What makes a pump trip a GFCI?

[1DeR9_3Hy]

A buddy who owns a store gave me a large box of 11 pumps, told me they were all duds but he didn't personally check them. He said if i find any that work i could use it for my 'water moving project' i am working on.

I went through the whole box, they were all duds...but it made me wonder. What is going on inside a motor when it trips a GFCI? I had a few do it just now, and i am pretty curious.

 

[jmski333]

if i'm not mistaken it is when the neutral touches the ground and obviously when the Hot touches the ground and or neutral. But if the pump works but trips up the GFI every once n' awhile i believe (dont quote me) that it is when the ground touches the neutral. hence Ground Fault Interrupter.

 

[1DeR9_3Hy]

None of these turned, not even a hummm...just plug them in then a click from the GFCI switching.

 

[mutateddogbone]

GFI's actually work when there is an unbalanced load on the GFI. say if voltage is leaking and grounds out before passing back to the GFI, it will cause it to trip. either the pump is too much for the GFI to handle or you have too many things plugged into 1 GFI, or the pump itself is bad

 

[1DeR9_3Hy]

GFI's actually work when there is an unbalanced load on the GFI. say if voltage is leaking and grounds out before passing back to the GFI, it will cause it to trip. either the pump is too much for the GFI to handle or you have too many things plugged into 1 GFI, or the pump itself is bad

In this case, its a 40-50 watt pump and its the only thing plugged into the circuit. Im just trying to figure out what the physical cause of this is.

 

[mutateddogbone]

could have gotten water in the socket from plugging and unplugging pumps. or it could just be a bad GFCI

 

[1DeR9_3Hy]

Nah, the pumps are dry and i use the circuit daily for my coffee maker/toaster/cell phone charger.

Im not worried about the pumps, im just curious what makes a pump fresh from the factory do this. The pumps were given to me for free, and are bound for the dumpster tonight.

 

[cwilsrs]

The pump is probably seized and it is trying to suck too much power to move. If there was no breaker, it would just get hot until it caught fire.

 

[Sea-nut]

Does it do that in the water or out of the water also? Does the pump works if you plug it in to a regular outlet ? There must be either a short inside or the housing is not sealed.

 

[mcgyvr]

internal shorts only a gfci is not a breaker..thats it

 

[nissannx]

gfci is motor sensitive so the motor is binding or there is a short. open it up and see.

 

[Tang Salad]

gfci is motor sensitive

How so?