"another what" u ask? another know it all!
i get sick and tired of helping people out by giving the right advice and then having to go against one or several know it alls because they insist their way is better then what a professional in the trade in question is suggesting. either they saw it on a jack of all trades tv show or heard it from a friend that appears to know what he's doing because his father was a millright.
the gfci is a great idea but it will not work unless the op wants to grow some hermies. a gfci will constantly trip when it operates fluorescent and hid ballasts along with motor loads. nuisance tripping is a huge problem with these loads because a gfci trips whens it senses a 5to6 ma difference in a fraction of a second between 2 conductors that are powering these loads in question because of the larger capacitance they have.
i do not work on super basic residential electrical systems for a living, i deal with complex electrical control and automation. along with my ticket i also have my electrical technologist deg and a couple of other tickets that are not related.. i know what i'm talking about, i'm not blowing this out of my ass. do a search on "gfci nuisance tripping ballast" and you'll fing something like this:
http://www.safeelectricity.info/index.php/information-center/library-of-articles/55-home-safety/317-ground-fault-circuit-interrupters-gfcis
What is nuisance tripping of a GFCI?
It takes only 5 mA (0.005 A) of current leakage from the hot wire to the ground to cause a GFCI to trip. A small amount of leakage current may be difficult to avoid in some normal circuits. Hand-held power tools do not cause a tripping problem if the tool is maintained in good condition. Some stationary motors, such as a bathroom vent fan or fluorescent lighting fixtures, may produce enough leakage to cause nuisance tripping. Another problem may be a long circuit with many splices. If possible, keep GFCI circuits less than 100 feet long. To avoid nuisance tripping, a GFCI should not supply:
- Circuits longer than 100 feet
- Fluorescent or other types of electric-discharge lighting fixtures
- Permanently installed electric motors
Installing a GFCI to prevent electrical shock from electrical equipment seems like a good idea, but nuisance tripping may become a serious problem. The installer must carefully consider the effects of loss of power to a circuit before installing GFCI protection, such as circuits with refrigerators, freezers, garage door openers, etc. The most effective shock prevention system for electrical equipment and circuits is a good equipment grounding conductor run with the circuit wires and connected to all metal equipment.
to the op, i wont be coming back to this thread. i dont want you to think that someone posting an alternate idea is better or will work because i'm not responding but its because i dont have time for this, if you have a question just pm me.
you can do it the right way or you can do it the other way, the choice is yours.
last time i help anybody on this site.
unreal.