Grounding Receptacles and Roaming Ground

[Will Wire]

I’m working at a house wired in the late 50s early 60s that has a ground wire wrapped around the box nail and then goes to another box nail. When I was an apprentice almost 40 years ago, the guy that trained me called this a roaming ground. He said, since the box was grounded, we were allowed to change an ungrounded receptacles to grounded receptacle by installing a ground pig-tail from the box.

Would this ground wire be considered part of the grounding electrode system?

Was this method receptacle replacement once allowed?

Is installing a grounded receptacle this way today ok?

I am aware of NEC section 250.130 and 406.4(D).

Thanks

 

[infinity]

Is the metal box properly grounded? If so then a self-grounding receptacle or a receptacle with a bonding jumper is permitted.

 

[LarryFine]

I’m working at a house wired in the late 50s early 60s that has a ground wire wrapped around the box nail and then goes to another box nail.

Never seen that.

When I was an apprentice almost 40 years ago, the guy that trained me called this a roaming ground.

Never heard that term.

He said, since the box was grounded, we were allowed to change an ungrounded receptacles to grounded receptacle by installing a ground pig-tail from the box.

That part is true.

Would this ground wire be considered part of the grounding electrode system?

Definitely not; it's part of the equipment grounding system.

Was this method receptacle replacement once allowed?

Pig-tailing from a (properly-)grounded box, yes; still is.

Is installing a grounded receptacle this way today ok?

With above comments considered, sure.

I am aware of NEC section 250.130 and 406.4(D).

Miyagi have hope for you.

Thanks

Welcome.

 

[Little Bill]

ground wire wrapped around the box nail and then goes to another box nail.

Is installing a grounded receptacle this way today ok?

Wrapping the EGC around a nail is not a proper way to bond the box today, nor when it was done years ago. I've seen the ground wrapped around a screw on the back of boxes, but that isn't proper either. You would need to either use a threaded hole and add a ground screw, drill and tap a hole for a grounding screw, or use a grounding clip.

The receptacle can be considered bonded, and not require a pigtail, if using a self grounding receptacle, or removing a screw retaining washer on the receptacle screw if the box is metal and surface mounted, and the box is grounded.

 

[tortuga]

In the older codes they started to require metal boxes to be grounded like within 6' feet of a sink or outdoors before there was grounded romex, they allowed the sheath of BX (now type AC cable) be be the equipment ground or you could run a roving ground around to the boxes, this had to be attached with a 10/32 screw, it was allowed to terminate at a metal water pipe.
if you wan some old code references I can look them up.
It can be an issue when a plumber re-pipes part of a old house with PEX but leaves some metallic pipe.
as a ground fault would just energize the pipe.

 

[LarryFine]

In an older home renovation I was involved in, the upstairs bath was wired with early NM W/ground to the receptacle, light, and switch, then continued on to the hallway and a bedroom W/O ground. The kitchen lighting circuit was done the same way.