can my house catch a fire because the outlets in the house are grounded.They are only two plugs, but only my bedroom has outlets with 3 plugs.Are they properly grounded How do I know it?
2007-12-25 16:14:07 · 7 answers · asked by myrisier13 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
If these receptacles are not truly grounded then they must either be grounded, removed or changed to a GFCI.
Most likely they are not grounded. To ground them would involve some things that would require an electrician.
The big thing to NEVER do is run a wire over to a ground rod. Electricity simply does not go the earth. It tries to get back to its source which is the transformer. The reason touching a wire and ground will shock you is because the transformer its self is grounded to the earth for lightning protection and to stabilize voltage to the earth. If you were to ground to the actual earth the breaker wouldn't trip because the earth will limit current flow to a low value.
You can however replace them with a 3 prong GFCI. The National Electrical Code permits this as a GFCI does not require a ground to operate and provides protection for personnel.
This may be the easiest and cheapest alternative if you need a 3 prong receptacle but can not go through the expense and hassle of rewiring.
Just be sure not to put a GFCI on something like a refrigerator or freezer because motor starting can sometimes induce the GFCI to trip. Also don't put one on life support circuits because you don't want a nuisance trip to happen and kill Granddads oxygen machine!
This method is commonly done and is perfectly safe.
Hope this helps!
2007-12-26 03:10:18 · answer #1 · answered by David B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
buy an outlet tester at the hardware store for $5 or 6 bucks and you will be able to find out for yourself if they are grounded or not. you won't have to pull the outlets out or mess with any wires to test them. these testers look like a big cord plug with 3 lights on the end, which will light up a few different ways to tell you how the outlet is wired. you just compare the way the lights light up with the chart that it comes with to find out what you have going on with your wiring. my guess is that a previous owner of the house put in the 3 hole outlets so that they could run a grounded appliance in the bedroom. that in itself shouldn't cause a fire, but these outlets aren't really grounded, so you aren;t protected as you would be with a properly grounded outlet. you are more likely to have a fire hazard from the wrong size fuse in the fuse panel (too large, a 20 amp when it should only be a 15 amp fuse). older houses aren't wired for all of the things we run in them these days, some old homes can't handle a coffee maker and toaster on the same circuit in the kitchen or it will blow the fuse. in this situation you don't want to just pop a higher amp fuse in the socket, since doing so could cause the wiring to get too hot, and there is where you can cause a fire. a close examination of the fuse panel will tell you how many amp service it is rated for, if it has 4 fuse sockets and is rated for 60 amps, all 4 of the fuses should be 15 amps, no 20's in there at all. hope this helps and is what you wanted to know, good luck and happy holidays.
2007-12-25 18:56:37 · answer #2 · answered by car dude 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's easy. Switch off the mains of your house and carefully unscrew the cover of the plug outlet. If there is no wire connected to th Earth pin of the plug, you are not properly earthed. It may also be useful to compare the thickness of the electric wire leading to the 3 pin plug before opening. Having an earth wire within will make it thicker than the wires used with the other plugs in your house. Sometimes there may be a thinner earth wire alongside the normal two pin wire leading to your 3 pin plug.
2007-12-25 16:44:07 · answer #3 · answered by Kean 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are testers you can purchase (reasonably priced) that you can plug into the sockets to test for correct connection and ground. They are also used to test for outlets that have ground fault outlets or circuit breakers on (they are used in 'wet' area such as in a bathroom on outlet along a kitchen counter near a sink). The device is sometimes referred to as a GFIC tester (Ground Fault Interrupter Circuit).
An ungrounded outlet will not necessarily cause a fire, but it is not safe in any means. Having an outlet that has a reversed hot and neutral wire can be just as bad. If you are truly uncertain on this, it would be best to have an electrician test these.
2007-12-25 16:30:09 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
buy a outlet tester, it will tell you if there grounded ,
No your house cant catch fire because the outlets are grounded, the ground keeps them from arcing, and the 2 prong plugs are safe also, replace the 2 prong outlets, there only a buck a piece,
2007-12-25 23:23:39 · answer #5 · answered by William B 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would guess the new outlets were added on and aren't grounded if none ofthe other outlets are. Go to home depot and get a tester. Either way I would say its no imediate danger.
2007-12-25 16:44:44 · answer #6 · answered by passin_time77 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
although its pretty expensive i suggest getting an electrician...you wouldn't want to be in jeopardy of a fire!!! Yikes!!!!
2007-12-25 16:22:34 · answer #7 · answered by xanu 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋