Install a switch between two GFCI outlets so that only one can be used at a time

gfci

I have a GFCI receptacle installed on the side of my house in a weatherproof box. It is on a dedicated circuit. I need another receptacle on the other side of the wall in the car port so my wife can charge her Prius. I don't want to run another circuit but I also don't want both receptacles on the same circuit because at some point they will both get used and trip the breaker (or become a fire hazard). So I'd like to install the new one and add a three-way switch on the hot side to switch between the hot feeds on the receptacles. Then only one can be in use at a time. See illustration below. The top is two receptacles in parallel and the bottom is two receptacles switched. The switch and 1st receptacle would be in a double gang weatherproof in the carport and the 2nd would be outside on the side of the house.
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Does anyone see a problem with doing this? Is there anything in the code which prohibits it? Any advice is appreciated.

Best Answer

This way of doing it is a little risky, because some GFCIs don't like to have their power interrupted on a regular basis.

A GFCI+receptacle combo device creates a zone of protection in its own sockets and anything downline that is attached to the LOAD terminals. Hot and neutral must feed symmetrically from LOAD. Ground bypasses the GFCI entirely (and that's important for it to work).

I'm not fond of your arrangement because aside from severing power to GFCIs, it violates a few of my "rules":

  • Don't put two GFCI devices on the same circuit
  • Don't put a GFCI device outdoors

So I would recommend installing one GFCI device that is upstream of the switch. Then use the output of the GFCI, via the 3-way, to feed two plain receptacles.

I would also use a 20A-grade 3-way. This won't cost $2.

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Here I use brown/gray for hot/neutral in the protected zone, then I switch back to Romex colors just because I didn't want to redraw all that.