gfci with no egc

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domnic

Senior Member
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Electrical Contractor
HELP. looking for a post that states you con not use a 3 prong plug on a gfci (2 wire ) with no egc.
 

GoldDigger

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HELP. looking for a post that states you con not use a 3 prong plug on a gfci (2 wire ) with no egc.

You will be looking for a long time, since the NEC specifically provides for replacing a two prong receptacle with no ground available with a three prong GFCI receptacle with a sticker added that says no ground if present.
In other jurisdictions there may be rules that require blocking the ground socket in the receptacle, but not in the US.
 

domnic

Senior Member
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
gfci no egc

gfci no egc

A 120 v cord with a egc can not be used on a gfci with 2 wires. I can not find it in the nec.
 

Dennis Alwon

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Chapel Hill, NC
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A 120 v cord with a egc can not be used on a gfci with 2 wires. I can not find it in the nec.

The code allows us to use a gfci when replacing a 2-wire receptacle and then we can use 3 wire receptacles downstream. So why would it not be compliant to use a 3 prong cord when the NEC allows us to install it.
 

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
That NEC list of things that can't be plugged in is dumb, in my opinion. It's absolutely unenforceable and certainly not going to be followed by the homeowner.
 

domnic

Senior Member
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
gfci no egc

gfci no egc

THANKS DAVE. I knew it was in the nec. I could not find it.
 

GoldDigger

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Location
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THANKS DAVE. I knew it was in the nec. I could not find it.
Just note carefully that the end result is not quite what you asked for.
It is not prohibited to plug a three prong plug into a 2-wire GFCI receptacle, just to plug certain things that use three prong plugs into that receptacle. :)

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 

domnic

Senior Member
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
gfci no egc

gfci no egc

Just note carefully that the end result is not quite what you asked for.
It is not prohibited to plug a three prong plug into a 2-wire GFCI receptacle, just to plug certain things that use three prong plugs into that receptacle. :)

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Name some things with three prongs you can plug into a 2 wire gfci.
 
I agree that you can plug the 3 wire cord into the receptacle even though it only has 2 wires going to it, the ground connection of the cord just won't be grounded. The ground fault is checking the current on each of the 2 wires to make sure the amount of current on each wire is identical and if it senses that part of the current isn't following the path between the 2 wires it will shut off, whether there is a ground wire connected to it or not.
 

jaggedben

Senior Member
Location
Northern California
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Solar and Energy Storage Installer
Says the man with a plug in portable headlight.

I believe that's a portable handlamp you're talking about.

It's a bit hard to square 250.114 with 90.2 when the later says that the code covers 'installation' of electrical stuff. A hand-held plug connected tool is not 'installed' in my opinion, whether it's motor operated or not. (A refrigerator or a stationary tool is more borderline).

Name some things with three prongs you can plug into a 2 wire gfci.

A TV, a floor lamp.
A microwave.
An extension cord.
 

domnic

Senior Member
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
gfci no egc

gfci no egc

Just out of curiosity .what could operate with a three prong cord on a two wire gfci . ( other than a extension cord .lame answer )
 
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