I have an ungrounded outlet in the bottom of a wood cabinet. It was wired with a cloth covered type Romex with no ground wire – probably from the 60’s. The hot and neutral are in good shape but there aren’t any nearby pipes to run a ground wire to. Should I just leave the two prong outlet in (as it has been for year) or do away with the outlet all together. An ungrounded outlet seems rather dangerous to me and if so, why would anybody wire it this way to begin with? Thanks, Jim
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It's grandfathered, if you
It's grandfathered, if you mean by is it OK... but then again so is knob and tube wiring...
IF you need to plug grounded plugs into these outlets, there are a couple of things.
One - wire a GCFI. It won't work as a grounded outlet, but it will offer a little more protection.
Two - string a ground wire down from the outlet and run it between the trim and carpet to another ground wire somewhere, either at the service panel or just another nearby outlet. DON'T go to pipe... it may have a break in it so as to make it not a ground path. REMEMBER - this wile will never be live except for the briefest of moments in a disaster, that's why you don't have to treat it like it's energised.
For ungrounded electrical devices, it is perfectly OK (Assuming the wire hasn't been damaged. Which is also true of K&T, IMO.)
If you're going to use grounded devices, run a new circuit, don't just add a ground wire to some 'convenient' so called 'ground'
My impression/experience is that, as plastic casings have increased in use, the need for/use of grounded power cords has decreased over the years.
Yep, so long as it's a
Yep, so long as it's a two-prong outlet (replacement two-prong outlets ARE available, should the need arise), and so long as the wire is in good condition, there's no need to do anything. An ungrounded two-prong outlet is as safe as a 3-prong, when a 2-prong device is plugged in.
Thanks for the answers. I'll
Thanks for the answers. I'll install a new two prong outlet as it will only be used for table lamps and the occasional vacuum. In my concern to "update" that old two pronger with the safety of a grounded outlet I lost track of the fact that if what you're plugging in doesn't have a ground pin, a grounded outlet doesn't do you much good. Dan's last sentence turned that light bulb on in my head. And thanks for the pipe tip. I am aware of dilectric fittings in plumbing but more importantly Paul and rjw's comments were a good reminder that even if it's a good ground now, who knows what might change "further down the line" in the future. Thanks again guys! Jim
Our house was built about 1960, all the plugs were 2 prong, however the practice here (Mass) was to ground the box on the outside so that a ground screw and wire would give you a 3 prong outlet. those testers for 3 prong correct connection shows good ground.
Good point - so long as there is metal conduit with good connections, you should be ok
Be aware, though, that a "bootleg" ground = a jumper from the neutral to the ground screw will cause those testers to give a false positive for grounding.
What xxPaulCPxx said. GFCI outlets offer very good protection against electrocution while letting you avoid the pain of rewiring. For a measly ten bucks I'd put one in.