Two wire and GFCI...

Merry Christmas
Status
Not open for further replies.
1793

1793

Senior Member
Location
Louisville, Kentucky
Occupation
Inspector
We can change out the two wire receptacle with a GFCI receptacle and be code compliant.

In another thread this statement was made: "I put in GFCI breakers to protect the old 2 wire system."

Is this a code accepted remedy for allowing grounded receptacles on this or any two wire circuit?
 
1793 said:
We can change out the two wire receptacle with a GFCI receptacle and be code compliant.

In another thread this statement was made: "I put in GFCI breakers to protect the old 2 wire system."

Is this a code accepted remedy for allowing grounded receptacles on this or any two wire circuit?
Click to expand...


In a word, yes. :)

In order to change out the 2-wire receptacles with 3-wire receptacles, they must be GFCI protected and marked "No equipment ground." (like homeowners know what that means. :roll:)
 
Visuals always help me.

210-7d3c.gif
 
A word on the required marking... the code says that the receptacles have to be marked, but it doesn't prescribe exactly where. To comply with the code, but eliminate the customer objection to the stickers, apply them to the back side of the recepatcle or the back side of the cover plate.
 
mdshunk said:
...apply them to the back side of the recepatcle or the back side of the cover plate.
Click to expand...

lol. that's one I should have come up with. I smell a proposal in the works now.
 
mdshunk said:
A word on the required marking... the code says that the receptacles have to be marked, but it doesn't prescribe exactly where. To comply with the code, but eliminate the customer objection to the stickers, apply them to the back side of the recepatcle or the back side of the cover plate.
Click to expand...

I have not been callled on the carpet for stickers, but if I ever am, that's what I'll say. I can imagine the silence on the other end of the phone, as the inspector's gears start turning and he's thinking of a nice way to call me a smart ass.

Interesting observation Marc.
 
Nice one Marc but have you really played that card with an inspector or is that just your plan if it comes up? :smile:

It says "These receptacles shall be marked"

Seems like the only place the sticker fits on the receptacle is on the back of the receptacle.


But I could not imagine saying that to the inspector. :rolleyes:
 
mdshunk said:
A word on the required marking... the code says that the receptacles have to be marked, but it doesn't prescribe exactly where. To comply with the code, but eliminate the customer objection to the stickers, apply them to the back side of the recepatcle or the back side of the cover plate.
Click to expand...

Marc,

Sure you weren't a 'smoke shoveler' in your first life?

Or maybe you have that 'second calling'?

Best Wishes Everyone
 
The illistration shows "no equipment ground connected" when exstending a properly protected 2 wire circut. The few times I have done this I connected the grounds on the new receps. My thinking was that if the circut was ever updated to 3-wire then the additional receps would be good to go.

Am I screwing up with this practice?

Jeff
 
ElectricianJeff said:
The few times I have done this I connected the grounds on the new receps.

Am I screwing up with this practice?
Click to expand...
Yes, indeed. EGC-equipped quipment with a hot-to-chassis fault in one receptacle will energize the chassis in other EGC-equipped equipment.
 
peter d said:
In a word, yes. :)

In order to change out the 2-wire receptacles with 3-wire receptacles, they must be GFCI protected and marked "No equipment ground." (like homeowners know what that means. :roll:)
Click to expand...
How do you comply with 250.114(3)? I have yet to see a washing machine that is double insulated and my computer wants a grounding connection. Take a look at the rest of the list. :)
 
charlie said:
How do you comply with 250.114(3)? I have yet to see a washing machine that is double insulated and my computer wants a grounding connection. Take a look at the rest of the list. :)
Click to expand...

I agree with you Charlie, but how on earth do we expect homeowners to comply with the NEC once we are gone? :confused:

Can you imagine telling the HO this: "Yeah, you have all these nice 3 prong receptacles that I just replaced, but here's a list of things that you can't plug into them." Right.........:roll:

Isn't the whole point of GFCI protection to make the ungrounded circuits safe? I don't understand the code logic here at all.
 
peter d said:
I don't understand the code logic here at all.
Click to expand...

Neither do I once you take 250.114 into consideration. Add to that the studies of GFCIs that showed a very high failure rate.

Maybe at some point we will have a Bluetooth enabled, self testing, self supervising GFCI that will call out for help. :smile:

Seriously, we may be buying a cordless screw gun that has a real torque clutch that can be calibrated, it is Bluetooth enabled. :cool:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top