Replacing breaker in EasyTouch

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Rocket J Squirrel

Rocket J Squirrel

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TFP Guide
Jun 7, 2018
2,024
Alamo, CA
Pool Size
35800
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
I've been tearing my hair out looking for a fault in my equipment because a GFCI breaker keeps tripping in my EasyTouch 8.

I finally tried connecting the breaker to other circuits, and it trips on every circuit whenever current passes through it. So I'm going to replace the breaker.

It's a 20 amp 120 volt single pole GFCI breaker, nothing special. Are there any tips & tricks for swapping a breaker in the EasyTouch load center specifically? Will it pop right out, or is there anything holding it in place? (Yes, I know to cut power first.)
 
RJS,

Circuit Breakers just snap into place... They rotate from the middle out.

Obviously, you should disconnect the power and the wires first,

If this is the GFCI breaker for your IntelliFlo, then I would make sure nothing else is being run from that breaker but the pump itself.

Pentair has its own pump breaker that helps prevent random trips. Most believe that it is identical to a Siemens breaker, I am not sure that is a fact. My pool builder, the cheapest man on earth, put one in my pool when built. Not sure why if he could have used a cheaper one.. :mrgreen:

If I were in your shoes I would use the Pentair breaker or at the least a Siemens one.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Thanks. This breaker is just for lights. I wasn't sure whether there was anything different about the Pentair setup or installing breakers for outdoor use.

I took a photo of the recommended breakers on the ET label to the hardware store and got the Eaton BR, the only recommended one at my local Ace. Will install tomorrow. The other breakers installed by my PB don't seem identifiable. I suppose he saved money by using no-name breakers and I didn't know any better at the time.
 
RJS,

If just for the lights, the breaker does not need to be special..

A lot of EasyTouch systems have a GFCI outlet on the side of the enclosure.. That GFCI is often used as the GFCI for the pool lights.

If you have a separate GFCI for your lights you are lucky..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
https://mall.industry.siemens.com/mall/EN/US/Catalog/Product/?mlfb=US2:PA220GF

PA220GF

www.homedepot.com

Siemens 20 Amp Double Pole Type QPF2 GFCI Circuit Breaker US2:QF220AP - The Home Depot

Siemens GFCI circuit breakers are UL Listed and CSA Certified as Class A devices. These circuit breakers offer the new Self-Test and Lockout feature as required by UL 943, enabling the GFCI to automatically
www.homedepot.com

www.pentair.com

GFCI Circuit Breakers

Ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) circuit breakers work faster and at more sensitive thresholds than conventional household circuit breakers. Required by the National Electric Code (NEC) standards for pool pumps, these GFCI breakers are the right choice in load centers supporting...
www.pentair.com www.pentair.com
 
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I left out a word. Pool lights, the underwater kind. Since the no-name breaker failed, I figured I would spend ($60!) on a recommended one.

The outlet on the side powers some pergola lights above my BBQ and is handy if I need to plug in something else temporarily at the pad. In fact, I have 2 GFCI outlets for pergola lights which are also protected by GFCI breakers. I don't know why electricians do this.
 
RJS,

I was not talking about any kind of lights that you plug in... The outlet can also be used from the inside to provide GFCI protection to power going to an Aux relay that turns a pool light on or off.. My pull-it-out-of-my-rear guess is that at least 50% of EasyTouch systems use the GFCI outlet mounted on the side of the EasyTouch to provide the GFCI protection for the pool lights.

That is how mine was initially wired, but I changed it to a dedicated GFCI breaker instead..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
The outlet can also be used from the inside to provide GFCI protection to power going to an Aux relay that turns a pool light on or off.. My pull-it-out-of-my-rear guess is that at least 50% of EasyTouch systems use the GFCI outlet mounted on the side of the EasyTouch to provide the GFCI protection for the pool lights.
Click to expand...
I wonder why anyone would do this. I prefer to have as many separate circuits and breakers as possible so that one failure doesn't shut off something else. My ET load center has every breaker slot occupied for this reason. My pool lights are hard-wired and don't go through outlets.
 

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Replacing the breaker was trivial except for the fact that Superman must have torqued down the wiring screws.

The circuit works fine now.
 
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