Another reason for a 240V GFCI breaker constantly tripping, specifically for dryers and ranges that now require GFCI protection as of the 2020 NEC, is failing to remove the neutral to ground connection on the appliance when changing from a 3 wire to 4 wire cord. Seen this happen on a service call I went to last month where the homeowners had just moved in, newly built home, breaker tripped when they turn on the dryer or range, as soon as they told me the moving company had changed the cords because it needed 4 prongs, and their previous home was 3 prong, I knew with almost certainty what the issue was. And sure enough the moving company installed the 4 wire cords and didn't remove the bonding strap.
Your description of how the GFCI's work is essentially correct. However, your statement about the two hot legs as "one being hot and the other not" as the power alternates is not quite correct. While the polarity of of each line changes (alternates at 60 Hz., or 60 times per second) - with one side being "positive" and the other "negative" - BOTH lines are "hot" with respect to ground (and/or the neutral, which is grounded) at any given moment. In a 120v circuit, the neutral is also changing polarity at 60 Hz, just at a lower potential voltage. But you are correct in that the GFCI measures the current on each phase leg and/or neutral, and opens if there is any imbalance, in excess of just a few milliamperes (~3-6 mA, .003 - .006 amps). BTW, I'm a retired electrician (still doing "side work" 😊) with 40+ years in the business (primarily industrial & commercial). Thanks for sharing!
If by "hot" you mean feed current out then no they are not both always hot in respect to the neutral. At the peak one leg is +170 the other is -170. At that moment the -170 leg will accept current from both the neutral and the the other leg as both have a higher potential them the -170 leg. You are only thinking in terms of the RMS value. But RMS gives you a mean value and it not a the representation of what is happening at anyone one given moment
So I guess it goes by how you define hot. I say the hot(on) is the side feeding current out. The leg that has the lowest potential will accepts current for the the neutral and the other leg so I say it's off
Thanks for the video! I just discovered your channel and have been enjoying your explanations and teaching style. I am an audio engineer, and I frequently have issues with 120V power amplifiers (as in the part that drives speakers based on a line-level signal) tripping GFCI’s when there is no ground fault. It sounds like a “neutral” would help but of course we don’t have that with 3-prong cables. What causes this, and is there any way to work around it without bypassing the GFCI? Thanks!
Bro you should start a school if you have time...when i was doing my traineeship i all ready had 13 yrs on the job experience so when they made it law to get an apprenticeship or traineeship it was difficult to find a school close to me...plus when you a traineeship you must be paid on years served not apprentice rates...i was trainee and running a crew of 30...basically traineeship u had to pay for your own schooling books and class fees...but on $45 an i could and i was so happy to get a formal college education. Most States dont make you go to school which is federal run and over seen.fuck up thing is get a c10 license in 2years and u can make 120 per hour...but traineeship and apprenticeship thats 5 years to be certified and C 10 are not certified they miss out on so much education on electrical and study more about law
