thatryan Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I swear I saw at one point you had a quality extension cord, is that still around somewhere? If not, can you recommend a good one to get? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewy Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 They stopped selling them some time ago. You can still get them on Amazon and other places. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RH33RE/ref=twister_B00C0FEO3C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Adam's Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Yep, the heavy duty GFCI cord is no more - one of those things that was great to have, but not everyone would spend the money for and we couldn't justify it staying in the line. I have my personal one still. Its the beefiest cord I've ever owned and continue to use it all the time. The one Chris linked above is the non gfci cord we had for awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatryan Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 What is GFCI? Is the one mentioned above a good one to grab? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewy Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt. It's basically the outlet you have in newer homes bathrooms and kitchens. It immediately trips when it senses the slightest ground. PERFECT for a garage. My garage is already protected by a GFCI so no need for one. The one I posted is AWESOME! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Adam's Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 ^^^ GFCI are featured anywhere you'd commonly see electricity and water at the same time (thus kitchens and bathrooms)Detailing is a process that regularly features water and electrical tools. A cord like that was all about safety - so if you plugged your Master Blaster in to dry your car and there was water on the ground you were protected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatryan Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Yeah that makes perfect sense, I like the safety idea ha. I have no idea if my garage is protected though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewy Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Yeah that makes perfect sense, I like the safety idea ha. I have no idea if my garage is protected though... If there is a GFI in the same circuit, it is. Meaning, if you shut the power off to your garage, and say the laundry room, or bathroom nearest it also goes dark, it's probably protected on that GFCI. It just depends on the house. I have an actual CFCI outlet IN my garage which the others run through. You CAN get a whole house GFCI as well. Ricky Bobby 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselDude Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Also remember the smaller the number the larger the wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFairbanks Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) Really easy to check with one of these tools. Just plug in and press the button. If the tool stays illuminated that plug isn't on a GFCI circuit. If it clicks off it is, and you will have to find the button to reset. The reset button will more than likely look like this. If you don't have a GFCI, it is super easy to add one. Just have to figure out the line and load. If you need me to explain just ask. Edited February 17, 2015 by LFairbanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Bobby Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 ^^^I'm with Chris, my garage already has a GFI outlet, double check if yours does as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluedogGMC Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) Really easy to check with one of these tools. Just plug in and press the button. If the tool stays illuminated that plug isn't on a GFCI circuit. If it clicks off it is, and you will have to find the button to reset. The reset button will more than likely look like this. If you don't have a GFCI, it is super easy to add one. Just have to figure out the line and load. If you need me to explain just ask. This is the only way to get a good check to see if you have them. They can be connected in series but sometime they fail so checking them with the tester linked above every now and then can save a life. A GFCI will sense an electrical short way faster then a regular breaker can. Edited February 17, 2015 by BluedogGMC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redneck08sierra Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 if your christmas lights go out when it rains, probably on a GFCI!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatryan Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 Oh awesome, thanks for that tip. I will grab one of those testers later on to be sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatryan Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 Dang, does not look like my garage outlets are protected. They do not have the buttons on them like the one in the pic you linked. I bought a GFCI tool though instructions are not very clear lol. Will have to call an electrician. Bummer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFairbanks Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 (edited) Dang, does not look like my garage outlets are protected. They do not have the buttons on them like the one in the pic you linked. I bought a GFCI tool though instructions are not very clear lol. Will have to call an electrician. Bummer. You just plug the tool in and press the button. If the two orange lights go out it is on a GFCI circuit. If they stay illuminated it is not. That tool will also tell you if the circuit is wired right. Just because a plug doesn't have those red and black buttons like I posted does not necessarily mean that it isn't protected. You can put a GFCI in and everything after that plug will then be a GFCI, if that makes sense. It is super easy to put one in. I would think you already have a plug that you would like to have as a GFCI. Simply plug that tester that I linked above, into the plug that you want to be GFCI. Turn off the circuit powering that plug. The tester will then go dark. Neither light will be illuminated. Notice on the circuit breaker if it says 15, or 20. That is the amp that is powering that circuit. Go to the hardware store and pick up a GFCI that is rated for the 15 or 20 amp circuit that would be on the circuit breaker that was shut off. This picture (link) is an example of a 15 amp circuit, so you would get a 15 amp GFCI. Pick up one of these as well. Go home and remove the plug that is present where you initially plugged the tester. Making sure the power is still off first. Disconnect the wires from the plug and separate them (black and whites) so none of them are touching each other or anything else, very important. Bare copper wires may be pigtailed together, leave them this way. Sometimes the wires are just "plugged" into the old plug in the back as opposed to be attached by screws. In that case, take a pocket screwdriver and jamb it into little slot near wire and it should release wire. Turn the power back on and take this tool and touch it to the black wires and see which side illuminates the tool. It may chirp as well. You will have a black wire, a white wire, and a bare copper wire. Each side will have this group of wires, unless of course it is the end of the run. In which case you will have only one set. The group of wires (black, white and bare copper) that illuminate the tool will be your line side. The other side that didn't illuminate the tool will be your load side. Turn the power off again of course before installing plug in steps below. Black wire that illuminated tool goes to gold screw that is labeled line. White wire that is grouped with black wire that illuminated tool goes to silver screw labeled line. Bare copper wires are your ground and may be pigtailed together go to green screw on plug. If there is only one group of wires in box, don't worry about steps below. Black wire that didn't illuminate tool will go to gold screw labeled load. White wire that is grouped with the black wire will go to silver screw labeled load. Only one green screw and bare copper wire is already screwed to that in above step. The back of the GFCI will be labeled "line" and "load". If you have only one group of wires, wire it to the line side and do nothing with the load side. In which case nothing after that plug will be GFCI as it is the end of the run. Here is a good article explaining as well. http://electrical.about.com/od/receptaclesandoutlets/a/Line-Or-Load-A-Gfci-Connection-Choice.htm Put it all back together, turn the power back on and plug that GFCI tester into the plug. The two yellow lights should illuminate if it is wire properly. Press the button and it should click off. Press the button to reset. Other plugs down the line if there were more than one group of wires in the box should work the same way with the tester. However you will need to reset the plugs by pressing the button on the plug you just put in. Edited February 18, 2015 by LFairbanks Timmy8784 and thatryan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatryan Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 Wow man, thank you so much for the explanation, I really appreciate that! Yeah so the two orange lights stay on when button is pressed, and the small red light lit up. The little light turning on confused me because it was not in the instruction sheet Thank you again very much for taking the time to explain this to me. ejohn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Bobby Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 ^^^^I like this above. Electricians 101. Its not as hard as you would think,good luck Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselDude Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 If your garage outlets are on circuit to themselves best way may be to get the GFCI Circuit Breaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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