GFI breaker trips immediately when I turn on Hayward EC40 pump. Been working w/o a problem for 4 years. Changed the GFI outlet but the problem still happens.

Hello jerrydj1021 - Often when the breaker trips, it is a mainly because there is too much current running on one circuit. Is the unit plug into a GFI outlet? It is not recommended to use GFI outlets or too many appliances plugged into that one circuit. Try plugging the unit into another direct outlet and see if the breaker trips again. I ask that you please follow up with a comment on the post, at your convenience, to advise if further troubleshooting is needed or if the unit's status has changed successfully. Thank you.

The problem believe it or not your gfi is warn out. I am actually surprised it lasted as long as it has and surprised it worked at all. Espresso machines use a huge amount of power when turning on compared to maintaining power. When espresso machines first turn on the take a huge surge of power to start heating up the elements. Normally you want to put an espresso on a circuit /outlet that is directly to your breaker that is at least a 20 amp breaker. By code kitchens and bathrooms, where an outlet is near water, has to have a gfi outlet, this is for safety for something plugged in near water so it will trip if accident happens with appliance near water. The bad news there not to good with high demand power appliances such as espresso machines. Yes , you can replace the gfi circuit, by turning off main breaker, unscrew gfi from wall, pull out, and undo wires, and copy exactly when re-wiring the new one. Then turn on main breaker again. NOTE: you can buy a gfi all most any home improvement center, lowers, home depot, ace hardware etc.... Think of a gfi kind of like a advanced in line fuse, they do wear out. BUT AGAIN, my advice is plug it in a outlet that does not have gfi and is on a main breaker of at least 20 amps if you have that opportunity to do in your kitchen area. Hope this helps you, thank you....... MIKE

I tend to agree with the dealer. Unfortunately the price of $170.00 - $200.00 is probably going to be more cost efficient than trying to repair this one. It could be the armature is frozen and overloading the circuit. Could be a short in the power line, look for breaks or arch's in the line when you reset the breaker. Make sure the power lines are not touching anything wet and are on a wood or some other surface. If they are in conduit, than you may need to pull the lines out and check for a break. It is possible that water or some other element eroded the lines and they are shorting out. This is usually the cause of breakers popping. In case of a problem or clarification or my solution was insufficient, don't hesitate to post me a reply.

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I've had a problem like this. Can you safely power the pump from a non gfi outlet for a while? Once it runs and whatever is causing this condition dries out, you can plug it back into the gfi.
Gary

Good News!!! GFI outlets are made to trip when a large amount of power is pulled through them. A GFI is basically a small circuit breaker.Your television set is probably just pulling more amperage than the GFI is rated to handle. That means the GFI is working properly And so is the TV!

Probable cause is a single pole gfi opposed to a double pole gfi.
* Do not use a single pole GFCI ON A MULTI WIRE CIRCUIT, IT WILL NUISANCE TRIP IMMEDIATELY
Use a two pole GFCI circuit breaker on such circuits.

GFI devices are prone to degrade over time. Also, when used outdoors there are additional moisture issues that may cause sufficient current leakage to trip the breaker.

I had a similar problem this Spring. I was using a 20 amp GFI "master" outlet that protected two additional outlets 'downstream' of it (wired to the 'load' terminals on the GFI outlet- I'd have the check the doc. to see what terminology was used here). The pump was plugged into one of the downstream outlets.

Replacing the GFI seemed to solve the problem. I did ante up $20 for an 'outdoor' model of the 20 amp GFI unit, several bucks more than the standard 'indoor' unit - have no ideal if that represented additional value or not.

Note also, that this is the third such pump I have used for my pool cover. The other two failed to come on at all after about a year's use. The mfg replaced them under warranty (I may have had to send back the old pump - I forget!).

Curtis

no what rpobebly happened is that your freezer fillefd up with humidity and now its shorting out and tripping the breaker. make sure that theres no ice in the freezer also you should not really have it plugged intoi a gfi outlet.if its in the garage near the breaker panel i would add a dedicatefd outlet for the freezer from the electrical box.