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View Full Version : Reset for bathrom GFCI is in garage


Terry Beck
11-14-2014, 01:04 AM
1992 home - Tested bathroom outlet, assumed it shared GFCI protection with the upstairs bathroom. Eventually found the reset receptacle behind a freezer in the attached garage. I know that in early days of GFCI requirements, it would be common for a GFCI breaker at the panel to protect both bathroom and exterior outlets. More recent code of course states that no other outlets should share the bathroom circuit, but don't know when that changed. I don't see it as a real safety issue, just an annoyance when you can't find the reset location. It would make more sense to me if the reset for the garage outlet was in the bathroom. Would you write it up, and if so, under what condition?
Jack Feldmann
11-14-2014, 05:34 AM
Its very common in my area that the garage GFCI will control not only the garage, but exterior and bathroom outlets. Sometimes the GFCI in the downstairs powder room control the bathroom outlets on the 2nd floor.
I don't care so much where the reset is, I care about the protection of the outlets that need it.

The reset for arc fault protected outlets in bedrooms is in the panel. The panel may be in the garage, outside, in the basement, crawlspace............
Jim Port
11-14-2014, 07:08 AM
An option would be to wire additional gfis using the line terminals only.

There is no hazard as it currently is configured. How often do you think a gfi will ever need to be reset?
Jerry Peck
11-14-2014, 11:31 AM
An option would be to wire additional gfis using the line terminals only.

There is no hazard as it currently is configured. How often do you think a gfi will ever need to be reset?

Usually only when there is a party downstairs and you are just out of the shower ... and the GFCI is in the garage ... that's about the time one gets :mad2: .

As I recall, and without referring back to the code, it was the 1995 NEC which required the bathroom outlets to be separate from the others, so until then it would be common to find that every GFCI protected receptacle was controlled by the garage GFCI.

One can make every GFCI protected outlet a GFCI receptacle by doing as Jim said and wiring each as bypass instead of feed-through.