Usually when it is an ungrounded system they also have a fuse panel . . I recommend complete upgrade of the electrical syatem
I also put in My report ( please check with you insurance Company as many companies have concerns with fused panels and even if insurance is available many charge considerably more for insurance).
Roy Cooke
Barry Stone and at least one member of the public says they are not:
I personally also believe that they are ungrounded.
Grounded (Grounding). Connected (connecting) to ground or to a conductive body that extends the ground connection.
Grounded Conductor. A system or circuit conductor that is intentionally grounded.
The above is from the NEC 2005 Article 100 definitions.
If you do not believe me ask this question on www.mikeholt.com .
Does Barry have the certifications to make the statements that he does?
I like alot of his info, but it his not, nor is mine, gospil.
Are you saying that Barry is not the inspection GURU???
Wow. Now I feel better, because most of the time I like what he has to say, but sometimes I wonder about the boy.
"Course, everybody wonders about me, too. (Sometimes I wonder about me.):roll: :roll: :roll:
Mike…would it be “safe” (excuse the pun) to say that while two prong outlets are grounded by semantic definition and a “grounded” conductor, that a properly-wired three prong outlet with an additional grounding path (conduit, emt, 120v NM 3-wire branch conductors) is a safer installation? Just curious as to what an electrical professional’s take is. Thanks.
Chris
Yes it is safer.
Now how many ‘things’ do you plug into your outlets that have the ‘3rd’ prong.
Do you see where I am going?
I believe so. From a functionality standpoint as well, most clients (particularly 1st time buyers) seem to get it pretty quickly when you explain to them that they’re going to need lots and lots of 2x3’s. Clearly, they hadn’t thought about that little tidbit when they were admiring some of the other home features.
I like it too!
What about a 50’s home that has been upgraded:roll: to three prong outlets, but still has no ground? I see this on almost every pre-60’s home
Verbage?
I will post mine when I get to my inspection computer.
Jae, I know the feeling, but you are correct on this one.
:p:p
The grounded/grounding issue is really just nomenclature I believe. It is very common to call the grounded conductor the nuetral (that’s how it’s been referred to in this area for years). So while the two prong outlet is “grounded”, in this area “grounded” would commonly refer to the extra grounding protection provided by the third wire.
I still refer to the wires as hot, nuetral, and ground, just so I do not have to teach everyone I do an inspection for. Also, the local electricians know what I’m referring to, so it works.
Maybe some of the sparkies know some history behind this.
By the way, I’ve just added Joe’s wording to my palm. If everyone would send him a nickel that did the same, maybe he could buy himself lunch.
Here’s what I say:
“Many receptacles were the 3-prong type and nearly all were ungrounded. Although a ground isn’t required of 2-prong receptacles, if the receptacle is 3 prong and ungrounded, it gives a false sense of safety. Grounding of all 3 prong receptacles or protection with ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) is recommended for safety reasons.”
You can go to my website and pay using PayPal. 
Ditto.
Not surprisingly, when I tell a Client that they have 2-prong outlets in the dream home they are buying, they always respond, “So they’re not grounded?” or “The ungrounded ones?” or “So we’ll have to installed the grounded ones.” Or something similar. It’s kind of like “main panel” and “subpanel.” I tend to speak and write in a language that my Clients understand, and throughout the years they seem to understand it when I say that the 2-prong outlets are not grounded. As do the electricians around here.
Then what you must do is inform them that the EGC (equipment grounding conductor) is not present.
No big deal unless you what to plug in a dehumidifier or someother “equipment” requiring the EGC.
In “other words,” they’re not grounded.
Those “other words” are what my Clients understand.
The two-prong outlets may or may not be “grounded” depending on whether an EGC has been run to the receptacle box (ex: 2 conductor romex). However, many of the two-prong outlets I have seen were not polarized. Therefore an appliance with a non-polarized plug runs a 50% risk of having reversed polarity. I suggest changing non-polarized two-prongs to be changed.
I guess I am not clear.
All outlets are grounded.
The fact that your clients are stupid does not excuse you from using the correct terminology.
Remember in court the judge is going to look at what you said NOT what you meant.
Mike, we understand what you are saying. We just don’t agree with you.
Talking to your clients above their head is not going to keep you out of court. It might confuse them enough that they just ignore the whole statement.
Then you need to be able to make then understand!!!
Are they not looking to you as the expert?
I do not mean this to be MEAN.
Lets say your client has me in and explains it to me how you explained it to him.
My response would be “he is an idiot”.
How many more referral are you going to get if they think that you do not know what you are doing?