GFCi's in a basement shop?

[Wayne Cannon]

None of my large 120 V. tools (e.g., Delta 1642 VS lathe, 18" bandsaw, DeWalt planer) cause any problems with GFCI.

[Wayne Cannon]

Grounding is no longer sufficient. If there is a short in a grounded tool, current will flow on the ground conductor, which is primarily what a "ground fault" circuit interrupter (GFCI) is designed to protect against. Of course, this is somewhat countered by the "dedicated" circuit argument that allowed my 240 V. circuits to be excluded from GFCI.

FWIW, there's a growing trend towards requiring AFCIs (arc-fault circuit interrupters) to protect against fire as well as ground-faults, an enhancement from GFCIs that protect against shock.

[Rob Russell]

The GFCI requirement only applies to 120v circuits. The fact that your inspector said the 240v circuits were "dedicated" is irrelevant. Unless California has amended the code to require GFCI on 240v circuits, s/he could not have required you to GFCI-protect your 240v circuits.

The "dedicated space" exception isn't for a circuit, it's for a specific receptacle and cord-and-plug connected "appliance". You gave a bunch of examples of "appliance" that could easily be considered dedicated, but it doesn't mean that the entire circuit could be non-GFCI protected. If all the cord-and-plug connected "appliances" on a circuit are "dedicated space", then the entire circuit would become an exception (a circuit just for smoke detectors is an example, although there are professional electricians who argue that dedicated circuits for smoke detectors is a bad idea). If your garage door openers were on the same circuit as the garage utility receptacles, the utility receptacles would need to be GFCI-protected. Only the garage door opener receptacles could be considered as "dedicated space" appliances.

[Wayne Cannon]

Good point about dedicated "receptacles" versus "circuits". I should have been more careful. Thanks. The "dedicated" receptacle for the igniter of my gas range is on the same circuit as kitchen outlets that are required to be GFCI; however, the receptacle for the igniter could come before the GFCI receptacle protecting the rest of the kitchen outlets, such that the igniter's outlet would not be GFCI-protected.

I also re-read the code, and you are correct. It specifically states only that 120 V. circuits of specified types must be GFCI, clearly implying to me that GFCI isn't required for 240 V. circuits.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I don't and I had the code guy in.
Ya need 'em out of doors, near pools, and near any water like sinks.

[Brian Dormer]

I have 1 non-GFCI circuit for lighting and an exhaust fan, 1 (existing) outlet up on the ceiling that is GFCI and I ran 2 20 amp GFCI circuits for my basement shop. There is also an accessory GFCI mounted right next to the panel.

As long as the runs are not too long - I can run any piece of shop equipment off any outlet without tripping.

My TS used to trip the circuit all the time (it was at the end of the run) - which is why I now (and will forever more) use 2 GFCI circuits. I ran them starting at opposite ends of the shop and work around the walls.

For any outlets in an unfinished or semi-finished basement (where the bare floor might get wet) - you should use a GFCI.

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

When I bought a GFCI for my pool pump it ran me $175!

[Mark Mazzo]

When I wired my shop I put in a sub panel. GFCI's are code in a basement shop. My sub panel is fed with a 50 amp breaker from the main panel. I used a 50 amp GFCI (a bit more expensive) so that I could separate the circuits from the sub panel in any wy I wanted and not have to worry about daisy-chaining from several distinct GFCI outlets.