Every year tons of Americans die due to electrical accidents in their homes and at work. According to the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) -- before the widespread use of GFCIs around 800 people died each year from electrocution, now that number is much less, around 200.

GFCI outlets were specifically designed to protect people from electric shock, different from a fuse in your breaker box. The fuse protects your home or other structure from an electrical fire while a GFCI protects you.

Now, after the widescale proliferation of GFCI technologies, fewer people die but it does come at a pesky cost -- just about ANY moisture that gets between connections will trip the GFCI circuit causing frustration and even financial loss.

What is a GFCI and how does it work?

To comply with U.S. National Electrical Code (NEC), all outdoor 120-volt power outlets must include GFCI safety protection. This protection is accomplished by an internal circuit in the GFCI that monitors current flow in each of the two flat connectors. This internal circuit controls a switch in the GFCI that disconnects power when the two current flows are not identical.

An imbalance of as small as 5 milliamps (5 thousand of an amp) can terminate the power from a GFCI source. The imbalance is due to unwanted leakage from the hot lead to the ground. The problem with GFCIs

The number one complaint about GFCIs is that they trip when there’s moisture present. YES, this is exactly what they are designed to do but there are a number of situations where this can be not only just a bother but can actually cause contractors and other tradesmen to lose money.

• Christmas lights - Every year thousands of households across the United States pay installers to hang extensive Christmas light decorations with sometimes hundreds of cord-to-cord connections. They will finish a job after several days and it will all light up beautifully when they drive away but then it rains and they get called back to fix the problem, sometimes multiple times. The problem is nearly always moisture getting between the Christmas light cord connections and they have to spend hours figuring out which connection it is so the GFCI will reset.
• Construction crews - A little rain usually doesn’t shut down a construction site, they just wait for it to pass and then get back to it. Unfortunately for them what they get back to is a bunch of tools that won’t work until they reset the GFCIs. A lot of the time they have to walk around and figure out which electrical cord connection is wet, dry it off, and wrap it with tape to keep the moisture out -- what a pain!
• Landscape lighting - A lot of outdoor lighting is set up with extension cords both above ground and buried. There are sometimes places where the electrical cords connect without protection making them vulnerable to moisture. Anytime it rains or even after dewfall these connections can get wet and cause the GFCI to trip. Trying to figure out which connection, throughout the landscape lighting, can be a daunting task.
• Hydroponic gardens - Anytime you mix water with electrical cords there could potentially be a problem. Lots of people grow their own food in containers such as Lettuce Grow’s Farmstand or just have lights over indoor gardens. Hydroponics generally need electric lights and sometimes moisture gets between the electrical cords and trips the GFCI.
• Backyard pools - Backyard pools have tons of electric motors running pumps, cleaners, and heaters. One of the worst problems to come home to after a nice vacation is a pool pump that hasn’t been filtering. Instead of relaxing and reflecting you’re spending the afternoon cleaning algae and troubleshooting why the pump stopped working. Hint -- it’s usually a GFCI.
• Electric smokers - You spend hours picking out food at the grocery store, preparing it, marinating it, and then putting it in your smoker only to come back a few hours later and the dang GFCI is blown due to some moisture in the plug connection. This is a big problem with an easy solution.
• The list goes on - There are literally hundreds of places where moisture getting between electrical cord connections causes issues -- electric smokers, outdoor events, ponds, fountains, farms, plant nurseries, fisheries, ranches, breweries, parade floats, campgrounds. The list goes on and on and in nearly every circumstance, time lost is money lost.

Purpose of our products

Advanced Plug Protection has come up with a very easy solution to a difficult problem -- we help you stop tripping GFCIs by keeping the moisture out of plug connections.

• Weatherproof Gaskets
• Weatherproof Plug Covers

Any wet power cord, when installed without our Gasket, remains vulnerable to unwanted leakage and can easily trip the GFCI. The Gasket is designed to be squeezed between the male and female plugs to seal and insulate the exposed plug connectors, thereby avoiding GFCI trips.

The Plug Cover and Gasket seals and insulates any female plug that may remain vulnerable to leakage. They are designed to minimize unwanted GFCI trips but should NEVER be used without a GFCI as these products are not safety items.

Problem solved

Whether you’re a construction worker trying to keep your job moving or a Christmas lights guy making sure you have happy clients, protecting your plug connections with APlugPro products can help save you time, money, and frustration -- and improve your bottom line. We are a small company with a big goal - to help thousands of clients improve their bottom line by stopping GFCIs from tripping!