Power and ground in old houses
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Posted by Al Dykes on March 24, 2005, 2:35 pm
Please log in for more thread options I routinly get asked to work on computers in buildings that have pre-war wiring. Two prong receptacles, not many of them, and who-knows-what behind the walls. Of course everything the user wants to hook up requires 3 prong outlets. When I take the wallplate off I find rubber and fabric-insulated wire that can crumble if I disturb it. There is no way I'm going to try to put a modern grounded receptacle here. I can scrape the paint off the plate and put a 3-wire adapter with a ground tab in with an OK connection to the ground tab. A wiring test gadget shows that hot/neutral/ground is correct. (or not, in one case.) What's acceptable practice here ? -- a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Justin Time on March 24, 2005, 2:08 pm
Please log in for more thread options Let me ask a more basic question. According to your local electrical code who is qualified to change an outlet? If, according to code, you are not "qualified," then you may be opening yourself for liability by doing the favor of changing the outlet. A proper connection for a three prong outlet requires 3 wires, hot, neutral, and ground. This may be a case where you would be better off not doing the electrical and just tell the customer they will need to get an electrician in to redo the outlet. Once the outlet is redone, then you can come back and finish the installation. Rodgers Platt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Al Dykes on March 24, 2005, 5:18 pm
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I'm not going to do any electrical work. I'm asking if anything short of getting a new run from the panel is acceptable practice. -- a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Robert Redelmeier on March 24, 2005, 10:36 pm
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> I'm not going to do any electrical work. I'm asking if
> anything short of getting a new run from the panel is > acceptable practice. It depends on local code. AFAIK, the NEC allows two wire service to be converted to 3 prong plugs by replacing the recepticle with a GFI recepticle. Those cover-plate screw ground adapters are only suitable where armored cable has been run, grounded at the panel and bonded to the outlet metal box. The cover screw is then part of a tortuous ground path. In any case, a knowledgeable electrician should be involved. -- Robert | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by James Knott on March 24, 2005, 10:58 pm
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Al Dykes wrote: >
> I'm not going to do any electrical work. I'm asking if anything short > of getting a new run from the panel is acceptable practice. That's not your concern. It's the customer's responsibility to provide a safe power source. Make sure you use an outlet tester, should a "grounded" receptacle suddenly appear. It's always a good idea, to carry one of those testers in your tool kit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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>code who is qualified to change an outlet? If, according to code, you
>are not "qualified," then you may be opening yourself for liability by
>doing the favor of changing the outlet. A proper connection for a
>three prong outlet requires 3 wires, hot, neutral, and ground. This may
>be a case where you would be better off not doing the electrical and
>just tell the customer they will need to get an electrician in to redo
>the outlet. Once the outlet is redone, then you can come back and
>finish the installation.
>
>Rodgers Platt
>