Upgrade pool equipment electrical system with GFCI?

[C3Cl3N3O3]

So I've done some repairs on my pool equipment wiring and know enough to be dangerous. I am not the original owner of the house/pool. It has never had a GFCI on the pump. How critical is it that this be added as far as safety is concerned? I do get a bit nervous when I have the fiddle with the controls in the rain, however I don't relish the though of doing this upgrade. Everything is hard-wired to the breaker panel, there is no outlet there to simply swap out. There is a basic pool timer and freeze protect system in the circuit. The pump is wired for 240 V.

 

[Jimrahbe]

C3,

Normally the pump has a GFCI circuit breaker right at the pad or at the main panel. You can just take the non-GFCI breaker out and replace it with a GFCI breaker.

Any outlet at the pad needs to be either connected to a GFCI circuit breaker or the outlet itself has to be a GFCI outlet like you would normally find in a bathroom or kitchen.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[PhiDeck]

Is there a 3-wire or 4-wire feed from the breaker panel?

 

[C3Cl3N3O3]

Is there a 3-wire or 4-wire feed from the breaker panel?

I believe it is a 4-wire feed and the timer requires 120V. Would that have to be split into two GFCI breakers at that point?

So exactly how dangerous is this left as-is anyway? Is this a common oversight? I had a pool inspection done when I bought the house and this wasn't caught.

 

[Jimrahbe]

C3,

A lot of old pool do not have a GFCI breaker for the pump. It was not originally a code requirement.

All pools must have a GFCI device for their pool light. If you have a pool light, you must have a GFCI somewhere. It could be in the main panel or somewhere at the equipment pad.

Jim R.

 

[C3Cl3N3O3]

C3,

A lot of old pool do not have a GFCI breaker for the pump. It was not originally a code requirement.

All pools must have a GFCI device for their pool light. If you have a pool light, you must have a GFCI somewhere. It could be in the main panel or somewhere at the equipment pad.

Jim R.

The pool light didn't have a GFCI as well, which the inspector did catch. I fixed that years ago. There was a GFCI receptacle on that circuit which I was able to move the light over to. Apparently the original owner didn't like the idea of that receptacle not working when the pool light was switched off. I considered that particular code violation urgent enough to warrant immediate repairs. This one requires a bit more skill to mitigate.