Does an Intelliflo variable speed pump need a GFI breaker?

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M

mlawrence17

0
Aug 3, 2010
81
Charleston, South Carolina
My inspector seems to think that since Pentair doesn't state that my Intelliflo variable speed pump SHOULD NOT be on a GFI breaker, that I should go ahead and put it on one. He said some pumps require it, while some do not. I'm not trying to be cheap but.....$8 for a regular breaker vs. $115 for a GFI breaker is a big difference. I've seen a couple of installs of the same equipment down the street and they didn't use GFI breakers.

Any thoughts???
 
Re: Does an Intelliflo variable speed pump need a GFI breake

My electrician stated that it was code in Mass. (FYI I trust him)
Anything powered that comes in contact with the water you are swimming in should have it.

Pump
SWG
Lights
etc
 
Re: Does an Intelliflo variable speed pump need a GFI breake

mlawrence17 said:
My inspector seems to think that since Pentair doesn't state that my Intelliflo variable speed pump SHOULD NOT be on a GFI breaker, that I should go ahead and put it on one. He said some pumps require it, while some do not. I'm not trying to be cheap but.....$8 for a regular breaker vs. $115 for a GFI breaker is a big difference. I've seen a couple of installs of the same equipment down the street and they didn't use GFI breakers.

Any thoughts???
Click to expand...

Will anyone swim in your pool whose life you value at more than $107?

GFCI on the pump is a fairly new code addition. Worst case you waste $107. Best case it saves somebody's life.
 
Re: Does an Intelliflo variable speed pump need a GFI breake

use a GFI plug. they are just as effective, more cost effective and less prone to problems. I am an electrician, and it is known that GFI breakers are faulty. in my house I removed the breakers, and installed plugs on the circuit. which meets code requirement.
 
Re: Does an Intelliflo variable speed pump need a GFI breake

topher said:
use a GFI plug. they are just as effective, more cost effective and less prone to problems. I am an electrician, and it is known that GFI breakers are faulty. in my house I removed the breakers, and installed plugs on the circuit. which meets code requirement.
Click to expand...

A 220V GFCI outlet? Do they make such a thing?
 
Re: Does an Intelliflo variable speed pump need a GFI breake

topher said:
not that I have seen. but it was never stated as 220V - or may of missed it
Click to expand...


I think all of the variable speed pumps are 220.
 
Re: Does an Intelliflo variable speed pump need a GFI breake

You can get the Siemens/Murry 2P 220V/20A GFCI breakers for about $65 at Home Depot online. That's what I did, as I needed two. I also picked up a couple of 1P 120V/15A for about $35 from the local store. These seem to be about the best prices I could find, even online.
 

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Re: Does an Intelliflo variable speed pump need a GFI breake

220V GFI receptacles are available, just not common. They are also called RCD. Look around you may be able to find one. I am not an electrician but have done enough wiring that I prefer receptacles to GFI breakers. the only circuit I have where a GFI is needed that I used a breaker was the whirlpool tub in the bath where the receptacle is behind an access panel.
 
Re: Does an Intelliflo variable speed pump need a GFI breake

To me, the GFCI type breakers make the most sense in the EasyTouch panel. This is because they are an obvious place for someone to quickly shut down the pump circuit in an emergency. The NEC calls for a disconnect device near the pool, and if the obvious place to find the disconnect would be in the control panel, at least in my mind. The test button on the GFCI is a simple way to shut down a pump in an emergency. In addition, it makes wiring tidy. There really isn't space inside the panel to cleanly mount a GFCI outlet, and I'm not sure that standard 220V pool pumps are supposed to be wired with receptacles. I seem to recall an entry in the NEC stating this, although for AGPs with 120V pumps, I think it is still okay to wire them on a 120V GFCI receptacle with standard grounded cord.

Regardless, any GFCI is better than none.
 
Re: Does an Intelliflo variable speed pump need a GFI breake

Hi folks; kind of late jumping onto this thread ( a GFCI search took me here ), but I have been researching GFCI alternatives relative to replacing my Tristar with my new Ecostar. I found scads of 2-pole ( 230V ) GFCI circuit breakers for about $65 & up, but they ( obviously ) take up two slots in the load-center box. The secondary LC panel in my garage feeds the garage, guest-house & electric gate, as well as the pump-house, and the branch circuits are a mish-mash of 15 & 20 amp breakers. To set in a dedicated GFCI breaker for the pump-station, would require re-wiring the entire panel ( basicly disabling half the homestead until it was done ).
I found a stand-alone GFCI-based LC from Connecticut Electric ( model CESMSPA260 ) that contains a Siemans GFCI breaker, an additional 115v branch-circuit breaker plus some other control "goodies" whose function I'm not sure about, as Conn-Electric's literature is very poor. The PDF showing the conventional breaker hookups is straightforward, but the other one for the other functions was not clear at all. The unit in question is intended for Spa installations, but should work just as well for an in-ground pool pump setup. the best current price I could find for the unit was $135. Does anyone here have one of the Conn-Electric units ( or a close equivalent ) installed in their pool or pool/spa pumping stations?
 
Re: Does an Intelliflo variable speed pump need a GFI breake

Looking at the Conn-EL site, there's two different units with that number there's the CESMSPA260 & the CESMSPA260B. The 260 has a manual disconnect, a stand alone GFCI unit, a contactor & a 15 amp branch circuit breaker. The 260B unit has a 60 amp GFCI double pole breaker and a 15 amp non-GFCI branch circuit.

The biggest difference in the units is that the branch circuit is protected by the GFCI unit on the 260 and it's not on the 260B.
 
Re: Does an Intelliflo variable speed pump need a GFI breake

You could also run the pool panel off the main panel via a dedicated GFCI to the panel (e.g. the breaker in the main panel that is feeding the subpanel would be GFI protected). The advantage to this is that you would have protection with a single GFCI breaker, saving a few bucks and getting the necessary protection. This would of course make tracking down ground faults that much more difficult, but should be appropriate for meeting the code requirements in the NEC.
 
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