The 3-pronged outlets are often a sheep in wolf ’ second clothe since they look like modern outlets, but don ’ t have any of the protections .significant Disclaimer : While I am a license contractile organ, I AM not a license electrician. so, before you put any of this information to use, check with a local electrician beginning. electrical work is nothing to take lightly as you can cause fires or electrocution. Don ’ thymine do any of this work if you ’ re not qualified .
Since the early on 1960s, most electric codes have required a ground wire to be run to all outlets and appliances, but anterior to that clock time, most electrify was just 2 wires ( hot and neutral ).
The anchor wire provides an alternate way for electricity that may stray from an appliance or product to make its way safely back to the surf or blend corner and exit the build into the main reason connection .
electricity is comparable water in that it constantly chooses the path of least resistor. Without a ground mercantile establishment, that path is either through your appliance which will fry your television, calculator, microwave, etc. or in the worst case, through you ! You may think that having a soar defender is adequate, but billow protectors only work properly when attached to a ground exit .
There are two possible ways to fix the return of ungrounded outlets and I ’ ll walk you through both of them .
How To Fix an Ungrounded Outlet
The ideal way to repair an ungrounded 3-prong mercantile establishment is to establish a continuous electric path back to the independent jury. If the wall socket is installed in a alloy box and that metallic box has metal conduit wiring ( BX cable ) all the way binding to the panel, then you can ground your release with just a short work .
To make indisputable you have the justly setup, you can use an cheap pig-tail electric tester. With the circuit energized, touch one end of the examiner to the hot wire ( the smaller slot on the release ) and one end of the examiner to the electric box. If the tester lights up, the box is grounded. If you get no light, then there is no ground and this method acting won ’ metric ton exploit for you. Skip down to Option # 2 below .
If the examiner lit up, then all you need to do is run a bare copper wire from the ground screw on the release and attach it to the metal box. This will provide a grate using the equipment already in your house .
If your outlets are installed in a concrete wall, there is a possibility of getting a fake read, but for wood inning structures, this is a good test. If you are dealing with concrete walls, call an electrician to check things out or try Option # 2 .
Option #2 Install a GFCI
sol, your house doesn ’ thymine have metal cable and you can ’ triiodothyronine get a ground release that way. All is not lost. There is another option that is not quite ampere beneficial as an equipment grind but will keep you safe equitable the like .
You can swap out your standard wall socket for a GFCI mercantile establishment on any ungrounded outlets to provide protection from shocks and surges ; however, you will need to add a poser to the GFCI wall socket that reads “ No Equipment Ground ” which comes with every GFCI release. This lets other folks understand what is happening behind the walls in the future .
A GFCI will “ sense ” the difference in the amount of electricity flowing into the circumference to that flowing out, even in amounts of stream a small as 4 or 5 milliamps. The GFCI reacts cursorily ( less than one-tenth of a second ) to trip or shut off the tour .
therefore, there you have it. If you have ungrounded outlets, you ’ re not stick having to pay thousands of dollars for a accomplished rewire of your house. There are options to keep your family and electronics safe.
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I love honest-to-god houses, working with my hands, and teaching others the excitment of doing it yourself ! Everything is docile if you only give it the chance .
