GFCI outlet?
Question:I want to change out the old electric outlet in my bathroom with a GFCI outlet. The house is about 50 years old with copper wiring. I do not have ground wires in my outlets. The current outlet has 2 wires, black and white. Is a GFCI outlet anymore difficult to install than your standard outlet?
Answers:
every one of you jackleg idiots are wrong...except..The Inspector...why don't the rest of you stick to plumbing answers before you get yourself or someone else killed..a GFCI DOES NOT NEED AN EQUIPMENT GROUND WIRE TO WORK!!!!!!!
It senses the imbalance of current between the grounded and ungrounded conductor...you plumbers should look those definitions up too..While your at it, please refer to Article 406.1 of the 2005 National Electrical Code...
And i mean NO offense to any plumber...
BTW hook your 2 wires to the line side of the GFCI and you are home free..
For a GFCI to function properly, it must be connected to a ground of some sort. You might have to run a piece of new cable (14/2 with a copper ground) to a junction box with an available ground or maybe all the way back to the panel. It is a job a season DIY'er could do. If you are at all uncomfortable working with electricity, call a pro.
ok, here is the deal, take the old receipt out, insert the black wire into the copper colored screw side, white goes to silver one, your using a single phase system there, so it will still work the same as with a ground. It will work fine, remeber after you turn on the breaker again, hit the reset button on gfci cause it is going to trip. easy job take 5 mins
The above poster's response isn't going to be to code.
The GFCI outlet is going to need a ground connection to work properly and be code compliant.
You will need a ground wire to meet code and for the breaker to work as it should. A GFCI has current sensing transformers that detect current flow from each line (black and white) to ground. When current flow above a certain safe limit is detected the breaker trips. Without the ground wire this will not work as intended and you will just have a regular (expensive) outlet and a false sense of security.
As most of the responders correctly stated, you must have a ground wire for a GFCI to work properly. If you only have two wires a separate ground wire must be added. It could be possible for this to be clamped to your cold water pipe, check with a licensed electrical contractor for assistance.
The previous answer is inaccurate. A GFCI does not require a ground. First, after shutting off the power and verifying it is OFF with a circuit tester, remove the outlet. Are there two or four wires in the box? Two wires indicate the end of the circuit, four indicate that this outlet is in series with others and they derive their power through this one. (note: A GFCI in a series protects ALL outlets downstream of the GFCI) The GFCI is labeled "Line"and "Load" on its terminals. The "line" is the incoming power, the "load"is to power outer devices downstream of this one. (the load terminals may or may not be used depending on how this system is wired, don't worry about them if it is at the end of the line)
Just hook up the hot (power in) wires tio the line terminals and reinstall the outlet in the box. Turn the power back on and test with a circuit tester or a lamp etc. Push the "test"button, the power should be interupted. Push the reset, the power should be restored. If all is well, put the cover plate back on and you're done!
Newer GFCIs cannot be mis-wired. If you test them and they won't reset, you blew it! Check your connection.
The link is to a site with a little movie showing how this is done.
good luck
See if you are wired using metal boxes connected to metal cable/ conduit using metal connectors
See if that metal to metal to metal run is grounded back to the panel box.
If so ,get a green ground clip or pre-wired ground screw, attach it to the metal box and pig-tail to the GFCI
You can install GFCI receptacles sans ground. Connect to LINE hot and neutral. Only connect to LOAD if you are feeding through to protect other receptacles downstream.
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