Thanks, Larry,
It’s the answer that I was asking for. When I’ve tested a 2-wire GFCI, it shows open ground, I write it up as such but now I know why.
doug
Chris or Paul or whoever has the answer …
If the house has an older 2-wire system and they’ve installed GFCI’s in the appropriate places, I understand they will not ‘break’ as expected.
However, my questions is - why put them in, if they won’t stop the flow of electrical current when needed? And how do I test them if they won’t ‘break’?
Thanks for the help.
**But they will “break” the circuit. **
The GFCI monitors the current in the “Hot” and “Neutral” conductors. If there is more than a 5mA difference the GFCI Will open the circuit. When used with 2-wire circuits the receptacles are supposed to be marked “No equipment Ground”
Michael,
So, I should note that labels should be installed or simply note that there is No equipment Ground?
doug
It’s not uncommon to see the missing labels. I’m just telling what is suppose to happen.
I would note in the report that GFCIs are installed and where tested for proper operation and make a notation in the report that they are not grounded.
Yes they are supposed to be marked but let the buyer decide how important it is. It’s quite a small matter IMHO. Report it and move on.
I am simply amazed, shocked and bewildered by the lack of basic knowledge and understanding of an increasingly large portion of the HI industry who are performing inspections on a daily basis. Not the rare, complex and difficult things in this business but the routine and supposedly elementary baseline information every Home Inspector should know before they ever take another person’s money for services and place those families in danger.
A while back a link was posted to a pretty good video on testing GFCIs, but I don’t seem to have bookmarked it… perhaps someone else has.