Can A Small Toaster Damage The GFCI It Was Plugged Into?

[KateFl2020]

I have a GFCI outlet that protects three different outlets in my kitchen.  Couple of months ago I was making toast in a regular toaster ( NOT toaster oven)  when the GFCI tripped.  It would not reset.  That toaster had been the only thing running at the time.  I replaced the GFCI but at that time, I did not "zero in" on the toaster being the problem.  Not a month later, that circuit tripped again, again while making toast and again, it would not reset.  This time, I caught the fact I was using that toaster both times the GFCI tripped.  Can an appliance that small be "bad" and damage a GFCI?  I threw the toaster away - immediately.  Now I have to wait another 3 weeks to get an electrician out to my house to inspect that entire circuit.  I am not taking any chances. 

[Marc]

Unplug the toaster, turn it upside down over the sink, then shake it.  Shake it like you grew up in the 60's. Then see if it still trips the GFCI.

Edited March 12, 2020 by Marc

[Jim Katen]

1 hour ago, KateFl2020 said:

Can an appliance that small be "bad" and damage a GFCI?  

Possibly. But if your toaster was faulty enough to fry the GFCI, it should have tripped the circuit breaker first. You might have had two problems: a faulty toaster and a bad circuit breaker. 

1 hour ago, KateFl2020 said:

Now I have to wait another 3 weeks to get an electrician out to my house to inspect that entire circuit.  I am not taking any chances. 

The circuit wiring is probably fine. But I'd ask him to install a new circuit breaker. (Its cheaper to do that than to test the existing one.) Unless, of course, you have an FPE or Zinsco panel, in which case you need to replace the entire panel. 

[Jim Baird]

When you say, "will not reset", did you throw breaker into off before reset?  It will not "reset" unless you do that.