Re: The "I Hate GFCIs" thread
Hm, those sorts of conditions sound suspiciously like quite a few dodgy performance venues...
GFCIs, at least in the US, must trip with 3-5mA difference between line and neutral. As this is typically measured with a current transformer, any instantaneous difference that exceeds the threshold will cause the GFCI to trip. In practice, this means that devices with reasonable quantities of energy storage (e.g. motors) will trip the GFCI.
Most regulatory agencies allow for some current to flow to the ground pin in electrical products, but this is limited to a maximum of 3mA (often lower). So a properly functioning piece of electrical equipment will not trip a properly functioning GFCI, but it is possible that multiple pieces of equipment with earth leakage currents at the high end of the allowed range will.
