Whirlpool contractor disagrees with experts
Q: Please help me resolve the debate I’m having with a local electrician and a home inspector. I have a small business installing bathtub whirlpool systems. For added safety, I use plastic pipe to prevent electrical connections between the tub and the pump equipment. On several occasions, electricians or home inspectors have faulted my installations for lack of a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). I’ve explained to them that plastic piping cannot conduct electricity from the pump to the tub, but they insists that GFCI protection is required to prevent electric shock. How can I convince them that plastic pipe makes these systems safe without adding a GFCI outlet? — Jim
A:
Sorry to let you down, but the gold medal goes to the electricians and home inspectors. As you apparently know, ground fault circuit interrupters are designed to prevent injury or death from electric shock by shutting off the power when there is a short circuit to ground. Common sense demands this type of protection when bathtubs are connected to electrical equipment.
The use of plastic pipe to prevent electrical transmission between a tub and pump seems practical at first glance, but you’ve overlooked a crucial consideration: The water itself can conduct electricity. Unless your customers are bathing in distilled water, that is critical. Dissolved minerals render common tap water highly conductive, just as the liquid in your car’s battery. If a water leak should ever occur inside the whirlpool pump, the bathwater in the tub could be energized with 110 volts, with electrifying consequences to the unsuspecting bather.
The logical and practical solution is to install a simple and inexpensive GFCI outlet in the power supply to each of the whirlpool systems you install. The additional cost for materials is approximately $15. By including this added protection for your customers, you will not only resolve your conflicts with electricians and home inspectors, you’ll reduce your professional liability, while maintaining legal compliance with the National Electrical Code.
Q: Last week, I was reviewing an old home inspection report that was prepared when I purchased my house. One item that caught my attention was a notation about 20-amp circuits in the main electrical panel. I’ve had to reset the circuit breakers on numerous occasions and have noticed that all of the breakers are labeled “15 amps.” How can a home inspector make such an obvious mistake? — Edward
A:
It may be that your electrical system is wired with 20-amp circuit wiring, even though the breakers are rated at only 15 amps. This would be an unusual wiring installation, probably not the work of a qualified electrician, and could account for the frequent tripping of your breakers. It could also explain the comment in the home inspection report. A condition of this kind is not necessarily unsafe, but it would tend to be a source of ongoing inconvenience. Have your service panel evaluated by a licensed electrician. If the wires are in fact rated for 20-amp capacity, changing to 20 amp breakers should solve your problem.