As someone who just added gfci to all my first runs this was a very helpful video. Would have been good to talk about adding the gfci to the first in line so folks don’t buy gfci’s for every outlet.
@@bigbeef8935 If all the receptacles on a circuit are daisy chained, which is common, you only need GFCI on the first in the chain. It will sense a hot/neutral differential in any downstream receptacle and trip. Installing more than this is unnecessary and wasteful. Also, if any circuits have a refrigerator or lighting on them you should only have GFCI protection after the fridge or lighting devices.
Good video. Wish you'd have gone over 2-to-3-prong adapters though - those little $1 plugs that let a 2-prong outlet accept a 3-prong cord. They seem like most peoples' first choice in this situation and it'd be nice to talk about the safety risk of essentially ignoring the grounding wire.
The only way those adaptors serve any purpose other than smearing lipstick on a pig's face, is if the house is wired with AC cable, also known as BX, and metal boxes, found in some homes in the 40s and 50s. In that case, you may have what are known as grounded two slot receptacles. Though in that instance you might as well install a 3 slot receptacle than use a jumper from the Grounded box to the receptacle and avoid the adapter altogether.
I think what alder is saying that he wanted the video to talk about those adapters to explain why they are dangerous. Not everyone is going to know the reason why not to use them.
I have a 1950's house with a mix of two prong outlets and three-prong outlets from a previous remodel. I won't lie, I did replace a couple of two-prong outlets with GFCI outlets for a home office. Not ideal, but much cheaper than trying to rewire the entire house.
The house I grew up in had 3-4 2-prong outlets left after the previous rennovation, along with some knob & tube that was still in use. To sell it we had to have the knob & tube replaced (which went to 3-prong outlets with no ground) and found that the wire behind the 2-prong outlets was modern romex with ground conductors that had simply been cut short so they didn't have to spend $10 on 3-4 new 3-prong outlets. Not as insane as having 3 circuit breakers feeding various wires into a standard 4" box but close.
If you add downstream outlets that are protected by the GFCI receptacles you can add a little arrow to the "Protected by GFCI" sticker indicating which way to go to find the GFCI device to assist others in finding it when trips.
Technically by code you have to, if your circuit has no ground. You also technically have to add the "No Equipment Ground" sticker as well. (if your house has a ground the code has no sticker requirements)
I fully-grounded a metal-sheathed houseful of receptacles by ensuring the anchor & grounding of box the metal sheathed cables and GFCI/AFCI receptacles as replacements in first positions and in areas of possible humidity & moisture, then pigtailing ALL downline receptacles to their metal boxes grounding to the box, through the circuits and back to breakers.
Great alternate for those of us in jurisdictions *cough* Chicago *cough* that require all electrical wiring to be in conduit. Now the already huge task of requiring means running conduit throughout the walls as well. This is a budget saver option for the first receptacle in every circuit!
Besides being a suitable ground in most instances, the conduit makes rewiring much easier. There is less of a need to open walls when you can just pull it theough the pipe. I pulled hundreds of feet of brittle, cloth covered wire out of my house in Chicago .
In my bathroom I have a motion sensor light switch. That switch uses the ground to make sure the sensor can operate with the light turned off and be able to turn on the light automatically. I have it because I am disabled and cannot always take my hand to turn it on with crutches or my hands full. I also care for a young child who is a primordial dwarf who can't reach the light switch so when he walks in the light will automatically turn on without touching the light switch. I also have a pocket door that goes into my bedroom and by current code, there should be a 3 way switch to have 2 light switches to turn on the light in 2 separate areas. The motion sensor light switch resolved the code issue there.
The switch uses neutral, not ground, to operate when light is off. If it is operating on ground, then the installation was wrongly performed. This is known because these switches clearly indicate on their package that a neutral conductor is required when installing.
@@PatrickDeschamps Without the ground wired up, the sensor will NOT work or turn on the light automatically. It will turn on without the ground if you manually turn it on with the built in switch. The directions on the package, plus consultation with a licensed master electrician says the ground is used for the sensor portion of the switch to ensure the sensor has power with the light off; it must be connected to ground to operate normally. The motion sensor is built into the switch. It is not a separate unit outside of the light switch.
@@PatrickDeschamps Actually, that isn't always the case. There are many listed and approved occupancy sensors that use ground for neutral current. This is perfectly acceptable and within code because it is a level of current that does not pose any risk of electrocution. The Lutron Maestro is perhaps the most popular of these. That said, NEC 2020 eliminated this exception, but many states are not even on NEC 2020 yet. So it's a relatively recent thing that this was eliminated.
While code technically says you must use AFCI when modifying any part of a circuit, in practice that's not always in the budget..so getting a 10 pack of GFCIs only for the same 50 bucks might be a better bet. It still addresses the primary safety issue (lack of grounding). Plus even if you install an AFCI receptacle the home run is still unprotected.
@@thomaslcook1998 Just bought a 120 year old house, would love some tips on what is most important to update first, thanks for sharing about the outlet situation
Spending next week in a home built in 1969 with all ungrounded 600v rated pvc NM cable. Has to be one of the newest homes I seem without equipment grounds.
He forgot to mention that many of the two pronged receptacle outlets are grounded at the box by the BX cable and then all you have to do is switch the 2 prong receptacle to a regular 3 prong receptacle.
@@5_fun_facts123 it’s not one the thin ground if it’s BX the whole entire steel jacket is the ground and the mounting screws ground the device to the metal box
I wouldn't say he forgot to mention it. This was 5 minute segment about a solution, not a course on all available options depending how the home is wired.
My home falls into the category of partially up to date, but much of it needs rewiring to include ground conductors. I wonder if they would ever do a video commenting on the right way to do so, so we consumers know what to look for, etc, in paying to have that work done. For instance, I always wonder what (if anything) NEC says about doing so if you aren't wanting it willing to open up all your walls. In my case, I've wondered if it would be possible to fish new conductors through the wall spaces from my basement... Anybody out there faced a similar situation?
Some times you can fish new wires it just depends on the run. I once repulled romex trough a wall. But the next run I would have to open up the wall. It just depends
My 1953 house has grounded wire run to all of the outlets, but it appears the electricians must have grabbed onto it and ripped out / broke off the light gauge ground wire somewhere down inside of the sheathing while installing the receptacles. Gotta love it. Put gfci/afci breaker in for now but will need to cut the drywall out and replace it all one day.
VERY good explanation but at the end of the day if the house was installed after 1960 theres most likely a ground wire, They used to cut it at the box back then.. therefor installing a regular 3 prong receptacle is just fine
Metal conduit wouldn't be as much of an issue since it becomes the ground. You just have to make sure that there isn't a break in the conduit somewhere first
Yeah I'm going to tell my customers who have old wiring and plastering that's their solution is to install 15 dollar each GFCI in all their outlets . Sounds expensive but compared to cutting the walls etc . Not everyone can afford this especially with the prices they got now .
Talk to an electrician first please you don’t need to change all the outlets just the first one then load the rest off of the gfi. If you don’t understand this you can cause a bigger mess
Good video. I don’t think it was mentioned if every single two prong receptacle HAS to be replaced with an AFCI/GFCI three prong receptacle. Would it be best if the new code compliant receptacle be installed on the most upstream outlet of the circuit and have the rest of the receptacles on the load side? In doing so, one would be saving a lot of money…or is it best to replace ALL receptacles with an gfci/afci? Thank you.
You only have to replace the first receptacle in the line/circuit it can be hard to find but you can save alot of money by putting it's first all the wires coming in is called the line all the wires carrying over to the other plugs is called load
You can do just the first outlet in the circuit but wiring them for downstream protection is *different* than wiring them for simple use as a normal receptacle.
@@Vanilla_Icecream1231 Like they were mentioning in their conversations, get the TERMINOLOGY RIGHT ! Don't call a RECEPTACLE a PLUG !..... The receptacle RECEIVES the plug that you are plugging in....
@1:30: It's confusing to refer to the Earth ground (or equipment grounding conductor) as the "grounding conductor", given that the NEC refers to the neutral as the "grounded conductor".
GFCI and AFCI are totally deference in function..So just skip the receptical and install an Arch Fault Breaker. As you can at least use the pigtail to a grounding bus bar. That makes it back to the source. That being the Transformer..
@@zunedog31 your house was built in the 50s or 60s. You have metal conduit and metal boxes. The conduit is attached to metal fuse box. The metal acts as an earth or green wire. If you remember those adapter to go from to prong to three had a wire you were supposed to screw to the cover plate. That would complete the circuit. This won't work on new houses with plastic
I have an old house from the 1960s. The outlets in the house are a triple stacked 2 prong outlet. The top one is for plugging in floor lamps. The other two are for other stuff. How do I change them out for the new code 3 prong outlets? I can’t find any videos on how to do it.
My wife got in the habit if breaking off the ground of the plugs. Drives me nuts…not to mention unsafe! I didn’t know about those afci devices. They are probably expensive I’d imagine…lol
I am a contractor and have wired many new and old construction. One thing I have always noticed is that your neutral at some point, usually in the braker box, is tied into your ground
@@5_fun_facts123 I know enough to do all mine and all the wiring for my customers and never have an issue. Its not rocket science. And never had a house with a sub panel. That just really isn't a thing where I live
You just need to change the first receptacle in each circuit to a GFCI and you're good. Don't need to change all of them. And technically you are supposed to put the stickers on all of them too, though that doesn't really matter
@@mr.g937 That won't work in knob and tube installations, or where 2-wire pigtails are used. You cannot label a standard duplex receptacle as "ungrounded".
If you have uninterrupted metal conduit you don't need to worry. The conduit can act as a ground as ling as it is not broken anywhere. The tabs on the outlet can act as the pigtail in some jurisdictions.
@@jsimanella I can't speak to knob & tube, but a GFCI-protected 3-prong receptacle in a 2-wire system is code permissible and supposed to be labeled as having no equipment ground.
There was wrong info in this video. Electricity does not "take the path of least resistance". If that were true we could not have more than 1 house on a circuit powered up at a time. It takes all paths proportionately to the resistance.
Glad I had my 1940 place fully rewired when we moved in. Was pricey, but now I have (what feels like) a modern house with the modern amount of outlets and amperage. Could do without the AFCI breakers that trip every time I use my sewing machine though...
@@STXVIEC thankfully I had the house done just under the wire re:AFCI becoming mandatory everywhere so now I only have to run an extension cord from the living room to my office.....
@@STXVIEC AFCI breakers don't cause any problems. Malfunctioning wiring & devices cause problems. If a device keeps tripping AFCI it has an electrical fault and either needs to be repaired or thrown out.
@@STXVIEC Correct. Kitchen appliances that were not manufactured properly, or have worn components to the point of being unsafe. If the AFCI trips, the kitchen appliance is UNSAFE.
Or just install a AFCI/GFCI breaker. A lot easier and is legal with the electrical code. Just label your outlets, no equipment ground. This will also protect all the outlets on that circuit.
@@surferdude642 agreed. I'm in this situation and need a stop-gap before I can upgrade the panel. putting in a few GFCI outlets is cheaper in the short run
Those old schoolers didn't leave a lot of slack to work with either (in my house anyway) It was an absolute BEAR to swap out the old 2 prongers with standard 3 prongs, just leaving the ground with nothing attached 😬
Lets clear something up. That is not the outlet. That is the receptacle that is attached to the outlet. See NEC definitions for receptacle. Receptacle: A contact device installed at the outlet for the connection of an attachment plug, or direct connection of electrical utilization equipment designed to mate with the corresponding contact device. Lets say that again, it is a contact device installed at the outlet and not the outlet itself. Receptacle Outlet: An outlet where one or more receptacles are installed.( not the receptacle itself, but the outlet the receptacle is attached to)
I would still want a ground line. The problem with ungrounded GFCI/AFCI is that an appliance chassis can be hot right up to the moment you touch it. That means YOU trip the GFCI in a fault event. Depending on current path it can still be a lethal shock; these things are mechanical switches and they do have a reaction time.
@@rupe53 If the current traverses your heart, it's not going to matter how little the current is. Milliamperes will do it. Your heart is going to get disryhtmia and you may need defibrillation to put it back. At 177V pk-pk, a current of a few mA is unavoidable. Even for milliseconds, the current is going to be too much. I mean, would you lick a GFCI circut? It's still going to shock you during the time it takes to open the interrupter.
I agree with you, but GFCIs are calibrated to a level that poses no risk of harm. So as long as the GFCI is working it truly is safe. The thing is GFCIs can malfunction or stop working, and like you said it's not good to have metal appliances just sitting there energized.
@@thesmallterror ... yet this technology was brought into code almost 50 years ago and saved countless lives from shorts in their pool or out on the patio. Personally I don't wear shorts in my yard, but that's another story.
@@thesmallterror That's 100% true, the amount of current that takes to stop your heart is way lower than what any interrupt device can prevent. They are only designed to prevent continuous or high current electrocution.
I mean if we want to get technical as long as you don’t have a sub panel in your house the neutral and ground go back to the same exact bus in the main panel so they’re really the same the ground is just a redundancy
They're not the same. Neutral is a current-carrying conductor under normal operating condition. Ground should never carry current other than in a ground fault condition. Two different purposes which were explained in the video.
Even if you have a sub panel they are eventually connected. But there are safety implications to running normal operating current through the equipment ground (or eliminating it and bonding neutral to frame). Sure, an equipment ground and grounded conductor (aka neutral) can both operate an appliance or provide a low resistance path for fault current, but with an open neutral just about anywhere, that old set-up becomes a problem real fast.
@ 4:36, It seems he neglected to identify replacing the receptacle outlet with not only AFCI and GFCI protection, but also Tamper Resistant per NEC® 406.4(D)(5).
It would protect all the outlets on the circuit and the breaker for that circuit would flip any time a ground fault was detected anywhere in said circuit. Great if you're on a budget and/or if your panel is easily accessible. Inconvenient if it's in a garage at one end of a ranch-style house and you are drying your hair in the bathroom at the other end and have to walk all the way across the house with wet hair to go reset the breaker (that's one of the reasons why they want GFCIs for each outlet in the bathroom).
It would provide protection to that circuit, and allow you to change 2-prong receptacles to 3-prong receptacles as long as they're labeled as having no equipment ground.
If they are all two pronged, then yes. If all the receptacles are already three pronged on the circuit, you only need GFCI on the first in line of the circuit. If you don't know which receptacle that is, you can do testing on your own by disconnecting all the receptacles and then reconnecting them and use process of elimination. That could take some time. Might be easier to just replace all with GFCI.
@@nutkizzle Dear Jeffrey, thank you very much for the info. I will check this out because there are some three pronged outlet but not sure if those are properly wire it. Regards
@@nutkizzle GF/AFCI receptacles are $25-30/each. So if you've have several receptacles per room, it'll get expensive very quickly. It's much cheaper and faster to add a GF/AFCI breaker at the panel and protect the whole circuit.
Hi, I watch a lot of you tube and I am always horrified when I see two pronged outlets being installed, here in the UK we went over to three prongs in the 1940’s and although the shape of the prongs has gone from round to rectangle we still have the ground wire and take the added protection of using a cover for anywhere the ground is open like to a switch etc. although I think the use of three wirers is better I still see two pronged outlets being installed in new builds.
On a side note, (great video by the way. My last house was cursed with those horrible "receptacles"), I would actually pay good money to see Kevin O'Connor do a Donald Trump impersonation!
Sure but for Europe (or France anyways) it’s been mandatory for all new construction since forever, and very much recommended when you sell a property, (since when it’s not done, the price can be bargained). My guess is, and I’m sorry to get geo-political, the accidents and care for injuries cost a lot of money to the social security system, so that’s why legislation is past to advice on solutions. In the US, the insurances are almighty, the state has difficulties voting laws about the an individuals obligations.
@@filmdetective France mandated it in 1991, the US in the 1960s. The difference is that in Europe you can use grounded plugs in ungrounded outlets so there is no issue.
@@shockcoach Ok, false. It's why they SELL the grounding clips. Many/most 2 prong boxes are actually grounded, given their construction and that many/most of them used the old metal wrapped wires. Honestly, why do you think they even sell them? LOL
@@allenellisdewitt clips work only if the box is grounded. If you have a 394 wiring method, your box is very unlikely to be grounded. Therefore a clip to a three prong receptacle creates a very dangerous situation. Also, if you have the first generation NM with no ground, you end up in the same boat. Just because they sell something, doesn’t mean it’s a cure all.
What a lot of complicated nonsense for something that merely requires an obvious and simple fix --- just drill a round hole into the outlet below the slots! :P :P :P
Don't be like my brother in law and just pry the ground prong off the plug. Use a ground lifter instead! It isn't safer, of course, but hey, ya know, this isn't horticultural advice.
I still think of British has the best and safest plugs and sockets in the world and there is no needed America is way behind in the electrical industry
@@robertgrlic6505 just watch videos on UK electrical installations then u will understand what I mean or are plugs a fused a plug sockets have shutters and switches on them so you don't get electrocuted we have one of the most safest electrical systems in the world