GFCI's - Which one to buy

[Mindypin]

Good evening. I just had a rather scary incident while doing my weekly water change - I slopped water on my outlet strip and had to shut everything off. I was freaked out, but very carefully shut off the power and disconnected everything.

Everything is dry now, but I am now going to purchase a GFCI immediatel (like right now). I'm not an electrician and won't be doing any wiring, but I found this product, and it looks like it will meet my needs. It is a Hubbell FB3005 All-Weather, 6 Outdoor Outlet with Photocell & 6 Position Timer and is available here: www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004YBVT/104-4682415-5036703?v=glance. It's very affordable, but it doesn't say "GFCI" and that's the most important thing to me.

Or, there's this thing: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=shoppingCart&function=add&catalogId=POR TABLE_GFCI_CORDS&productId=145277-33536-30338062&lpage=none - called a "Shock Buster." Will this allow a power strip/surge protector to be plugged into one of the outlets? Three plug-ins are obviously not going to be enough.

Does anyone have an suggestions? Thank you all so much.

[Polkster13]

Why not just replace the plug in the wall with a GFCI plug? You can get them really cheap at Home Depot or Lowes. It is very easy to switch out just turn the power off to the plug before you work on it. Plug in a lamp to the plug to verify the power is off. Follow the instructions that come with the plug, it is very straight forward.

I recently put in three dedicated 20 amp circuits to my garage and put GFCI plugs on all three. Each plug took about 10 minutes to wire up and test.

[JimD]

Most of the portable ones like in the pics, especially the first one, will trip when the power goes off and wont re-engage when the power is restored, not good, go with an in wall unit like Polk suggested, much more reliable. imo.

[SaltyJim]

and to answer your question about power-strips...it would generally not be recommended, and actually against OSHA rules if you care. While most of us don't have to (or want to) comply with OSHA, I will always follow this recommendation.

Polkster's right, change the outlet, and plug in you power strips there. I would guess that even thought you are not an electrician, the whole project to replace the outlet would be less than 30 minutes.

[JimD]

And if you dont turn off the main power, it could take longer.

[CD]

And if you dont turn off the main power, it could take longer.


LOL Jim :lol

W.

[Mindypin]

Thank you all! I have decided to take your sage advice. I have decided to follow it and install the wall receptacle. My husband has offered to do this for me, so I don't have to worry about it. This is really my hobby, not his, so I try not to bug him with "fish" issues, but this is a safety issue so of course he is concerned. It's funny, because when I told him what was needed, he got that "look" on his face (as I'm sure many MAAST members have seen on their spouses' faces) and asked, "and how much is that going to cost?" He breathed a sigh of relief when I told him it was less than $20. LOL. Usually, my answer is somewhere in the triple digits when he asks that question. ^_^

--Mary