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Originally Posted by molo
Come on SLACKERS!!!
The more important issue is???? Are those metal boxes grounded? If not, that ground wire aint doin much.
If you are going from 2 prong to 3 prong with no ground available you must use GFCI protection.
The theory is that someone will assume they are grounded (by looking at the 3 prong configuation) and get hurt (by means of a faulty tool etc.) as a result.
Alectrician....your not doing your home work.....read the first post that has all pertinent info of the question.
Cass - he clearly read the original post, he even quoted it - but the "ground wire" could mean "ground wire between the receptacle and the box" - it's not clear in the OP.
And even if Molo meant the ground wire coming from the panel; if it's old work, he should check to make sure it's actually grounded. Wouldn't be the first time a green wire didn't actually connect to anything.
There was, however, no reason to call everyone slackers...
More info
The ground is coming from the box. I would like to make sure it is grounded, how can I do this? Also, my original thought is that replacing the 12 outlets with new ones was a job I could do myself. I see that there are concerns when doing a project like this, and that is why I originally posted. Do you pros think this is a project I should DIY?
TIA,
Molo
Your right on both counts......Cass - he clearly read the original post, he even quoted it - but the "ground wire" could mean "ground wire between the receptacle and the box" - it's not clear in the OP.
And even if Molo meant the ground wire coming from the panel; if it's old work, he should check to make sure it's actually grounded. Wouldn't be the first time a green wire didn't actually connect to anything.
There was, however, no reason to call everyone slackers...
NO!!!
Sincerely, Joe Tedesco
And...is "slackers" a cuss word or something?
It's time to unbunch the panties fellas.
UL approval meaningless?
Are others as amazed as I at the junk that passes UL testing these days. I so often find electrical components that have plastic components with the consistency of charcoal briquettes after a few years use. Unscrew a bulb, and the socket falls apart.
backstab
Joe! I take it you do not thing anyone should even change a light bulb if they are not licensed electricians.
Get a simple outlet tester and plug it into the outlet. The light configuration will tell you if there is a working ground or not, and if the wires are correctly polarized. And YES, it is a simple DIY project if you turn off the power first.
That wasn't Joe, it was Aelectrician.
Not "electrician", which is Joe's sockpuppet.
Aelectrician is known to me, he uses the same handle at JLC; I'll vouch for him.
He does like to poke fun at Joe with posts like the one above, it's the 2nd or 3rd one I've seen...
I could be wrong, but with the "unwad panties" comment... I think it was just a joking way of saying: "sure, you can DIY it; but I never told you that, okay? wink, wink."
...
Easiest way I can think of to check for ground, is replace them, and use a plug-in receptacle tester to check them as you go.
Ok, I found a few "good ones" this weekend. It's a bit hot out but cool in the basement so I decided to fix 4 recepticals that had bad grounds.
The first one was simple, just change out the receptical to a new style with ground lug and hook-up the ground wire.
The next two made me mutter. Whoever hooked'em up cut the ground wire back as far as they could. Guess they didn't want it in the way. Fortunately there was enough slack in the wall to pull wire out and get everything connected.
The fourth one took a little tracking down. This one had the ground wire "neglected" in a ceiling junction box. Argggh. I suppose someone could think that shiney copper wire was just for decoration. It does seem awful easy just to twist'em together though.
Anyway, I mostly used the side lugs but did one backstab just 'cause it was convienent. I did manage to let a few sparks out of the wire but evidently not all of'em and the majic smoke still seems to be present. Don't tell anyone about me letting some of the sparks go.
The real charmer is one receptical in the family room. No ground wire at all but it has a three prong plug. It's a shallow box too so I don't know if I can find a slim enough gfci. The wire is behind paneling and inside some sort of flex armour but the flex isn't anchored to the receptical box. If I force the armour against the box, I get a ground. Otherwise, no go.
Jus' wunnerful stuff.
Joe
if someone signs it "Sincerely, Joe Tedesco", then I would assume he is the one writing. If not then it is a subterfuge using an alias.
Note that the member name was not "Aelectrician" , it was "Alectrician"
Who's who in the zoo???
If you can find the circuit breaker, know how to verify that ALL leads in the box are not live, and a little skill, then, unless your municipality restricts this to licensed electricians, you can do this yourself. When the box is used in a chain (daisy chain), I think it is better to use a wire nut to connect the wires and use a pigtail to connect to the outlet. While it doesn't happen too often, repeated heating and cooling of the connection can cause the screws to loosen slightly, thus giving you a flakey connection down the line that is very hard to find sometimes.
If you have any of those outlets that are served by multiple feeds, it is very important to watch what was done with the jumpers between the recepticles and the color of the wires attached. Break off only the jumpers as done in the original installation.
Wrap the wires clockwise around the screws.
Jim DeBruycker
Important note - I'm not a pro
Retired Defense Industry Engineer
Heh heh ...welcome to my world.
You guy's never heard of "sincerely" posts? Stick around and you might learn something other than trade secrets.
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