DongShenYin
New Member
How hard is it to convert a non-grounded outlet into a grounded outlet?
Electrical outlet
- Thread starter DongShenYin
- Start date
it can be very easy or very difficult it depends on the wire running to the outlet.
first off cut the power to the outlet by turning off the circut breaker that powers that outlet, if your unsure which one it is plug a lamp into the outlet and turn off one breaker at a time until the lamp goes out.
next remove the outlet plate and and 2 screws holding the outlet in, pull the outlet out of the wall and check out the wire running to the outlet, if it has 3 strands of wire your in luck, you should have 1-white, 1-black and one plain copper wire. the new outlet will be marked on the back as to which side is black and which side is white, the third plain wire attches to a screw on one end of the outlet which is usually green.
if you only have 2 strands of wire running to the outlet the only thing you can do is run a new wire from the breaker box to the outlet which is a real pita and should probably be done by an electrician
first off cut the power to the outlet by turning off the circut breaker that powers that outlet, if your unsure which one it is plug a lamp into the outlet and turn off one breaker at a time until the lamp goes out.
next remove the outlet plate and and 2 screws holding the outlet in, pull the outlet out of the wall and check out the wire running to the outlet, if it has 3 strands of wire your in luck, you should have 1-white, 1-black and one plain copper wire. the new outlet will be marked on the back as to which side is black and which side is white, the third plain wire attches to a screw on one end of the outlet which is usually green.
if you only have 2 strands of wire running to the outlet the only thing you can do is run a new wire from the breaker box to the outlet which is a real pita and should probably be done by an electrician
Unless you are VERY familliar with electrical work I would recommend that you don't even try. A "ground" is quite literally just that... an electrical path through a conductor, usually a copper wire, that is connected to the earth/to the ground. It's purpose is to redirect electricity when a compromise of an electrical circuit has failed in order to prevent further harm to the circuit, system, or user. A "ground" can be accomplished by driving a metal rod into the earth and connecting a copper cable from the circuit to the rod. The idea is that any stray electrical voltage will be sent to the earth (ground) as opposed to causing a fire/electricuting someone. I am NOT an electrician. I have a novice understanding of electricity. With the $$$ that we invest in our systems, I suggest that you consult a professional electrician. Hopefully someone on this site can be of better assistance. I have installed an external GFIC box to my outlet. It will "trip" if a problem occurrs. I do NOT know if by attaching a GFIC to your ungrounded wall outlet will help. Anyone with info on this please reply!
Best Wishes,
DiverDave
Best Wishes,
DiverDave
DongShenYin
New Member
What's the average going costs of an electrician doing grounding work?
How old is this house your living in 
If the wiring doesnt have a ground already then I'm guessing it's pretty old. It should be a 12 guage romex wire with a bare ground. Like stated before it should have one white one black and one bare coper wire. It should also be in an insulated white plastic cover. Hopefully it's a solid wire and not that cheap splinter wire which is just a bunch of smaller wires twisted together. Are you sure it's not grounded? I find it hard to belive that you dont have some kind of grounding system in place. It has to be unless your place wasnt built up to code. Or if it's a very old house or apartment. If you cant get a grounded wire put in you should buy a battery back up and plug that in to a power strip. That should solve your problem if you worried about a surge destroying your equipment. If you have an eletrical surge the power strip will go and the battery back up will keep everything running like nothing happen. That would probaly be the best and cheaper route then rewireing you whole place.
If the wiring doesnt have a ground already then I'm guessing it's pretty old. It should be a 12 guage romex wire with a bare ground. Like stated before it should have one white one black and one bare coper wire. It should also be in an insulated white plastic cover. Hopefully it's a solid wire and not that cheap splinter wire which is just a bunch of smaller wires twisted together. Are you sure it's not grounded? I find it hard to belive that you dont have some kind of grounding system in place. It has to be unless your place wasnt built up to code. Or if it's a very old house or apartment. If you cant get a grounded wire put in you should buy a battery back up and plug that in to a power strip. That should solve your problem if you worried about a surge destroying your equipment. If you have an eletrical surge the power strip will go and the battery back up will keep everything running like nothing happen. That would probaly be the best and cheaper route then rewireing you whole place.DongShenYin
New Member
My dad says the house is 40-50 years old. He won't let me open the outlet to look at the wiring, however. We live in New York City, so would that mean we have a good chance of being grounded?
DongShenYin
New Member
:shock: We have two breaker boxes in the basement and a fusebox on the first floor. I think I need to get a real electrician to look at this, our house wiring is crazy. :cry:
Narkon'n'more
New Member
If you have a fuse box, I would suggest you get an electrician. Fuse boxes are old, and the wiring sounds like it was done at different times, so no telling what you will be messing with.
Me and my father use to tear down houses. We got into one, cut off all electricity, and still found a live wire, the guy had snuck out to the pole and wired it direct up, we didnt' know til my dad almost died, the guy was stealing electricity for his cooking units. That was one of the most scared times in my whole experience of dismantling houses for thier lumber.
You should be able to get electricians to look it over and give an estimate free. See if you can be there when he is there, so he can tell you what to expect.
You could take the cover of the out let off, and just look inside to see if you see that flash of copper with a flashlight, do not put anything in there to move the wires around though.
Me and my father use to tear down houses. We got into one, cut off all electricity, and still found a live wire, the guy had snuck out to the pole and wired it direct up, we didnt' know til my dad almost died, the guy was stealing electricity for his cooking units. That was one of the most scared times in my whole experience of dismantling houses for thier lumber.
You should be able to get electricians to look it over and give an estimate free. See if you can be there when he is there, so he can tell you what to expect.
You could take the cover of the out let off, and just look inside to see if you see that flash of copper with a flashlight, do not put anything in there to move the wires around though.