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Tile warming tripping on ground fault

6K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  99cents 
#1 ·
This is an existing installation about three years old. Two zones of cable at 240V fed from the same stat. One zone completely fried at the transition splice and the thermostat tripped it. I repaired the splice and now that zone is working. The thermostat now trips on ground fault with the other zone. Replaced the stat but it still trips. Customer thinks we screwed up his tile warming while doing renovations in the lower floor. It draws about 7 amps before tripping. Takes about two minutes to trip.

I need this resolved. Customer is holding back $. Any ideas?
 
#4 · (Edited)
Have you tried running them on seperate thermostats simutaneously? I used to repair the older style NuHeat floor heating. We were able to repair about 10% of faulty heating systems with various methods. The other 90% of the time we were smashing tiles and repairing the wire. I've encountered floors that had more than one issue, you would repair one fault, then find others.

Trying to explain to a customer that I needed to smash a few tiles to repair the problem and that there's still a chance it wouldn't work wasn't easy. I do remember where the site electrician wired in a dimmer so that the GFCI wouldn't trip, LOL!
 
#9 ·
GFCI and tile floor

Got to chime in on this,I have to agree with Pete ,how sure are you that the condition did not exist before you started your work.I had a customer that had a similar situation and asked me to look into it,I did not have a megger handy but I did notice that some of the tile was cracked.My response was I really would like to get to the bottom of this for you but with it being buried under the tile I would not be able to help.Its like anything else if it is buried in a floor,cement or under tile ,there is not much you can do to repair it short of ripping it up and most people will not go that expense.Even if you could rip up that floor,more that likely you will not be able to make that repair.:whistling2:
 
#14 · (Edited)
The impurities in grout, tile, and thinset are known to be conductive:

62-224 Installation of under-floor covering heating panel sets

(1) The heating panel sets shall be

(a) installed on floor surfaces that are smooth and flat;

(b) installed indoors in dry locations;

(c) completely covered by tiles, carpet squares, carpet, or similar floor covering; and

(d) provided with ground fault protection to de-energize the panel sets with a ground fault setting sufficient to allow their normal operations.

(2) The heating panel sets shall not be

(a) cut through or nailed; or

(b) installed closer than 200 mm to any heating supply duct, other heating panels, or any other sources of heat.

(3) Notwithstanding Rule 12-806(c), Type FCC non-heating leads shall be permitted to be used in dwelling units for connecting under-floor covering heating panel sets to the branch circuit.

(4) Branch circuits supplying the heating panel sets shall be marked by a warning label supplied by the heating panel set manufacturer and affixed to the panelboard by the installer, stating that the floor supplied by the branch circuit contains live wiring and should not be penetrated by nails, screws, or similar devices.
 
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