Need LL's opinions please

[chet everett]

I would put the the advice from the "worst case" scenario electrician in the "never hire this guy" category if he truly believes it may require opening up walls to deal with a single bad kitchen outlet in any kind of modern / built to code condo. There are VERY specific rules about how far apart kitchen outlets should be, how much amperage each circuit must support and what radius from the sink such outlets must be protected with GFCI...

The sad fact is that a bad tenant can make life hard on even a decent law abiding landlord in areas where there are nasty policies about tenants being encouraged to call in "code violations". Depending on how local policies are about not just electrical but also plumbing and fire safety / earthquake readiness it could open an ugly can of worms to have inspectors poking around the nooks and crannies of any building...

There are skilled electricians that ought to be a able to fix a single bad outlet with minimal disruption.

[emm74]

The part that sounds hinky to me is the idea that you have to tear down walls to fix a single outlet in an otherwise perfectly running electrical system. Something is wrong with that scenario.

I do think the tenants are overreacting but if I lived there, I would be concerned about was going on. Why did the outlet stop working - is there a short back there that could present a hazard? Are other outlets going to stop working? Is there going to be some sort of power surge that would destroy or damage an appliance they owned? I think those are legitimate concerns.

So while "can't you use an extension cord?" might be a short term fix if they absolutely have to have additional items plugged in, I think a valid explanation on what is happening is warranted. If there really truly is some reasonable but non-dangerous reason the outlet isn't working but it would require such extensive work to fix, then maybe replacing the nearest outlet with a 4-way could work. But I think there is a lot more information needed before that is the right fix.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

You need to get a different electrician. What a crock of hooey.

If it is in the kitchen, it might be GFI that popped open. If everything else on that circuit works, then you either have one bad electric outlet or a loose wire. $1.00 for a new outlet, 5 minutes to fix the problem. Unless it is the GFI, in which case, all you have to do is push the button in the middle of the plug.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by toopie28

Want to run something by LL's please.

I lease out my old condo. There is an issue with an electrical outlet in a specific area of this condo. It is just ONE outlet and the rest are working fine. Tenant uses all outlets in house like expected.

Well, this outlet is dead. In order to fix it there needs to be extensive electrical work as well as walls knocked out and then I would need drywall guy and then paint and so on. So quite expensive for this one outlet as well as a lot of work.

Am I being unreasonable thinking that tenant can just use a power strip? I don't want to do all this work while tenant is still in the house as well as having to pay who knows what to get this one electrical part re-routed.

Thoughts?

TIA

I'm questioning the bolder area. If the outlet is bad replace the outlet.
The reason the outlet wont work
if it's disconnected from the house wiring at the slide in connection or the side screws or at the wirenut
If it's internally broken at the prongs/connection
If it's wired " daisy chain " and the incoming hot is disconnected at the outlet OR the outlet before it so the power stops at the outlet before the broken one.
Wire is cut between outlets. Unless this was the LAST in the circuit you would have more nonworking outlets.


The way that outlets get wired today is what is called a T-tap. The feed wiring ( hot neutral and ground) get twisted together in the box. Each leg of the circuit (hot neutral and ground). Get what is called a pigtail. Basically a hot neitral and ground wire get attached to the outlet. Those wires get connected to the circuit in the box. This way if the outlet or wire breaks the rest of the outlets work. Open the outlet. Tell me how many wires are in there. If it's only one black white and bare cooper then that's the last outlet in that circuit if it's two or three of each it's a junction and most likely problem is loose wiring. Switch to WAGO style nuts instead of twist on
Mist likely you have a loose wire or just a broken outlet.

i would get a second opinion. If you know any handy stuff and gave a meter or no touch ticker-stickI can tell you how to check and fix the problem. At least troubleshoot it. I think Billy_J is a electrician too.

I highly doubt you need to tear out the drywall.

[toopie28]

Yes, I'm getting a second opinion.

I've been using this guy for years and he's always been okay but he's... well, he's 100. There. I said it. Thus the 2nd opinion.

When I did my yearly check (place was in great condition by the way) they had something plugged in every outlet WITH stuff plugged into a power strip and so on. When I asked them about it they told me they NEVER have it all on at the same time - it was just for convenience.

I'm hoping the 2nd guy can fix this without the drama.

[Corn-fused]

Can't they just buy one of these 2 outlet to 6 outlet converters that plug in/attach flush to the outlet or something similar?
Leviton 6ADPT-W 15 Amp NEMA 6-16, 6-Outlet, White

I use something similar to this in living room and bedrooms because there are not enough outlets.