GFCI feeding multiple areas

[galanm]

I have a house that has a garage outlet "protected" by a GFCI outlet in an unfinished room in the basement. I thought the protected areas should have individual - separate protection. Am I wrong? Common sense aside, is this allowed. The tripped GFCI in the basement turned off the freezer in the garage (right after a storm, I believe) the freezer doesn't get alot of use, so a week later (again, I believe) when it was opened, we found many science experiments.

[John Dirks Jr]

It is ok for a GFI receptacle to protect other receptacles. Having said that, most people in the know believe it is a bad idea to have a freezer plugged into a receptacle that is on a GFI protected circuit.

Is there another receptacle in the garage that is not on a GFI circuit? If so, try and plug the freezer in there.

[Brandon Chew]

If you have another receptacle in the garage that is not protected by a GFCI, you should have a GFCI installed on it. If your freezer is causing a GFCI to trip, your freezer has a ground fault. You should either have the freezer repaired or replace it, so that you don't get a nasty shock some day when you are a better path to ground than the equipment grounding conductor.

The garage is not required to be on a different circuit than the basement. Receptacles in unfinished basements and garages are required to be protected by GFCIs. More than one receptacle can be protected by one GFCI.

There used to be an exception to the GCFI requirements in garages for receptacles that were not readily accessible or that were dedicated to an appliance that was not easily movable (like a freezer), but those exceptions were removed in the 2008 NEC. There were similar exceptions for receptacles in basements, but as of the 2008 NEC the only one that remains is for a permanently installed burglar or fire alarm.

[inspector57]

You might try the plug in alarms made to alert you if the power goes off to the appliance or a temperature sensing alarm.

Also, don't park the freezer in front of the GFCI.

There is no requirment for GFCI reset to be in the same room. I have seen some municipalities require upstairs bathrooms device to be on the same level, but that is just a local amendment.

[Darren]

OK, I'll look at this from another direction.

Is the freezer elevated?

How many other inspectors warn their clients about refrigerators and freezers in the garage? It does have a motor that could spark; therefore it should be elevated.

[msteger]

I warn my buyers about having fridges and freezers on GFCIs, such as in the garage. With the new (2008) requirement for all garage receptacles to be GFCI protected, it just doesn't make sense to put a fridge or freezer out there any more.