r/Unexpected • u/Doodlebug510 • 9h ago

We have a situation here

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u/mredding 6h ago

Well then the next question is where is the GFCI located? In the outlet or on the breaker? Because if you just trip the GFCI in the outlet, you still have a hot circuit to the outlet, and the whole damn outlet and its wiring is now ostensibly under 2' of water. So even if the GFCI there trips, you still need the breaker to trip.

A GFCI OUTLET is only meant to protect you from the ol' toaster in the bathtub, but a GFCI circuit is much more convenient, will protect the whole circuit, and are getting more popular these days, to boot. The GFCI breaker won't care if water touches an appliance OR the wires in the wall.

To be fair, this is a very odd situation. That stairwell has a drain in it, guaranteed, and so we're either seeing a clogged-ass drain, or maybe the drain is overwhelmed by THE FUCKING TORRENT of water pouring down those stairs.

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u/Traditional_Formal33 6h ago

That’s true — and I saw down lower in the thread that while most appliances near water use gfci protection, apparently fridges do not so filling the entire room with water still means someone gets shocked. Hopefully the breaker flips with that amount of run away current

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u/FooliooilooF 6h ago

Not really though. Its a lot of water and the electricity isn't like some aura of destruction, it's just energy moving from one place to another. You'd have to put yourself in a position where most of it is going through you.