I bought a house that was built in 1953. It has been remodeled very well. The Bathroom and kitchen both have GCFI outlets and the living room and bedroom have 3 prong plugs with the proper wiring. The rest of the house does not. The workers replaced the outlet covers to have 3 prong without actually re-wiring a ground.
A. isn’t this/shouldn’t this be illegal.
B. What should I not plug in.
I know my tv/xbox/ps3 etc. will go onto a surge protector and be plugged into the appropriatley wired outlet. What equipment or fire/shock hazards should I worry about.
Can I still plug in my Fender Hot Rod Deville and jam out.
I’m really worried about plugging in a guitar amp (Tube) into a 2 prong plug.
Is it costly do fix. Can I do it myself. (I am mechanically inclined, but I have been shocked before, hence the electric question)
5 Responses to “Someone replaced the 2 prong outlets with 3 prong outlet covers. Why should I worry.”
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They’ll work, but if there is a fault you won’t be grounded. You really should have them grounded. It really shouldn’t be terribly expensive to ground. You just need a third wire grounding that third prong hole.
There is not a grounding conductor in the two wire system, depending on the part of the country you live in will determine the cost of an electrician but you will have the knowledge that the job was done right and no guess work was involved in the job. Yes you can do it your self buy some self help books and try it if it gets to hard for you call for help.
Not an electrician, but one once told me you can replace the outlet in your scenario with a GFCI outlet (some actually come with labels to indicate the ground is missing). My understanding is that the GFCI will still provide protection even without the ground. But I’d verify that with an electrician you trust just in case.
When you say, “The workers replaced the outlet covers to have 3 prong without actually re-wiring a ground.”, that seems to say to me that they replaced the covers, the face plates for the outlets.
Or are you saying that they replaced the rest of the outlets throughout your house with 3 prong grounded sockets without attaching wires to the ground ground connection.
Your house most likely was originally wired with metal electrical conduit - which provides a mechanical ground to your outlets. Just by attaching them in place, they are grounded. In fact, the center screw in the old two prong outlets is ground.
You may want to buy a Electrical Receptacle Wall Plug AC Outlet Ground Tester, like this one from Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Electrical-Receptacle-Outlet-Ground-Tester/dp/B0012DHVQ0.
For you this should be an indispensable tool. It looks like a plug, but has three lights on it and will tell you not only if the ground is not connected, but if any of the wires are not connected properly. You can pick one up at Lowes or Home Depot or anywhere similar for $3 or $4.
Good luck.
don’t stand in water when plankg the guitar and you will be okay, don’t worry, half the old houses in the country are the same and there have been no issues, if there were any there would be legislation to prevent it