Pellet Smoker trips GFCI after a few seconds

[dand9959]

I have a vertical Pitboss Pro Series pellet smoker. I just had to replace the ignitor, and during test things were going fine for about 5 minutes. Then the smoker tripped the GFCI it was plugged into. Subsequent power-ons now trip the GFCI within several seconds. What could be the problem? (The ignitor replacement went pretty smoothly. I didn't notice any weird stuff during the process - bad wires, etc. ) The smoker is less than a year old.

During startup, the display flashes an L42 code (which I've been told is the firmware version). Then, once I set the target temp, the "IT" icon flashes, then the gfci triggers.

Update: I plugged the smoker into a non-gfci outlet, and it worked fine. So I guess the next step is to replace the gfci (as suggested by several helpful posters.) as this outlet is perfectly located for my smoker location.

 

[Jimsmokes]

Check your gfi amp rating. I replaced one here that started tripping after replacement and the one beside my deck wouldn't. I inadvertently had picked up a 15 amp instead of a 20.

 

[Tim W]

I have a vertical Pitboss Pro Series pellet smoker. I just had to replace the ignitor, and during test things were going fine for about 5 minutes. Then the smoker tripped the GFCI it was plugged into. Subsequent power-ons now trip the GFCI within several seconds. What could be the problem? (The ignitor replacement went pretty smoothly. I didn't notice any weird stuff during the process - bad wires, etc. ) The smoker is less than a year old.

During startup, the display flashes an L42 code (which I've been told is the firmware version). Then, once I set the target temp, the "IT" icon flashes, then the gfci triggers.

I replaced the GFCI and that stopped mine

 

[Sodaking27]

Try unplugging the replacement ignitor and see if it still trips the GFCI when you power it on. New ignitor may be bad.

 

[brewersfan73]

Like a couple other people have said, it is probably your GFCI. The new ignitor might be drawing a little bit more electricity than your old one, which is now causing it to trip. Even though you didn't have problems before.

Either replace your GFCI or plug it in to a non-GFCI protected outlet.

 

[Cowboy1955]

Plug it in to a different circuit and see if it still trips that circuit. You could have a short on your grill.
Hopefully this helps you

 

[Trigg]

A GFCI's purpose is to detect current leakage from the line side to ground. This indicates a ground fault, as the name of the device implies, Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter.

Older GFCI's, I'm talking 99's early 2000's, were very sensitive to higher load devices such as a refrigerator or freezer, they were also sensitive to different load types like inductive loads and some other heavy electronic loads.

Additionally its not terribly uncommon for GFCI's to fail, especially ones that are outdoors.

For your specific situation i would be somewhat concerned that it just started happening immediately after replacing the ignitor. It is entirely possible the new ignitor has a high resistance short to ground that the GFCI is sensing, but is not enough to trip the circuit breaker.

As mentioned testing the grill on another GFCI would be a start. If nothing else I would replace the GFCI if its older than 5 years or if its life is unknown. I do not recommend ignoring, bypassing, or even changing the amperage of the GFCI. Without knowing all of the details of the circuit, changing from a 15A to a 20A could just lead to headaches down the road if it is installed on a 15A circuit, not to mention that a 15A vs. 20A GFCI operate in the same manner, one is just rated for higher current.

Make sure none if the wiring was pinched or cut during the replacement.

 

[Tim W]

A GFCI's purpose is to detect current leakage from the line side to ground. This indicates a ground fault, as the name of the device implies, Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter.

Older GFCI's, I'm talking 99's early 2000's, were very sensitive to higher load devices such as a refrigerator or freezer, they were also sensitive to different load types like inductive loads and some other heavy electronic loads.

Additionally its not terribly uncommon for GFCI's to fail, especially ones that are outdoors.

For your specific situation i would be somewhat concerned that it just started happening immediately after replacing the ignitor. It is entirely possible the new ignitor has a high resistance short to ground that the GFCI is sensing, but is not enough to trip the circuit breaker.

As mentioned testing the grill on another GFCI would be a start. If nothing else I would replace the GFCI if its older than 5 years or if its life is unknown. I do not recommend ignoring, bypassing, or even changing the amperage of the GFCI. Without knowing all of the details of the circuit, changing from a 15A to a 20A could just lead to headaches down the road if it is installed on a 15A circuit, not to mention that a 15A vs. 20A GFCI operate in the same manner, one is just rated for higher current.

Make sure none if the wiring was pinched or cut during the replacement.

Isn't a heating element a high resistance short?

 

[Trigg]

Isn't a heating element a high resistance short?

Yes.

But it should be Line to Neutral on a 120V system or Line to Line on a 240V system. There should be no current to ground.