GFCI outlets with No Equipment Ground

Looking for a short/concise comment in regard to GFCI protected outlets with No Equipment Ground

2020-08-10_190049

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LOL! that’s perfect!

All it need’s is the correct sticker and it’s legal. Done.

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Less is more…amen to that!

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Words only complicate things.

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For sure…do you know of any tester on the market which we could use to verify proper operation?

Are said outlets acceptable in wet areas? Concerning, as we can’t trip to test…

The proper test and only recognized test method is the built in test button.

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Thanks Jim,
What about a bathroom outlet that’s labeled ‘GFCI protected outlet w/ No equipment Ground’ that does not have a reset/trip button on outlet?

A regular receptacle can be wired downstream of a gfi and still be protected. It should go dead if the gfi is tripped.

right, just a lot of extra legwork…thanks again!

NEVER attempt to trip a GFCI without knowing exactly where the reset is… and then only trip it at the reset!!

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This is the best answer of all possible answers.

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Philosophical question: How would you know (for sure) if an outlet is GFCI protected(and which reset receptacle it may be associated with), without inserting a GFCI outlet tester and hitting the ‘trip’ button? Shockingly (see what I did there?), not every GFCI protected outlet has a sticker on it; and not every electrician wires GFCI protected areas the same. (We’ll keep this philosophical question limited to areas where GFCI protected outlets are expected to be)

What do you do when you trip an outlet and can’t locate the reset?

Pray a freezer full of this seasons Bison/Deer meat isn’t plugged into it and you can locate it before it thaws!!!

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Ahh… the eternal fear every time a GFCI outlet is tripped. However… you answered the question with a question (and, technically, you didn’t answer the question). If you are only testing the reset receptacles, how do you know (for certain) that all of the outlets that ‘should’ be GFCI protected, are? :face_with_monocle: I’m genuinely asking… it is interesting how different inspectors approach the same situation. If there isn’t a specifically written standard, then it’s up to each inspector to apply their own procedure, based on the risk they are willing to accept.

If you mean a GFCI protected receptacle downstream of the device that lacks a “No Equipment Ground” placard attached to it’s cover, it’s easy - “receptacle tested open ground”.

To simplify, if it doesn’t have the placard attached it should be written up as open ground.

You can test the ungrounded receptacle with a old solenoid type tester to make if trip the GFCI protection. Go from the hot of the receptacle to something grounded like a metal water pipe, metal conduit, grounding electrode conductor, etc. Or you can run an extension cord to another circuit and test between the receptacle hot and the cord’s neutral. If there is GFCI protection upstream from the receptacle the current imbalance (>6ma) of the tester will trip the GFCI.

I don’t personally do this every single time, but if one bathroom has a GFCI outlet, I will trip it and leave it tripped, and then verify the other outlets in the other bathrooms, the same could apply for kitchens, garages, exterior etc.

Our state SOP specifically says we’re only required to test known GFCI’s (IE has a button). So I don’t feel too concerned not tripping a bathroom and assuming it’s wired in series with another that has GFCI outlet in place, presumably with the knowledge of GFCI requirements based upon the age of the house.

To JJ’s prior comment regarding a freezer full of meat, in my first year I paid for someone’s thawed-out meat freezer and stopped blindly tripping without knowledge of the reset.

Good luck.

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