Outdoor GFCI outlet trips when using electric cooktop

beemerphile1 wrote:

harley4275 wrote:

Ok guys . So .i pluged mine into a regular plug. My bad ... How many campers or tenters plug an extention cord into the 15a plug on the pedistal (that is not a gfci ) and run griddles ,kettles and coffee makers off that .

I would be very suspicious of a campground that has such an outdated electrical system the the 15/20a receptacles are not GFCI protected. I haven't seen that for ages.

Most sites I have been to have a 30a and a 15 a which does not have gfi. Might be different in the US but here in Ont I havent seen them.

whjco wrote:
You could possibly have a heating element going bad in the cooktop unit that's allowing AC current to leak to ground thereby tripping the GFI.

Could be the result of the capacitance from heating conductor to grounded outer casing of heating element.

CA Traveler wrote:
It could cost more to repair than to replace the unit.

This is likely true. If I had the issue, I would test with a meter. Any sign of contact to ground, I would take it apart. Working on a dead animal, so nothing to loose. Looking from inside, if don't see a loose connection or worn insulation toss the pieces. I might learn something, and I can be sure nobody gets hurt trying to use it.

I would hope that a rational person would consider it more important to be safe. GFCIs are designed to protect you from potential electric shock. To me this trumps any "use" consideration.

Same hope, but no faith. Protect the valuable. LOL

harley4275 wrote:

Ok guys . So .i pluged mine into a regular plug. My bad ... How many campers or tenters plug an extention cord into the 15a plug on the pedistal (that is not a gfci ) and run griddles ,kettles and coffee makers off that .

I would be very suspicious of a campground that has such an outdated electrical system the the 15/20a receptacles are not GFCI protected. I haven't seen that for ages.

You could possibly have a heating element going bad in the cooktop unit that's allowing AC current to leak to ground thereby tripping the GFI.

CA Traveler wrote:

JRscooby wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:

harley4275 wrote:
Mine is the samee...just plug it into a different plug ,that is not on gfi, with an extention cord.

I disagree, the GFCI is there to save lives. The cooktop is probably defective and should be tossed.

I'm not real strong on the "toss", but somebody that knows what they are doing to check for small short. But if it is more important to use than to be safe, keep kids, dogs and other important things away from it.

It could cost more to repair than to replace the unit.

I would hope that a rational person would consider it more important to be safe. GFCIs are designed to protect you from potential electric shock. To me this trumps any "use" consideration.

Ok guys . So .i pluged mine into a regular plug. My bad ... How many campers or tenters plug an extention cord into the 15a plug on the pedistal (that is not a gfci ) and run griddles ,kettles and coffee makers off that .

JRscooby wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:

harley4275 wrote:
Mine is the samee...just plug it into a different plug ,that is not on gfi, with an extention cord.

I disagree, the GFCI is there to save lives. The cooktop is probably defective and should be tossed.

I'm not real strong on the "toss", but somebody that knows what they are doing to check for small short. But if it is more important to use than to be safe, keep kids, dogs and other important things away from it.

It could cost more to repair than to replace the unit.

I would hope that a rational person would consider it more important to be safe. GFCIs are designed to protect you from potential electric shock. To me this trumps any "use" consideration.

beemerphile1 wrote:

harley4275 wrote:
Mine is the samee...just plug it into a different plug ,that is not on gfi, with an extention cord.

I disagree, the GFCI is there to save lives. The cooktop is probably defective and should be tossed.

I'm not real strong on the "toss", but somebody that knows what they are doing to check for small short. But if it is more important to use than to be safe, keep kids, dogs and other important things away from it.

harley4275 wrote:
Mine is the samee...just plug it into a different plug ,that is not on gfi, with an extention cord.

I disagree, the GFCI is there to save lives. The cooktop is probably defective and should be tossed.

Mine is the samee...just plug it into a different plug ,that is not on gfi, with an extention cord.