Are most electrical circuits in a house run in series?
In other words, cable starts at the breaker, goes to first outlet, then to second outlet, then to third outlet, etc?

My house was built in 2005 and has a circuit that has . . .
*a GFCI outlet in the garage (closest to the breaker box),
*a regular outlet (next closest to the box, but on the opposite side of the garage),
*two outdoor outlets (furthest from the box).

Is it likely that the cable runs from the box to the GFCI and then to the regular outlet?
And then on to the outdoor outlets?

I want to add a new circuit that will carry just the regular outlet in the garage (where my spare refrigerator is plugged in).

Should it be fairly easy to find the cables in the attic and get that one outlet onto it's own circuit?

Yes it is most likely wired from the GFI to other garage outlet to exterior outlets. You will need to run a new cable from the panel to the fridge outlet location, then splice the existing wires in the back of the box. Lastly you will need to replace the standard outlet with a GFI outlet.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
Lastly you will need to replace the standard outlet with a GFI outlet.

I thought it was okay for a garage fridge outlet to not be GFCI since they sometimes false. Has this changed?

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Originally posted by radioman:

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
Lastly you will need to replace the standard outlet with a GFI outlet.

I thought it was okay for a garage fridge outlet to not be GFCI since they sometimes false. Has this changed?

There use to be an exception for a dedicated fridge circuit with a single receptacle. That exception has been removed.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

There use to be an exception for a dedicated fridge circuit with a single receptacle. That exception has been removed.

And I would remove the GFCI from the refrigerator/freezer application.

Trip the GFCI and see if any outlets go dead . Regardless of code , I would not have a fridge on a GFCI protected circuit .

The simple, old school, way to determine if a GFCI controls other outlets is to plug a lamp or radio (or anything that goes on and off when plugged in) and use the trip, or test, button on the GFCI to kill it.
Plug your lamp (or whatever) into the GFCI receptacle and turn it on. Is it on? Good.
Now trip the GFCI using it's TEST button.
Did the light go out? If it did, unplug it from the GFCI and take it to the receptacle(s) in question.
Did it light up? If not, walk over and reset the GFCI. Is it on now? Yes?
Congratulations, you have just used a common household item to determine if a particular outlet is on a particular circuit.
You can use this method to find out which outlets or lighting is controlled by a specific circuit breaker as well, just be aware that when you begin flipping circuit breakers on and off, without knowing what they control, you can accidentally kill power to your PC, or TV, or etc, so be prepared for that.
Also, it is important to see or hear that whatever you are are switching on or off does so at the moment that you switch it in order to be sure that it is you that is controlling it and not something, or someone, else.

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Regardless of code , I would not have a fridge on a GFCI protected circuit .

Hear, hear!

quote:

Originally posted by FRANKT:

quote:

Regardless of code , I would not have a fridge on a GFCI protected circuit .

Hear, hear!

Luckily there are no garage police and no code enforcing ninjas to sneak in under the cover of night and bust anyone.

To be up to code it needs a GFI. No one will know, and as long as he doesn't go running in the sprinklers and open the freezer to grab a freezy pop with wet feet or go in there barefoot after a long rain while the unit has a ground fault he will be safe.

A modern fridge in good working order will not trip a GFI. A lightening storm, failed GFI, or power company surge may trip it this is the reason why people don't want a fridge on a GFI. It sucks to loose a fridge full of food, personally I'd just put a GFI in and only store drinks and ice in it. Some may choose to forgo the GFI, I'll trust that there's a reason the code exists and take advantage of the life safety device.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by FRANKT:

quote:

Regardless of code , I would not have a fridge on a GFCI protected circuit .

Hear, hear!

Luckily there are no garage police and no code enforcing ninjas to sneak in under the cover of night and bust anyone.

To be up to code it needs a GFI. No one will know, and as long as he doesn't go running in the sprinklers and open the freezer to grab a freezy pop with wet feet or go in there barefoot after a long rain while the unit has a ground fault he will be safe.

A modern fridge in good working order will not trip a GFI. A lightening storm, failed GFI, or power company surge may trip it this is the reason why people don't want a fridge on a GFI. It sucks to loose a fridge full of food, personally I'd just put a GFI in and only store drinks and ice in it. Some may choose to forgo the GFI, I'll trust that there's a reason the code exists and take advantage of the life safety device.

Moving from the garage to the kitchen --- does the kitchen 'fridge require a GFCI these days too if it's on the same wall as the sink, etc.?

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by FRANKT:

quote:

Regardless of code , I would not have a fridge on a GFCI protected circuit .

Hear, hear!

Luckily there are no garage police and no code enforcing ninjas to sneak in under the cover of night and bust anyone.

To be up to code it needs a GFI. No one will know, and as long as he doesn't go running in the sprinklers and open the freezer to grab a freezy pop with wet feet or go in there barefoot after a long rain while the unit has a ground fault he will be safe.

A modern fridge in good working order will not trip a GFI. A lightening storm, failed GFI, or power company surge may trip it this is the reason why people don't want a fridge on a GFI. It sucks to loose a fridge full of food, personally I'd just put a GFI in and only store drinks and ice in it. Some may choose to forgo the GFI, I'll trust that there's a reason the code exists and take advantage of the life safety device.

Moving from the garage to the kitchen --- does the kitchen 'fridge require a GFCI these days too if it's on the same wall as the sink, etc.?

No. As far as I know you still don't need one for kitchen fridge.

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Trip the GFCI and see if any outlets go dead

Yes, when the GFCI gets tripped the 'fridge in the other outlet quits running.
Lost a bunch of food this past summer when it tripped and I didn't notice it.

The weird thing is . . . the only thing currently plugged into the GFCI is a power strip.
And plugged into the power strip is the 4' fluorescent shop light hanging over my work bench.
When I use the switch on the power strip to turn off the light (there is no switch on the light itself) it pops the GFCI.

Is that the power strip letting a surge go back down the line to the GFCI?
Or the fluorescent light sending a surge back to the GFCI?
Or some other issue?

If I unplug the light from the power strip and then turn off the strip, it does NOT trip the GFCI.

^^^

does the power strip have surge protection in it?? If so, it could be the leakage path.

The GFCI simply looks at the current on the hot and neutral, and if they differ by a small amount, the GFCI trips. Except for weird circumstances (like a CB radio right next to it), it takes having a path to ground for a small portion of the current for the thing to trip.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
^^^

does the power strip have surge protection in it?? If so, it could be the leakage path.

The GFCI simply looks at the current on the hot and neutral, and if they differ by a small amount, the GFCI trips. Except for weird circumstances (like a CB radio right next to it), it takes having a path to ground for a small portion of the current for the thing to trip.

This is the question I ask potential hires. How does a GFI work. 75% of electricians don't know what a GFI does. Very good explanation.

You sir have won some internet points.

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does the power strip have surge protection in it??

No, its just a cheap, switched power strip.
There is no reset button or breaker on the power strip itself.
Voltage 'leak' back thru the strip?

Do fluorescent tubes 'hold' current or a charge after they've been switched off, even for just a fraction of a second?
I've been using the "Unplug" method mentioned in my post above, to avoid tripping the GFCI.
A couple of times I've unplugged the light and touched the prongs of the plug.
The light is UNPLUGGED, but I've gotten a slight shock from the plug.
Is that unusual? Or typical for fluorescent tubes?

I don't know the answer to your Florescent question, other than don't touch it if it shocks you and maybe consider switching over to LED.
Here's what I would do if I were you.

Leave the existing set up just as it is and add a dedicated refrigerator circuit so that there are no loads except the fridge on it. From there you can split off whichever direction you want.

Put in standard outlet in violation of the code with no chance of GFI tripping, then switch to GFI outlet before you sell the house. The danger level is minimal and near zero if you wear rubber soled shoes and don't touch other grounded items while accessing fridge. You would also need a very specific and unusual failure within the fridge to even be dangerous anyways. How many stories of lost loved ones from grabbing a frosty drink have you heard? I haven't heard of any.

The other option is simply follow the code and do it right. Since you now have a new dedicated outlet nothing but EMI/induced voltage, power company problems, or bad fridge will trip a new GFI. You can also install an Alarm GFI, that way you know when it has tripped. This is what I use for my customers who want to be code compliant and not loose their food.

"hold" current? I believe that is what the florescent ballast actually does, as in an old CRT tv that will knock you down even after it is unplugged.

I'm not an electrician but if I were running a dedicated circuit for a refrigerator in my garage there is NO way I would install a GFCI outlet. No need for it and so no reason to risk a false trip and come home to spoiled food.

Thank you all for the advice.
I really do appreciate it.
Guess i'll head to the attic and start tracking down the cables/circuits.