No GFCI outlet in the kitchen? (convert, bathrooms, apartment, lights)
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Hey guys I am not sure if this is a warning sign for this house, but there is no GFCI outlets in the kitchen; but there are in the garage and other places around the house? Was told after the inspection. Now, how in the heck do I find out if I can just add a GFCI outlet, or if I need to hire an electrician to run an entire ground wire to the breaker box for safety?
Isnt it weird that the kitchen has no GFCI outlet?
Now, how in the heck do I find out if I can just add a GFCI outlet, or if I need to hire an electrician to run an entire ground wire to the breaker box for safety?
Have an electrician test the outlets in the kitchen to see if they are grounded. It won't cost much.
Quote:
Isnt it weird that the kitchen has no GFCI outlet?
No, it just means the house was built before GFCI in the kitchen became code, and the owners just never updated it.
With regards to GFCI outlets, if you have a series of outlets, only the first needs to be GFCI and the protection then extends "downstream" in the circuit. Are there ANY nearby?
Last edited by BostonMike7; 12-02-2015 at 08:57 AM..
The kitchen circuits may be on a GFIC in another part of the house; this is they case in a rental house I own they are on the same circuit as the GFIC in the master bathroom.
Have an electrician test the outlets in the kitchen to see if they are grounded. It won't cost much.
No, it just means the house was built before GFCI in the kitchen became code, and the owners just never updated it.
You don't need an electrician to check grounding. I have a little plug in device with three lights which gives you a pretty good summary of an outlets wiring.I used it whenever I did walk thrus of offices or labs where I was hooking up computers, etc when I did network admin. I also used it in my house when I bought it, on any wiring I work on (before and after). I think it cost me under $5. I gave one to each of my kids before they moved into their own place. (I also checked their dorm rooms - found one that was wired wrong, facilities fixed it)
Isnt it weird that the kitchen has no GFCI outlet?
The answer COULD be yes, or no. It would depend on when the house was built AND the accepted code (NEC) at the time.
The problem most buyers have with this kind of information is private inspectors are not relating "code" at the time the house was built. They get so absorbed into current code that they "mis-represent" statements they make.
If the current recepticles are three-prong it is most likely the house was wired with (romex 3-wire). You can easily convert the recepticles circuits to GFCI protected. If the house is older and doesn't have the "ground"- you can still GFCI the circuits; they're just not grounded.
Today's standard is (2) 20amp circuits for a kitchen- they can be protected by the first recepticle (GFCI) and the load. Or they can be protected by GFCI 20amp breakers.
You don't need an electrician to check grounding. I have a little plug in device with three lights which gives you a pretty good summary of an outlets wiring.
Yes, but you know how to use the device. The OP doesn't seem to be very knowledgeable about things electrical; hence my recommendation to consult with an electrician, who could tell the OP exactly what would be needed to bring the kitchen circuitry (and perhaps the rest of the property) up to modern electrical code.
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