# fridge in bathroom



## toastermaker (Jun 18, 2005)

New single family construction 

Home owner wants to add a receptacle for a very small refridgerator that is to be built in to a (floor to ceiling) cabinet next to the vanity.
What parts(s) of the code would cover this?

We have already wired the bathrooms as one circuit to serve all required gfci receptacles for all (3) bathrooms, and general purpose circiuts serving the lights and exhaust fans.

As it happens he has a lightly loaded (6 outlets) 20 amp general purpose circuit in the adjacent bedroom. 
If the fridge is small enough could a receptacle for it be added to this general purpose circuit.?

Thanks for any replies,


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## Speedy Petey (Sep 30, 2003)

1) ALL receptacles in bathrooms must be GFI protected.

2) ANY receptacle circuits in bathrooms may NOT share the circuit with any other space. So if this refer is in a bath, it must either be on the bath receptacle circuit, or a new circuit run to just the refer.

3) Your receptacle circuit design, while code legal, is seriously flawed. It is very rare that an electrician will share receptacles between bathrooms these days...especially three! This is a callback waiting to happen.


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## erikthered (Nov 3, 2005)

Speedy petey hit the nail on the head with #3. I doin't know how many times I had A service call. That the home owner said my receptical in my down stairs bath doesn't work because the gfi outlet in the master bath was triped. and they just can't under stand the way a gfi works.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

Okay and to throw a wrench isn't it a bad idea to put a refrigerator on a GFCI circuit?


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

Mike Finley said:


> Okay and to throw a wrench isn't it a bad idea to put a refrigerator on a GFCI circuit?


Yes, Mike, it sure is. If you're putting a frige in a bathroom (why???), you have no choice. Refrigerators on a GFCI circuit will nuisance trip from time to time, especially as they age. Putting one in a bathroom, your hands are tied.

This installation has bigger issues, that Speedy already alluded to. Putting the receptacles in all three bathrooms on one circuit does meet the bare minimum code requirements. This is okay for a tract home or something slapped together, but in my opinion this is industrial strength stupid for a custom home from the standpoint of the "live-ability" of such an installation. Like Speedy says, a sure fire recipie for a callback. Put each bath's receptacle on its own circuit for a top notch job.


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## noreast05 (Sep 4, 2005)

mdshunk said:


> If you're putting a frige in a bathroom (why???)


Less traveling distance for the beer.:drink: I thought I had some unusual requests.


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

noreast05 said:


> Less traveling distance for the beer.:drink: I thought I had some unusual requests.


I suppose. The whole idea of it seems unsanitary to me, but I guess you do keep your toothbrush in the bathroom too. 

I regularly get requests for a "reading light" over the toilet (normally a 4" recessed can) with a switch mounted within reach of a person seated on the pot. In fact, during initial walk throughs with the builders of custom homes, I've been asking if they want a light over the toilet now. Many smile and bite at that idea. One of my helpers called such a light "The Can-Can".

Putting phone and cable outlets in bathrooms, particularly within sight of soaking tubs and whirlpools, is quite common too. I bet it's nice to have nothing better to do besides take a bubble bath while watching Oprah and talking on the phone.


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## ContractorSon (Feb 4, 2005)

mdshunk said:


> I suppose. The whole idea of it seems unsanitary to me, but I guess you do keep your toothbrush in the bathroom too.
> 
> I regularly get requests for a "reading light" over the toilet (normally a 4" recessed can) with a switch mounted within reach of a person seated on the pot. In fact, during initial walk throughs with the builders of custom homes, I've been asking if they want a light over the toilet now. Many smile and bite at that idea. One of my helpers called such a light "The Can-Can".
> 
> Putting phone and cable outlets in bathrooms, particularly within sight of soaking tubs and whirlpools, is quite common too. I bet it's nice to have nothing better to do besides take a bubble bath while watching Oprah and talking on the phone.



Common in upper-end homes to have a juice bar with coffee maker and "hotel-sized" fridge in the master sitting area....


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

ContractorSon said:


> Common in upper-end homes to have a juice bar with coffee maker and "hotel-sized" fridge in the master sitting area....


Yeah, sure, but we're talking about a frige in a bathroom. That's truly weird.


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## CGofMP (Feb 17, 2005)

A fridge in the bathroom IS pretty damned strange.

Ask the HO WHY they want this just to entertain us will ya? :thumbup: 

In my home, the brain surgeons wired the bathroom GFCI outlet with the outside back patio outlet with the outlet in the garage above the workbench. The reset for all three plug-receptacles is the plug-receptacle above the workbench in the garage.

One has to wonder....


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

CGofMP said:


> In my home, the brain surgeons wired the bathroom GFCI outlet with the outside back patio outlet with the outlet in the garage above the workbench. The reset for all three plug-receptacles is the plug-receptacle above the workbench in the garage.


That was never compliant. Must not have been inspections yet in your neck of the woods when your house was constructed.


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## CGofMP (Feb 17, 2005)

> That was never compliant. Must not have been inspections yet in your neck of the woods when your house was constructed.


I had a feeling that might be the case.

Is this a safety issue that needs to be addressed or is it just an inconvinience factor that is not really an issue?

I take it to fix this one would have to run new curciuts to all the above?  

The place was constructed in 91 or 92, I'm sure they must have had inspectors then.... Maybe a previous renter screwed it up or somehting? It was used as a rental by the original builder till we bought it.

The GFCI on the patio saved my ass once. Was cleaning an air conditioning unit (AC unit is on cuircuit breaker which I shut down and it has a fuse box of its own which I unplugged by taking the fuse out after I'd killed it at the breaker box) but I had an extension cord plugged into the patio GFCI. Long story short I really do not know what happened but the cord must have fallen into a puddle that I was creating/standing in and the GFCI tripped.

Sobering. Still dunno how the cord went into the water.


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

CGofMP said:


> Is this a safety issue that needs to be addressed or is it just an inconvinience factor that is not really an issue?


Not in my opinion. Just darned inconvenient.


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## CGofMP (Feb 17, 2005)

thanks man... and sorry for the thread drift guys :innocent:


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## toastermaker (Jun 18, 2005)

Thanks everyone,

I didn't ask the homeowner why he wanted the small fridge in the bathroom, I just thought it would be for insulin or other medication.

I had been thinking that the nature of a receptacle for a fastened in place fridge (built in to the cabinet) and not being not redily accessable might allow it to not be GFCI protected. 

Is there room in the code to get special permission from the AHJ or would that be a stupid idea?

Certainly no part of the fridge is within the Bathtub Zone. It is however next to the vanity.

This makes me think of another question, Why in the world are garbage disposals not required to be GFCI protected?

And finally the toughest question:
Being the rookie that I am (about one year of experiance, with no formal training) should I even try to suggest to my boss that we change methods of wiring bathrooms?
If I were to do so, what might be a good tact?

Thanks again everyone,


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

toastermaker said:


> I didn't ask the homeowner why he wanted the small fridge in the bathroom, I just thought it would be for insulin or other medication.


Ah, yes. That would make some sense. I never ran into that situation before, but that possibility does add up. 



toastermaker said:


> I had been thinking that the nature of a receptacle for a fastened in place fridge (built in to the cabinet) and not being not redily accessable might allow it to not be GFCI protected.


There are such exceptions for other locations in the home, but no such exception exists for the bathroom.



toastermaker said:


> Is there room in the code to get special permission from the AHJ or would that be a stupid idea?


Nope. That's part of the authority given to inspectors. The code doesn't cover every situation. You can always pick up the phone and ask, just don't hold your breath. 



toastermaker said:


> Certainly no part of the fridge is within the Bathtub Zone. It is however next to the vanity.


Hmmm... yeah, I don't see them bending on the GFCI requirement in that case... but who knows?



toastermaker said:


> This makes me think of another question, Why in the world are garbage disposals not required to be GFCI protected?


Only kitchen countertop receptacles are required to be GFCI protected. The disposer receptacle is inside the cabinet, and isn't required to be GFCI protected. If you had that same disposer installed in a bathroom, it would require GFCI protection. The requirements are different for different rooms and areas. It gets a little confusing. 



toastermaker said:


> And finally the toughest question:
> Being the rookie that I am (about one year of experiance, with no formal training) should I even try to suggest to my boss that we change methods of wiring bathrooms?
> If I were to do so, what might be a good tact?


I'm not sure you want to go down that road.


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## DecksEtc (Oct 27, 2004)

Just another thought on the "why" question - I've seen people with small bar fridges in their bedrooms.

Perhaps his customer wants a small fridge on the second floor but doesn't want it/have room in their bedroom for it?


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## toastermaker (Jun 18, 2005)

Thanks Decks and md,

Decks, the whole upstairs is the master bedroom suite so to speak. He has plenty of other space to put a small fridge if he wanted.

CGofMP, I asked the owner today and he said for medicine.

md, I think you are right about not going down that road, at least until I get a couple of more years in.

I will rephrase the garbage disposal question:
Code aside, what are the physical/electrical reasons why GFCI protection would not benefit a person with his hands in a sink full of water that has a garbage desposal connected to it, or for that matter a clothes washing machine, or de-iceing equiptment at grade level?

Thanks again all for your replies,


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## CGofMP (Feb 17, 2005)

Meds make sense.... dunno why I did not think of that one myself.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

I'm starting to see flat screens in the shower and in front of the commode. Add in a reefer for the beer and you really don't need the rest of the house. LOL Add in a microwave, surround sound, fold out bunk and you have a live-in outhouse.

GC's, I thought of this first!


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