GFCI breaker adapter???


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Old 09-19-16, 09:16 AM
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GFCI breaker adapter???

Is this adapter available as a separate item? It was glued to the top of a GE breaker that came from a hot tub. The original breaker went bad and I pried these off it to reuse, but will probably need more in the future. I've tried internet searches without success.
 
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Old 09-19-16, 09:13 PM
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Those red clips allow the breaker to be used as a feed thru breaker. Most breakers are stabbed into a panel. The line side of the breaker connects to fingers in the panel and the wires connect to the load side lugs.

I could not find them listed in the current GE BuyLog master catalog.

If you google.... THQC1120GF and select "images" you'll see a number of GE breakers that use those line side lug adapters. You could try contacting them to see if they have any spares to sell.
 
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Old 09-20-16, 01:21 PM
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Thanks for the info. Now, I see that the breakers can be purchased without me trying to jerry rig something. 'nother question, the original breaker is a 2 pole where the hot and neutral wire were wired thru it. I've since replaced it with a single pole THQL1120GFP and the glued on adapter. Do you see any problems with this? TIA.
 
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Old 09-20-16, 09:59 PM
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Your breaker in the picture is a two pole breaker...... 240v.... correct ?

The THQL1120GFP is a single pole ..... 120v breaker.
 
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Old 09-21-16, 02:03 PM
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The hot tub is 120v. I don't know why a 2 pole breaker was used, but both wires, hot (black)and white (neutral) were wired through the original breaker. Don't know if the code called for that back in the day. The hot tub , a Jacuzzi, is about 25 yrs. old. The single pole seems to be working fine.
 
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Old 09-21-16, 03:36 PM
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Why are you gluing pieces on if you only need a single pole breaker,junk the 2pole.
OMO.
 
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Old 09-21-16, 08:49 PM
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Is the hot tub plugged in or hard wired?
 
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Old 09-22-16, 05:20 AM
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Justin, the hot tub is plugged in with a heavy duty but normal 120V plug. The receptacle is GFCI protected as well. So, it seems the tub has double protection.

Geochurchi, the red adapter allows the breaker to be mounted in the box. It is a pass through breaker which was pointed out by PJMax. The red adapter also adds height to the breaker so it fits in the original mounting bracket inside the box.
 
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Old 09-22-16, 05:51 AM
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the hot tub is plugged in with a heavy duty but normal 120V plug. The receptacle is GFCI protected as well
Two GFCIs can interfere with each other. If it is 120v only and the receptacle circuit is 20 amps I would suggest gutting the breaker box and using it only as a junction box. No breaker is required and the plug serves as a disconnect.

Note: What I'm suggesting is common in bathroom installed jeted tubs where they are 120v and simply plugged into a GFCI receptacle on a dedicated circuit.
 

Last edited by ray2047; 09-22-16 at 06:44 AM.
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Old 09-22-16, 02:54 PM
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Ray, I considered bypassing the panel breaker, but decided against it. Can't gut the panel box as all the heater and pump speed controls are in it. Not sure what the local codes for outside hot tubs are so I decided to try to maintain the original wiring, where possible. Thanks to all for the input.
 
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Old 09-23-16, 11:01 AM
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They used a 2 pole breaker because it's a UL requirement to have open neutral protection on a portable GFCI. If I was you I'd replace the plug with a GFCI plug and bypass the breaker.

Two GFCIs can interfere with each other. If it is 120v only and the receptacle circuit is 20 amps I would suggest gutting the breaker box and using it only as a junction box. No breaker is required and the plug serves as a disconnect.
This is not true of modern GFCI's.
 
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Old 09-23-16, 04:33 PM
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Justin, I was thinking about replacing the plug with a GFCI one, but couldn't find anything reasonable that was rated for 20 amps. Wouldn't the outside GFCI receptacle serve as open neutral protection for the tub? I understand how the tub mounted breaker provides ground fault and not necessarily open neutral; however, I thought the outside protected receptacle would serve that purpose and detect a line imbalance.
 
 

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