I have a freezer in my garage/shop. It is plugged into an outlet that is not on a GFI breaker (the only one in the shop). It has a one plug outlet.

I am putting in another freezer. There is a GFI outlet where the freezer is going.

Can I use a multi plug where the one plug non GFI outlet is and plug the new freezer in, along with the old freezer?

Should I just plug the new freezer in a GFI outlet and hope the GFI doesn’t trip when my Christmas lights have to endure a hard rain? The outside outlets are on the same breaker.

Should I get an electrician to take off the GFI from another outlet for the new freezer? Or something I can do?

Thanks!

How many amps in the non-GFCI outlet?

Swap out the single outlet for a duplex outlet. Pug them both in to the duplex if you have enough amps.

The NEC requires all receptacles in a garage to be GFI’d now.

It depends on amp / watts draw of the freezers, the size of the breaker (15amp, 20 amp?), and what else may be on that circuit.

If you can verify nothing else is on that circuit, then take the combined amps of both freezers (should be on the appliance "nameplate"). I doubt you are anywhere close to 15 amps between the two.

If you are within 80% of the breaker capacity AND there is nothing else on that circuit...good to go.

Now if starting amp draw (consider about double the running amps) is high, and both freezers come on at same time (highly unlikely), it could cause a breaker trip. I doubt this would be the case with a couple chest freezers.

Great idea. I will have to look. I wonder why it was put in with only 1 outlet? Will 15 amps be enough. 20?

I'm not putting my freezer on a gfi especially in a garage its a good way to loose a lot of food if it pops and you are unaware of it for a few days.

Can I just use a multi outlet plugged into the non GFI freezer outlet?

Loose the GFI, replace it w a standard receptacle. (If you want to sell the house at a later date and it’s inspected, the inspector may gig that a GFI is required, therefore reinstall a new GFI before you list the house)
When anyone calls w receptacles inoperative I ask if there’s a GFI in the circuit, usually the culprit .

Lose a freezer of food due to a ghost tripping a GFI and you’ll understand why they get removed at my place. If I move, I’ll add it back in.

Remove the single outlet. Add a pair. Assuming the breaker/wire is sized big enough for both freezers. Likely they are.

Can I just change the receptacle and keep the GFI breaker? I would want to keep all the other receptacles on GFI

Cheaper and easier.
Go to Walmart and buy one of those surge protectors.
Same basic idea.
It will protect the freezer from house surges and vice versa. If the freezer goes awry, it won't burn down the house.

The biggest problem is checking those things often enough you won't lose a freezer full of goods.

They make surge protectors with long cords. Get one of those and tape it where the light can be seen with a simple glance.


THAAAAT'S what I'm sayin'!

GE’s generic statement.

UPRIGHT & CHEST FREEZER - RUNNING AMPS

All of our upright and chest freezers (excluding international units) function at 115V AC, 60 Hz and have approximately a 5 amp draw. Freezers typically draw extra current during start up (approximately 2x the running amp draw). The freezer should be on a dedicated circuit. This is recommended for best performance and to prevent the overloading of house wiring circuits.



The exact amps that an individual freezer draws is listed on the rating plate and should be used if placing the freezer on a generator or other auxiliary power source.

Do you have a GFCI Breaker in the panel, or are you talking GFCI outlet?

Dedicated circuts for freezers and refrigerators are a wonderful thing....

The panel has the GFI breaker switch. The existing freezer is on a dedicated non GFI breaker, I thought but it is not labeled. It must not be attached to other outlets. Might have to go down the line in each box until I find it.

I may just replace the outlet with a 2 receptacle unit but don’t know the amps until I find the breaker.

You don’t want a freezer or icebox on a GFI

No, but you can put the ice box in the freezer.

You can thank me later.

Are you sure on existing construction, I would bet its only on New.
I wouldnt care anyway I wouldnt have a freezer or a fridge on a GF1

IMO replace the gfi outlet with a standard 2 receptical. 12 wire with 20A breaker and you will be fine unless the freezers have unusually high compressor startup draw, which is super unlikely.

^

I have freezer and fridge in garage and i got rid of the gfci soon as inspector got in his car, told him i was doing it. The arc faults suck aswell .

The surge from compressor start will trip a GFCI. Perhaps not every time. Likely only when you have a house sitter.

Replace the GFCI. Reinstall it if you sell.

Not sure what the last couple code cycles came up with, but at one time it was permissible to have dedicated circuits with a single receptacle for just this type of equipment. All general use receptacles were supposed to be on GFCI , though.

The code requires the GFI for the garage, because it is a concrete floor. If you have a non-GFI, and there is a short in the freezer, and you are out there barefoot, you could get electrocuted. This happened to the little 5 year old daughter of my Little League baseball coach. I was a pall bearer.

It was common to put a single outlet on a dedicated breaker to run one appliance.

It was common to put a single outlet on a dedicated breaker to run one appliance.

Can I put a dual outlet in its place and run 2 freezers? Amp draw is 5 amps and I guess double that at compressor start up.

Worst case if they both kick up at the sane time is 20 amps?

This happened to me many years ago. Fortunately, it was a beer fridge so no harm. Swapped out the GFI and no more problems.

Get one of these - Usage Monitor

That would work lol

If you can't see the answer in the very question you've asked here, you should hire a electrician.

It's just two freezers full of frozen meat, what could possibly go wrong.

It'd probably only happen on a hot summer day anyway...

Yep, probably not a very good solution.

I think I will buy a non GFI breaker and replace the GFI breaker in the box using the same amps.

I will then replace each outlet with a GFI outlet EXCEPT the one that I am plugging the new freezer in.

Does this sound like the correct approach?

The correct approach in my opinion would be to hire an electrician that will likely make sure a dedicated circuit goes to each freezer.

There is more than one diy approach.

I think JeffA might have meant "If you can't see"

Being unsure of how to wire a residence makes paying for a professional a good investment.

Worse case is loss of life.

Power outage of any length will likely cause both freezers to start at the same time. This could lead to 100% load.

They used single outlet recepticle because it is a dedicated freezer circuit. Dedicated freezer circuit does not mean you get to plug in all the freezers in the house.

Battery back-up alarm could easily and very cheaply save your bacon.

REAL hard on the receptacles, though! When labeling panels by myself, I used to use a radio - turned up loud!

Zacktly, thanks

If you leave on a GFI circuit, I suggest you get a battery operated temperature alarm for the freezer. I learned this the hard way.

If what you are describing means each freezer will be on a separate circuit breaker, yes.

I haven't really followed you word by word but what I want to think is you have one, potentially dedicated, single receptacle, with it's own breaker in the area you intend to place this new freezer?

It is already being used to run your old freezer?

You also have a branched circuit in the area that has multiple receptacles and its protected by its own GFCI breaker?

IF that IS what you have, you're good to go.

One freezer on each circut breaker.

If you choose to change out to a standard breaker, so be it, we lived for years without ground fault protection, hell, we lived without a ground at all for sometime.

That's on you..

If you were to breakout the code book you'd find a arc fault receptacle is required today.

A dedicated circut for a appliance with a electric motor is highly recommended but not required by code, but that doesn't give you a green flag to attempt to run 2 major appliances on a single circuit.

I'm sure many do this successfully and would argue the point.

The list of 'why nots' is much more meaningful than the list of 'but I got by with its'.

That's what I would do.

Can either one of you tell the difference between a 15 amp and 20 amp outlet just by glancing at it?

Got the little side notch.

Of course you'd know, you know how to do stuff.

It's just with all the posts recommending running both freezers on a single circuit there's not been mention of up grading to a 20 amp receptacle.

I guess a 20 amp breaker is good enuff.

I have seen a lot of scorched 15 amp outlets over the years.


Must be running 14.9 all the time.

On a 20 amp breaker..

dumb ways to die

YouTube video. 40 seconds in: "do your own electrical work".

As usual, electrical questions bring out the gamut of responses- some much better than others... The only right way to address this problem is to be sure the existing freezer is on a dedicated single receptacle, and then add another dedicated circuit and single receptacle for the second freezer, unless you want to risk a freezer full of whatever you put in there. And do not put a GFCI breaker or receptacle on them. The problem is, like Sitka said- if you have any power outage, both freezers can and will start at the same time when power is restored and the risk of overloading the existing circuit is high regardless of what the nameplate says for running amps. Also, you have to keep in mind that when compressors start to go bad they will often pull substantially more amps especially when starting, than when they are new and/or running normally. Either way, consider what a freezer full of goods is worth to you compared to what it might cost to have an electrician install a new dedicated receptacle and circuit and decide accordingly..

The existing freezer is on a dedicated non GFI 20 amp breaker.

I bought a 2 outlet 20 amp receptacle to replace the single outlet receptacle.

The freezers are 5 amps so if they start up at the same time it will be a 20 amp draw. The breaker is supposedly made to handle upwsrds of 20 amps for a start up surge.

So I have been told.....

I will test it out when the new freezer gets delivered and without any frozen food. Maybe plug both in at the sane time after letting the old freezer sit fir a while unplugged.

Many fridges and freezers use the 90 degree plugs, which makes it impossible to plug 2 into a standard outlet anyhow.
So, don't worry about changing the plug. Just get a heavy duty 3 prong multi plug adapter, and plug it in.
Sounds like if that is a single plug it was wired on a separate circuit for either a fridge, or tool such as a compressor.
Should be easy to check to see what breaker it is on, and if anything else goes off when that breaker is off.