Changing out the old plugs , but no ground

[BPG]

My Mother in laws' house still has the old 2 prong plugs and most of them are worn, where a plug wants to just fall back out, she still has the old fuse boxes , with the round screw in fuses....lol.... it's still dated as inspected in 1954... True stuff!

I bought a whole box of new plugs to replace several of them , An electrician , I am NOT ... I changed one of them, and it's working, but there isn't a ground wire anywhere inside of the plug to connect to the ground on the plug, only a white and black wire.... Can I run a ground wire to the metal box that holds the plugs ? or will new grounds need to be run somewhere else ?

The plug that I replaced works fine now, but , I know that the ground isn't any good to us like that ....

BPG~

[juka]

Most houses before 1970 did not run a true ground. Many just tied the ground to the white(L2). There are ways to create a true ground, metal water pipe, or drive a grounding rod.

[BPG]

Most houses before 1970 did not run a true ground. Many just tied the ground to the white(L2). There are ways to create a true ground, metal water pipe, or drive a grounding rod.

So, I could run another wire from the white side to the grounding screw on the new outlet ? thanks for the advice ..

BPG~

[satchick]

Do NOT connect the ground screw to the neutral side of the outlet. This is very dangerous, and very illegal. The neutral conductor is a current carrying conductor could have voltage present. If the ground and neutral were connected together at the outlet, an appliance with a metal chassis would become energized, posing a shock hazard. It could also result in damage to certain electronics depending on their design.

The safest way to install three pronged outlets without rewiring is to replace the first outlet on each circuit with a GFCI. The rest of the outlets would connect to the "load" side of the GFCI, providing protection against hot-ground faults. Downstream outlets are required to be labelled with "GFCI protected-No Equipment Ground". It's not the best solution, but it is code compliant and does provide a margin of safety. You will not have a true ground, however. This could be a problem for some electronics.

It might be a bit of a challenge to find the first outlet on each circuit, so an alternative is to use these right at the panel:
17395

Running a separate ground wire may be illegal, check with the inspector in your area before considering that route.

[zelig]

That vintage was BX cable and the metal box for the outlet is already ground via the armored cable.
Since the ground screw is on the same bracket you screw the outlet to the box with, the 3rd prong should be ground when you mount the outlet.
There are testers for 3prong outlets they sell,get one and check it after the install.

[fn59]

In Canada the Canadian Electrical Code states that it is acceptable to install a GFCI receptacle closest to the breaker, and have the rest of the receptacles on that circuit connected the load side of the GFCI. My code book is packed away in a box so I don't have the exact wording, but it should be in section 26, subsection 700.

[satchick]

That vintage was BX cable and the metal box for the outlet is already ground via the armored cable.


That's not always the case. Non-metallic cable started to show up in the 40's (similar to modern romex with with rubber insulation). If you do indeed have BX, you need to make sure that you have a continuous run from the boxes to the panel.

[The BK]

Legal way would be to install a GFI outlet .... as per NEC code ...

.. and then every outlet installed like that individually ....


ie ....

Under what condition can a two-wire receptacle be replaced with a three-wire receptacle, when no ground is available in the box?

A. Where no equipment bonding means exists in the outlet box, nongrounding-type receptacles can be replaced with [406.3(D)(3)]:

Another nongrounding-type receptacle.
A GFCI grounding-type receptacle marked "No Equipment Ground."
A grounding-type receptacle, if GFCI protected and marked "GFCI Protected" and "No Equipment Ground."
Note: GFCI protection functions properly on a 2-wire circuit without an equipment grounding (bonding) conductor, because the equipment grounding (bonding) conductor serves no role in the operation of the GFCI-protection device.

[The BK]

here ..

so your standing naked in a bathtub full of water .....


you put one finger in the netrual side of the GFI and one finger in the Hot side of the GFI >>

would you get electriced ?? and why ??