Electrical receptacle inspection

Good morning to all my fellows, this is Patrick with American Home Inspectors. https://www.americanhomeinspectors.net/
Working on master class homework: GFCI and electric receptacles.

Upon inspection of the electrical outlets in the half bath. I observed a defect at the GFCI in the bathroom. It was improperly wired. The hot and neutral wires are reversed. This has the potential to be a hazard and cause a fire. Evaluation and immediate correction buy a license qualified electrician is recommended.

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Poor clearance from mirror.

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Do homework assignments go in this section? Also wondering how a reversed polarity would cause a fire.

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Reversed Polarity Outlets - Structure Tech Home Inspections

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Thank you so much for the feedback, the article was very helpful Neil and gave me two great scenarios under my belt!
And I realize now, moving forward I will use shock hazard rather than fire hazard. Noted. Thank you!

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I like to keep things short and simple.

Receptacle tested reverse polarity.

FYI- The GFCI device can still function with reverse polarity or open ground.
If the Receptacle tested open ground and has a sticker attached to it stating “NO EQUIPMENT GROUND” it is not a defect, without the sticker, it is.

I would keep from stating the receptacle itself was improperly wired, as it could be a problem upstream.

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That must be a very old GFCI receptacle because all of ones manufactured in the last decade or so will not energize if they’re wired with the hot and neutral reversed.

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I have a few of the Red & Black buttons left in my house, from the mid 90’s, not sure if they still make them or not.

Yes, they still make red and black button GFCIs, so not an indication of age. The uniform-color variety are now just much more popular.

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Working on my homework for the Master Class. This is a picture of an outlet within 15 inches of the Vanity sink. The outlet is not a GFCI protected outlet and operates on the switch that gives power to the Vanity lights. This is a defect, all outlets in Bathrooms should be GFCI protected. I recommend Further evaluation by a Qualified Licensed Electrical Contractor.

You are correct but how did you test the receptacle to see if it was not protected by an upstream GFCI device? Does that tester how a GFCI testing function?

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What Robert said about testing the GFCI devise and the possibility that it is protected upstream.

I also add I occasionally find the bathroom counter receptacle switched, which I also consider a defect, beacuse if someone wants to charge their electric toothbrush, razor, etc., and turn the lights off on their way out of the bathroom, the receptacle is also now de-energized.

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Thank you for the feed back.

This is the loan bathroom outlet. When tested with a GFCI tester it did not trip, this means the outlet is not part of a GFCI protected circuit. All outlets in the bathroom should be a GFCI or on a protected GFCI circuit. This outlet is energized by the switch that turns on the vanity lights. I recommend further evaluation and correction by a Qualified Licensed Electrical Contractor.

Thank you for the feedback.

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That’s correct, the receptacle must be GFCI protected. As far as being switched I cannot think of a code requirement that would prohibit that from being switched but it is probably not convient for the reasons Kevin mentioned.

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A gfi will not trip using a plug in tester if it is only wired with 2 wires. A gfi upstream could be protecting that receptacle.

Also a 3 prong gfi is allowed on ungrounded circuits and operate properly.

Yes it had a button for testing GFCI’s, the outlet was ground prong up so the button in on the bottom.

:sunglasses: Thanks for the clarification.

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I agree with Jim’s statement that a GFCI devise will still function as intended on an ungrounded circuit, but will add if they are ungrounded circuits and don’t have the following stickers attached, I write them up as open ground.

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Makes it an inconvenience when needing a nite lite, I had to add a battery operated motion light on the ceiling above the toilet (my son still misses)