cutting a hole above/below the GFI outlet, so as to intercept the feed into the GFI outlet. Make sure the hole is no bigger than necessary. This device clamps onto the NM cable (Romex) so no additional wire length is needed. Just follow the directions that come with the device. No junction box is required. Make sure the outlet is facing the right way when clamping it to the NM cable.

Larry

[todalake]

Bear with me on this. Only one gfi outlet with gfi reset button in main bathroom. The 2 outside outlets have gfi label on them but no reset button. The 1/2 bath(now closet) had no label on it. However when gfi in bathroom tripped none of the outlets had power. Does a gfi outlet have to have a reset button or just one in the circuit have one. Could the closet outlet with freezer on it trip the gfi circuit? Can I replace the outlet in closet with standard outlet? If bathroom gfi trips, will my closet outlet work? My thinking is that the 4 outlets are all on same circuit. Tested and verified that. That simply changing out one outlet to standard will not solve problem if something trips the other gfi. The freezer now plugged into the standard outlet would no longer trip the gfi tho. Not a electrician tho, my redneck idea is to run heavy appliance extension cord from washer/dryer closet beside it. Cut a hole between closets for cord. Maybe later put standard outlet there if deep enough.

[Larry-NC]

[QUOTE=todalake;2128737My thinking is that the 4 outlets are all on same circuit. Tested and verified that. That simply changing out one outlet to standard will not solve problem if something trips the other gfi. The freezer now plugged into the standard outlet would no longer trip the gfi tho. Not a electrician tho, my redneck idea is to run heavy appliance extension cord from washer/dryer closet beside it. Cut a hole between closets for cord. Maybe later put standard outlet there if deep enough.[/QUOTE]
Thought this was explained. Let's try again.

GFI outlets used to be very expensive--$75 back in the 1970s. So they have a sharing feature: They can be wired such that all downstream outlets are also protected. If any of the outlets has a fault, the GFI trips and all of the outlets lose power.

Another reason for installing them this way is that the GFI outlets (plus box) are deeper than the trailer walls. By daisy-chaining them in this manner, only one outlet has to be mounted with a surface extension but all are protected.

Let me try to answer your questions one at a time.

Originally Posted by todalake

Bear with me on this. Only one gfi outlet with gfi reset button in main bathroom. The 2 outside outlets have gfi label on them but no reset button. The 1/2 bath(now closet) had no label on it. However when gfi in bathroom tripped none of the outlets had power.

Right. All of these outlets are daisy-chained from the one with the Test and Reset buttons, even if they forgot to put a sticker on one of them.

Originally Posted by todalake

Does a gfi outlet have to have a reset button or just one in the circuit have one.

Just one. The first one in the chain, wired directly to the circuit breaker.

Originally Posted by todalake

Could the closet outlet with freezer on it trip the gfi circuit?

Yes, any of the outlets downstream from the GFI can/will trip the GFI. That's the whole point of the downstream feature--only need expensive outlet that sticks out above the surface.

It is also possible, for example, that a heavy rain caused moisture on the outside outlet and that tripped the GFI, disabling the freezer.

Originally Posted by todalake

Can I replace the outlet in closet with standard outlet?

It already is a standard outlet. And it can trip the GFI, just as the other two could. The point of the "feature" is that all the outlets wired after the GFI on the chain are inexpensive standard outlets. Only one expensive, thick GFI outlet is needed.

Originally Posted by todalake

If bathroom gfi trips, will my closet outlet work?

No. The symptom you are seeing may have nothing to do with this outlet. Any outlet (this one or the bathroom, kitchen, or outdoor outlets) trips the GFI. The real problem is that when they made your closet, they wired the closet outlet through the GFI as they usually do for a 1/2 bath, instead of putting it on another circuit. An error at the factory.

Originally Posted by todalake

My thinking is that the 4 outlets are all on same circuit. Tested and verified that. That simply changing out one outlet to standard will not solve problem if something trips the other gfi.

Correct. The freezer outlet is already standard. Nothing you change for a simple fix.

It would be possible to change the wiring at the GFI so that NONE of the downstream outlets could trip it, but that leaves the kitchen, bathroom, and outside outlets unprotected. That's dangerous; don't do it.

Originally Posted by todalake

The freezer now plugged into the standard outlet would no longer trip the gfi tho.

Nope. The freezer is already on a standard outlet. Nothing would change from what you have now.

One way to get what you want is that if an electrician could replace the cable from the GFI to the freezer outlet from "2-wire plus ground" to "3-wire plus ground" and make the right connections, the freezer outlet would not be disabled when the GFI trips but the other outlets would still be protected. You would have to put the freezer outlet in an extended box on the surface, like the GFI.

Two qualifications:
1) If the freezer outlet is the first one downstream from the GFI this is easy. It gets trickier (not impossible) if it's not first.
2) If the cables from the GFI and freezer outlet run down, through the trailer floor, this is easy. If they run up and across the roof, it's very difficult.

Originally Posted by todalake

my redneck idea is to run heavy appliance extension cord from washer/dryer closet beside it. Cut a hole between closets for cord. Maybe later put standard outlet there if deep enough.

You could do this. An electrician might be able to do it more nicely by running cable down from the washer/dryer outlet, beneath the floor, and up to a outlet in the freezer closet, if there's enough cable slack in the washer-dryer area. Always good if you can get a professional-looking result.

Larry