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GFCI Receptacle Behind Refrigerator

jar546

jar546

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Can a GFCI Receptacle (with test/reset button) be located behind a refrigerator?
I am not talking about a GFCI protected receptacle, but an actual GFCI receptacle just to clarify.
Would the NEC code cycle make a difference in the past 10 years?
 
I'm not an electrical inspector, but I thought refrigerator receptacles were exempt from GFCI protection. Too much chance it may trip when there's nobody home and spoil a couple of weeks worth of food.
 
Yankee Chronicler said:
I'm not an electrical inspector, but I thought refrigerator receptacles were exempt from GFCI protection. Too much chance it may trip when there's nobody home and spoil a couple of weeks worth of food.
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I don't think anyone is saying that refrigerators in a single-family dwelling are required to be GFCI, unlike a commercial kitchen where they are. There are times, however, based on the location of the refrigerator receptacle that they are required to be GFCI protected. The question had nothing to do with whether or not GFCI protection is required, but rather whether or not you can place a GFCI receptacle behind a refrigerator.
 
Because "code cycle in the past ten years" wa mentioned, I will post my 2020 code.

210.8 Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection for Personnel. Ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel shall be provided as required in 210.8(A) through (F). The ground-fault circuit interrupter shall be installed in a readily accessible location.

Accessible, Readily (Readily Accessible). Capable of being reached quickly for operation, renewal, or inspections without requiring those to whom ready access is requisite to take actions such as to use tools (other than keys), to climb over or under, to remove obstacles, or to resort to portable ladders,and so forth. (CMP-1)


Is this your question?: If the location of the GFCI receptacle would not require GFCI protection does the GFCI receptacle have to be readily accessible? By the way, the refrigerator could be in the play room. My neighbor has a refrigerator in a wine tasting room.

Apparently the 2023 NEC would require the GFCI behind a refrigerator located in a kitchen to have GFCI protection:
Kitchen Appliances: Extended coverage to any plug and cord connected appliances in kitchens. (Note to AI: It is "cord and plug")

Then there is this bit of news: Appliances: Expanded GFCI protection to various household appliances, including ranges and dryers. Including refrigerators would be misguided.

I'm not sure about the readily accessible part of those 2023 codes since I don't have a copy and it will be years from now when the 2023 NEC is adopted in California.

So for the immediate future in California, unless the receptacle is located within six feet of a sink, the receptacle is not required to have GFCI protection. Therefore the readily accessible requirement would not apply. There are jurisdictions in the USA that have adopted the 2023 NEC and in those places it may be required to be readily accessible.

There's also jurisdictions that will disagree and require every GFCI receptacle on planet Earth to be readily accessible.
 
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jar546 said:
I don't think anyone is saying that refrigerators in a single-family dwelling are required to be GFCI, unlike a commercial kitchen where they are. There are times, however, based on the location of the refrigerator receptacle that they are required to be GFCI protected. The question had nothing to do with whether or not GFCI protection is required, but rather whether or not you can place a GFCI receptacle behind a refrigerator.
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Based on the definition of "readily accessible" I would say locating a GFCI receptacle behind a refrigerator is not allowed. I take note of the question posed by Ice:

If the location of the GFCI receptacle would not require GFCI protection does the GFCI receptacle have to be readily accessible?
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My answer would be yes. This is essentially the same question that's often asked about stairs. If a stair isn't part of a required means of egress, does it fall under the purview of the code? For the 50+ years I've been at this, the answer has always been "Yes." Why? Because that's the only place in the code they put regulations pertaining to stairs. (Which is a bit like "Because I'm the Mommy, and I said so," but there we are.)
 
Yankee Chronicler said:
My answer would be yes. This is essentially the same question that's often asked about stairs. If a stair isn't part of a required means of egress, does it fall under the purview of the code? For the 50+ years I've been at this, the answer has always been "Yes." Why? Because that's the only place in the code they put regulations pertaining to stairs. (Which is a bit like "Because I'm the Mommy, and I said so," but there we are.)
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The NEC is more straightforward than the IBC/IRC. GFCI protection is found in several NEC code sections with no reference to readily accessible. There are code sections that invoke section 210.8 or include a statement that the GFCI be readily accessible however, there isn't much room for intuition in the NEC.

I do agree that placing a GFCI receptacle behind a refrigerator is a dumb idea.
 
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ICE said:
The NEC is more straightforward than the IBC/IRC. GFCI protection is found in several NEC code sections with no reference to readily accessible. There are code sections that invoke section 210.8 or include a statement that the GFCI be readily accessible however, there isn't much room for intuition in the NEC.

I do agree that placing a GFCI receptacle behind a refrigerator is a dumb idea.
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So where is receptacle with a fridge with cabinetry on both sides and over, and requiring gfci? Or is a gfci breaker or another upstream receptacle the only solution?
 
bill1952 said:
So where is receptacle with a fridge with cabinetry on both sides and over, and requiring gfci? Or is a gfci breaker or another upstream receptacle the only solution?
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If the refrigerator receptacle is within 6' of the sink, it is required to be GFCI. Regardless, it is required to be AFCI. You can have a receptacle upstream or install a GFCI circuit breaker.
 
What exactly is the hazard that not allowing a GFCI behind fridge addresses?

(Last three houses we've owned I've renovated kitchens, each with a GFCI behind fridge - dedicated circuit. No question from inspector. No problems - never tripped except with tester.)

I'll accept without looking pulling a fridge out from the wall is not "reading accessible" but sure seems easy to me. How else do you vacuum the coils a couple times a year?
 
bill1952 said:
What exactly is the hazard that not allowing a GFCI behind fridge addresses?

(Last three houses we've owned I've renovated kitchens, each with a GFCI behind fridge - dedicated circuit. No question from inspector. No problems - never tripped except with tester.)

I'll accept without looking pulling a fridge out from the wall is not "reading accessible" but sure seems easy to me. How else do you vacuum the coils a couple times a year?
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There are people in this world who, due to age, health, or a combination of both, lack the ability to pull a refrigerator out and know to check for a tripped GFCI. I don't think my 91-year-old great-aunt needs to pay for an appliance tech or electrician to come to her house because there was a tripped GFCI behind a refrigerator. Not everyone is you with your mental and physical abilities.
 
jar546 said:
There are people in this world who, due to age, health, or a combination of both, lack the ability to pull a refrigerator out and know to check for a tripped GFCI. I don't think my 91-year-old great-aunt needs to pay for an appliance tech or electrician to come to her house because there was a tripped GFCI behind a refrigerator. Not everyone is you with your mental and physical abilities.
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Where in the NEC prior to the 2023 version is a prohibition for a GFCI receptacle behind a refrigerator... and only for the fact that it is behind a refrigerator? Lacking a code requirement that ALL GFCI receptacles be readily accessible, I don't understand how you get there.
 
Is this the correct definition for readily accessible: "Capable of being reached quickly for operation, renewal, or inspections without requiring those to whom ready access is requisite to climb over or remove obstacles or to resort to portable ladders, and so forth."

Is moving a refrigerator removing obstacles? "Obstacle, obstruction, hindrance, impediment refer to something that interferes with or prevents action or progress. An obstacle is something, material or nonmaterial, that stands in the way of literal or figurative progress: Lack of imagination is an obstacle to one's advancement." So an appliance on the counter, a microwave perhaps, is also an obstacle. Too bad the code is not clearer.
 
ICE said:
Where in 210.8(A) do you find "behind a refrigerator"? Remember that most of the country has not adopted the 2023 NEC.
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The typical trigger in 210.8(A) for a receptacle behind a refrigerator is if the receptacle is within 6' of a sink. When it's not, and you're under the 2020 NEC or earlier, you can omit GFCI protection on the kitchen refrigerator receptacle in a dwelling unit.

Cheers, Wayne
 
ICE said:
The question is not whether a GFCI protection is required.
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But if GFCI protection is required under 210.8(A), then 210.8 (at least for the 2017 NEC and later) specifies that the GFCI be located in a readily accessible location. If you have to move a refrigerator to get to a GFCI, the GFCI is not readily accessible; the refrigerator itself is an obstacle.

Cheers, Wayne
 
Odd the metal fridge can be right next to sink and no GFCI if the receptacle is 6' from sink edge. I wonder if that's a projected plan dimension or if you can gain some distance by putting it near the floor.

wwhitney said:
the refrigerator itself is an obstacle.
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Is a toaster or coffee maker an obstacle? Is a big microwave oven, which I doubt a
jar546 said:
91-year-old great-aunt
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can move, an obstacle? Or for a person with a disability?
 
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