# Grounding an outlet Puzzle



## dsydvf (Oct 27, 2018)

Greetings,

I have metal box feed by conduit in a room in my basement that has a switch and a standard power outlet in the box. The switch controls a single overhead lightbulb in the room.

Problem:  The Outlet is not grounded properly (confirmed by device that checks for grounding and polarity)
*My Goal is to ground this outlet.*

The source wires (black, white, green) coming from the conduit are pictured here in the top left hand corner area (source wires).  The green wire is currently attached to the ground terminal on the light switch.

Very strange:  I decided to simply move the ground wire from the switch ground terminal to the outlet  ground terminal. When I do this the outlet is fine (ground and polarity OK for outlet) however, t*he light switch no longer  works when the green wire is on the outlet ground terminal.*
I put the green wire back to the switch ground terminal and the light works fine again (the outlet works too but not grounded as before).

I then tried running a jumper from the grounded switch terminal to the ground terminal of the outlet (Bad Idea as it sparked and tripped the breaker instantly).

I don't understand how this was wired back in the day. If you have any ideas I would appreciate it. Many Thanks!


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## jeffmattero76 (Oct 27, 2018)

What is the white wire (the neutral) connected toif anything? 

Until I have more info, I will take a guess. This guess assumes that the incoming cable from the panel is a white, black, and either bare or green. I am also assuming that there is a cable that feeds the luminaire that is also a black, white and green or bare. 

If that is true, connect the two white wires together with a wire nut. Put the incoming black wire on one of the switch screws, and put the other black wire on the other switch screw. Hook the greens together with a 6 inch piece of green or bare wire(called a pigtail) and connect that pigtail to the ground screw on the switch. When the switch is screwed into the metal box, that metal box should show as being grounded (via the screw that holds the switch in the box). 


dsydvf said:


> Greetings,
> 
> I have metal box feed by conduit in a room in my basement that has a switch and a standard power outlet in the box. The switch controls a single overhead lightbulb in the room.
> 
> ...


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## Snoonyb (Oct 27, 2018)

Welcome.

Whoever wired this circuit used the green conductor as a switch leg.

Add a white conductor from the switch to the light fixture replacing the green, then bond the green conductor to the 4s box and if you chose pigtail both the switch and recep. to the bonded green conductor.


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## hornetd (Oct 27, 2018)

*Snoonyb* is right about the green wire having been used as a switch leg but the color for the return wire from the switch when wired in conduit my not be White, Natural Grey, Green, nor green with one or more yellow stripes.  Since black was not used in the original wiring that is one obvious choice.  Another would be blue.  You can actually use any color except the 4 that I have already named.  Hopefully the conduit extends all the way back to the lighting outlet box. 

--
Tom Horne


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## dsydvf (Oct 29, 2018)

Thank You. Here is my understanding then....

 If this is acceptable, I can pull about 12 feet of black wire out of some Romex I have that I will probably otherwise never use (the approx. distance from the switch to the externally mounted light bulb box). This wire is 14 or 16 gauge.

Thus,  I will replace the green wire that ties the bulb to the switch (the current switch leg) with this black wire.  Once that is done I will then secure a section of the green wire to the box itself, while pig tailing it in such a way that it will connect to both ground terminals (one to the ground terminal  on the switch and one to the ground terminal on the outlet). I would be using the box/conduit system as a ground?

Thanks again


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## Snoonyb (Oct 29, 2018)

Before you do this, please open the fixture box and provide a photo of the wiring there-in.

The romex should be imprinted, somewhere in the length and will probably be either 12/2 or 14/2.

Strip the romex and using the green conductor as a pull tape, pull both the black and the bare copper conductor too the fixture box.


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## JoeD (Oct 29, 2018)

Wire from inside a 14/2 cable is not certified to be pulled in conduit. You need a piece of actual THHN rated wire. If the circuit is 15 amp it must be #14 not #16.


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## WyrTwister (Oct 29, 2018)

Using a green as a switch leg , very bad practice .

     Truth is , if the conduit is grounded properly , so will be the receptacle when all is put back together .

Wyr
God bless


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## bud16415 (Oct 29, 2018)

How about replacing the outlet with a GFCI outlet and comply with code that way?


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## WyrTwister (Oct 29, 2018)

That would work , but if the receptacle is serving electronics , it still will not provide an earth ground .

Wyr
God bless


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## hornetd (Oct 30, 2018)

bud16415 said:


> How about replacing the outlet with a GFCI outlet and comply with code that way?


If you apply a ground pathway impedance tester, such as the one built into the IDEAL SureTest® Circuit Analyzer, you will be able to measure the actual impedance of the Equipment Grounding Conductor pathway.  It is often true that metal raceway will have a lower impedance as a Equipment Grounding Conductor than a separate conductor which is pulled into the raceway with the circuit conductors would have.  Even if you were to pull a separate Equipment Grounding Conductor into the metal raceway it would still have to be bonded to the metal raceway system at any point were a receptacle outlet is installed.  The only exception would be for Isolated Ground Receptacle Outlets which are only installed were the electronics which are part of the served load require a Grounding pathway which is kept as free as practicable from induced electrical noise.  Most Authority's Having Jurisdiction will require that there be a requirement for an isolated ground included in the instructions which are part of the listing and labeling of a cord and plug connected device before they permit the installation of Isolated Ground Receptacles. 

--
Tom Horne


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## hornetd (Oct 30, 2018)

bud16415 said:


> How about replacing the outlet with a GFCI outlet and comply with code that way?


A Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter may not be used in place of a connection to an Equipment Grounding Conductor  where an Equipment Grounding Conductor is available in the circuit. 

--
Tom Horne


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## hornetd (Oct 30, 2018)

JoeD said:


> Wire from inside a 14/2 cable is not certified to be pulled in conduit. You need a piece of actual THHN rated wire. If the circuit is 15 amp it must be #14 not #16.


To expand a little on this answer it is unusual but not unheard of for a cable manufacturer to label the individual conductors in a Non Metallic cable because of the extra expense.  If a conductor is not labeled as required by the locally adopted code it cannot be used except as part of the cable assembly which is labeled as required by the adopted code.  The conductor must be labeled so that it can be inspected for it's suitability for use in the installation. What JoeD said is not always true because there are several other types of wire which could be used in the installation.  But he is dead on when he says that you will need labeled wire and that 14 American Wire Gauge is the minimum size that could be used to carry 15 Amperes.

--
Tom Horne


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## hornetd (Oct 31, 2018)

dsydvf said:


> Greetings,
> 
> I have metal box feed by conduit in a room in my basement that has a switch and a standard power outlet in the box. The switch controls a single overhead lightbulb in the room.
> 
> ...


One thing that I overlooked when I first looked at this picture.  View attachment 21173
  Since you have opened the box to work on it you must bring the mounting of the receptacle up to code.  A receptacle can no longer be supported by it's cover screw threads only.  You have 2 choices.  One is to buy a new cover which will have the 2 mounting holes were the yoke's mounting holes are located and will include all of the needed mounting hardware.  Then use 2 8/32 screws, 2 8/32 hex nuts, and 2 star or split washers to hold the receptacle in place inside the cover against the repetitive insertion and extraction of plug blades. 

406.5 Receptacle Mounting. Receptacles shall be mounted in identified boxes or assemblies. The boxes or assemblies shall be securely fastened in place unless otherwise permitted elsewhere in this Code. Screws used for the purpose of attaching receptacles to a box shall be of the type provided with a listed receptacle, or shall be machine screws having 32 threads per inch or part of listed assemblies or systems, in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

(C) Receptacles Mounted on Covers. Receptacles mounted to and supported by a cover shall be held rigidly against the cover by more than one screw or shall be a device assembly or box cover listed and identified for securing by a single screw. 

--
Tom Horne


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## Snoonyb (Nov 1, 2018)

hornetd said:


> One thing that I overlooked when I first looked at this picture.  View attachment 21173
> Since you have opened the box to work on it you must bring the mounting of the receptacle up to code.  A receptacle can no longer be supported by it's cover screw threads only.  You have 2 choices.  One is to buy a new cover which will have the 2 mounting holes were the yoke's mounting holes are located and will include all of the needed mounting hardware.  Then use 2 8/32 screws, 2 8/32 hex nuts, and 2 star or split washers to hold the receptacle in place inside the cover against the repetitive insertion and extraction of plug blades.
> 
> 406.5 Receptacle Mounting. Receptacles shall be mounted in identified boxes or assemblies. The boxes or assemblies shall be securely fastened in place unless otherwise permitted elsewhere in this Code. Screws used for the purpose of attaching receptacles to a box shall be of the type provided with a listed receptacle, or shall be machine screws having 32 threads per inch or part of listed assemblies or systems, in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
> ...



I have a question and it's based upon practicality.

Place yourself in the OP's position. What would your coarse of action be, given the obvious lack of knowledge of the elec. trade practices, that any repair action taken would not be permitted or inspected, ever, and faced with the possibility of having to travel from 1 city block to 50mi, as some posters have, and the inevitability, when you arrived at a vendor, of standing a 50/50 chance you find, either someone of knowledge or a space occupier. 

Would you strip the romex, you already had, and pull 2 of the conductors to correct what you perceive as a deficiency, or would you spend the hours of time learning the code and chasing parts?


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## Eddie_T (Nov 1, 2018)

I would fix it and move on. I am sure that I have things that are not up to code as probably do many homeowners.


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## hornetd (Nov 1, 2018)

Snoonyb said:


> I have a question and it's based upon practicality.
> 
> Place yourself in the OP's position. What would your coarse of action be, given the obvious lack of knowledge of the elec. trade practices, that any repair action taken would not be permitted or inspected, ever, and faced with the possibility of having to travel from 1 city block to 50mi, as some posters have, and the inevitability, when you arrived at a vendor, of standing a 50/50 chance you find, either someone of knowledge or a space occupier.
> 
> Would you strip the romex, you already had, and pull 2 of the conductors to correct what you perceive as a deficiency, or would you spend the hours of time learning the code and chasing parts?


I know that I messed up my first suggestion which was to drill the 2 holes, insert 2 8/32 screws, put 2 star washers on them, and tighten 2 8/32 nuts.  Done.  Any one that cannot do that should never have cracked the box in the first place. 

If you install wire that is not listed to be used in conduit and scrape or damage it while doing so then any resultant damage is on you.  Your homeowners insurance is what is known as a contract of utmost good faith.  That means that both parties undertake specific obligations that they will be held to very closely by the courts.  If an insurance  company collects premiums on a property while unable to pay a loss to the insured the insurance company executives and it's board members can be convicted of felony fraud and go to prison for a fairly long time which varies by state.  If the insured engages in conduct which causes a loss and he new or should have known that the work was unlawful then if he collects he has committed insurance fraud and if the insurer discovers that the loss originated in his unlawful work they get to walk away from the loss.  They do not have to pay it.  Each party has a strict obligation to tell the other of any circumstance which they become aware of which might prevent the insurer from paying the loss or cause a loss to occur when it can be prevented. 

The wire used in an NM cable is not always one of the types that is listed for use in a raceway of which conduit is only one type.  It is unlikely to be THHN for instance because that would markedly increase the cost of manufacturing.  Lets pull the THHN type designation apart.  T is Thermoplastic,  HH is very high temperature (90C), N is nylon covered.  Why does the manufacturer add the Nylon cover?  It's there to make the wire resist damage when being pulled into conduit.  If the cable that the conductors are stripped out of is Type NM then the conductors are not listed for High temperature let alone for Very High temperature.  

I and several of my fellow firefighters were deposed in a case were a homeowner had done his own wiring and it was source of the "Heat of Ignition".  When all the information was in the homeowner had to eat his loss. 

Final word on this issue is that if you are not willing to learn and follow the code then you are placing your family's financial welfare and even their lives at risk.  There are a fare number of good electrical wiring guides available.  It is not that hard to do it right.  THHN wire can be ordered on line by the foot and brought to the OP by USPS, UPS...


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## Snoonyb (Nov 2, 2018)

Remember, the question was based upon practicality.
And the subject, the OP, was a relative novice.

So, discounting that the time of the average homeowner/DIY conducting the research has become valueless and UPS/FEDEX is free in your area.

How long would an 1800 watt fixture, powered via 1 or 2 NM #14 conductors, in 1/2" EMT have to continuously operate, to exceed the heat load, melt the insulation, cause a fire and not trip the breaker?


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## hornetd (Nov 2, 2018)

Snoonyb said:


> Remember, the question was based upon practicality.
> And the subject, the OP, was a relative novice.
> 
> So, discounting that the time of the average homeowner/DIY conducting the research has become valueless and UPS/FEDEX is free in your area.
> ...


You are really determined to discredit any answer that does not agree with your "the code doesn't matter" approach. 

No  one can answer that question without a laboratory analysis of all of the factors present which we cannot know.   Insulation does not fail from constant overheating in a single second with the neat opening of the Over Current Protective Device (OCPD).  The insulation fails gradually by subsiding away from some point of physical pressure as it softens and in many cases arcing will occur at a relatively low level of current flow but a very high level of heat generated.  The breaker only has a slight increase in current  flow but certainly not enough to trip it.  The vast majority of Electrical Fires begin as an arcing fault to ground.  Those arcs would not have kindled those fires if the current flowing exceeded the trip point of the OCPD that was protecting those conductors.

All my adult life I have been an electrician.  That was my bread work. It is how I paid my bills and supported my family.  All of that same period I was a volunteer firefighter in a busy urban station.  As just one firefighter I have responded to DOZENS of "Fires of Electrical Origin" during my 35 years of firefighting.  I have carried the dead out of several of those fires.  I think I can say, with some certainty, that none of the people that did those hack jobs set out to burn anything down or kill anybody.  They simply had not taken the time to learn what they were doing and to acquire the right materials for the job. 

To me taking short cuts like the one you are advocating is much the same as the person who parked 5 feet away from a fire hydrant instead of the 15 feet that is required by law.  They were "only going to be a minute."  The 6 inch intake hose was charged with water and jammed itself under a wheel of the car so as to crimp itself shut.  The Hose line we were using to support a rescue discharges 150 Gallons a Minute.  The tank on the engine holds ~5 minutes of water at that rate of flow.  The nozzle team had to hold the stairs or the trapped children and the firefighters who were searching for them would burn alive.  My task was utility control and I had just finished it when the apparatus operator yelled "Get Out Boys Get Out.  The 2 person search crew made it out onto the front porch roof with both children and the nozzle crew began to bail out because their line had gone dry.  Without water to hold the heat down the living room next to the stairs flashed over.  [Flash Over occurs when the heat in the involved compartment rises to the point that everything in that compartment that was not yet on fire ignites simultaneously because the compartment has absorbed all the heat it can hold]  The resultant blowtorch of heat out into the hallway burned a man who is a Career Firefighter; that means that firefighting is his bread work; from the top of his head all the way down to his buttock on his right side.  That is all burn scars now.  The county found him work in the code enforcement section of the fire marshals office so he doesn't have to support his family on half pay. 

Yes it is further to go to get to the supply house or the home center.  Yes it is inconvenient to go to the government office that issues electrical permits and take an open book homeowners electrical permit exam.  Yes it cost money to pay the permit fee which covers the cost of the Master Electrician that has the additional training in code enforcement to come out and check your work.  But that inspection does provide a bombproof defense against any attempt by the insurer to walk away from the loss.  Yes it may cost as much as $10 to ship that cut wire in a padded envelope.  It is all more trouble and effort than doing it hack using materials that may or may not be suitable.  How much is his; the OPs: home worth to him?  How much are the lives of his family worth to him?  So you keep pushing that just do it technique.  As it happens you will never have to carry out the dead as I have.  I believe that any chance of causing the kind of grief I have personally seen is too much. 

--
Tom Horne

No we aren't no thin blue heroes and yet we aren't no blackguards to.  We're just working men and women most remarkable like you.  (with apologies to Rudyard Kipling)


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## Eddie_T (Nov 2, 2018)

A neighbor built a flue and installed a Poppa Bear wood stove. The flue got too hot and set his house on fire, insurance paid.


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## Snoonyb (Nov 2, 2018)

hornetd said:


> You are really determined to discredit any answer that does not agree with your "the code doesn't matter" approach.



As I've twice proposed, and you have "elected" to ignore, it's about practicality, and nothing else, so no amount of additional pontifications are relevant.

I've never said, and you'll never find anything in any of my posts, ever, that you could back quote, where I have stated, "the code doesn't matter".


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## bud16415 (Nov 2, 2018)

We should all attempt to follow code and do our best. We also have to remember most coming here as a DIY project need a simplified description of what to do. My first thoughts when viewing this thread if it was mine I would start where the known proper power was and remove and replace all the rest of it doing it in romex and using a GFCI to protect the outlet as it is in a basement. What is the purpose of needing conduit and pulling new wires in?


We all have to make decisions about things from time to time. When I installed my hot tub I started at my panel adding a 50a breaker and ran #6 romex NM-B copper. All across the basement and had to exit the basement wall and run up about 5’ into the Tubs GFCI breaker panel mounted outside. By code I assume I had to switch to THHN before making that short jump. If I ran inside the outside wall and in the back of the GFCI box I assume I could stick with the NM-B all the way. Rather than adding a box and splicing the wires I ran the NM-B up a 2” PVC conduit from the basement to the GFCI. Of course then exiting the GFCI and on to the tub I needed (7) number 8 THHN individual wires in conduit to the tub.


I don’t feel at all unsafe in how I did it over that short a distance and the Romex has lots of room in the large conduit and is protected on the outside. I feel it’s safer than the service coming into my house that runs down the outside siding and is not in a pipe.


That being said we should explain the right way and provide proper safety instructions and let the OP decide what they want to do.


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## hornetd (Nov 3, 2018)

Sometimes you get lucky.  I depends very much on how good the fire investigator is and also how diligent the insurer's loss 
reduction staff is.  It also varies by insurance company and by whether it is a Stock or Mutual Insurer.  Stock companies must look out for their shareholders first.  Mutual Companies must look out for their insureds first.  That makes a very big difference in the insurer's approach.  

-- 
Tom Horne


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## slownsteady (Nov 3, 2018)

Before this thread gets any deeper into the deep weeds, let me ask: what's the other end of that green wire attached to? It's obvious that it is not a ground wire at this point, so connecting it as a ground (once the extra wire is added) will require that it be properly connected at the other end.


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## hornetd (Nov 3, 2018)

bud16415 said:


> We all have to make decisions about things from time to time. When I installed my hot tub I started at my panel adding a 50a breaker and ran #6 romex NM-B copper. All across the basement and had to exit the basement wall and run up about 5’ into the Tubs GFCI breaker panel mounted outside. By code I assume I had to switch to THHN before making that short jump. If I ran inside the outside wall and in the back of the GFCI box I assume I could stick with the NM-B all the way. Rather than adding a box and splicing the wires I ran the NM-B up a 2” PVC conduit from the basement to the GFCI. Of course then exiting the GFCI and on to the tub I needed (7) number 8 THHN individual wires in conduit to the tub.


I have never seen cable in that size which did not have individually marked conductors.  If that 6-2 w Ground NMB had been connected to your conduit with a listed cable connector, after having stripped it of it's jacket and fillers for the length of the conductors which would be in the conduit, your installation would be code compliant.  All outdoor conduit is a wet location by definition.  NMB is only suitable for use in dry locations.  

-- 
Tom Horne


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## hornetd (Nov 3, 2018)

Snoonyb said:


> As I've twice proposed, and you have "elected" to ignore, *it's about practicality, and nothing else*, so no amount of additional pontifications are relevant.
> 
> I've never said, and you'll never find anything in any of my posts, ever, that you could back quote, where I have stated, "the code doesn't matter".


You did, in fact use different language.  How can you say that you are not saying that the code doesn't matter given the phrase that I have added emphasis to; by underlining and making it bold type; in the quote of your reply above? 

Tom Horne


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## bud16415 (Nov 3, 2018)

hornetd said:


> I have never seen cable in that size which did not have individually marked conductors.  If that 6-2 w Ground NMB had been connected to your conduit with a listed cable connector, after having stripped it of it's jacket and fillers for the length of the conductors which would be in the conduit, your installation would be code compliant.  All outdoor conduit is a wet location by definition.  NMB is only suitable for use in dry locations.
> 
> --
> Tom Horne




Mine was NMB rated for normally dry locations. I didn’t strip the outer covering and ran it into the conduit with a strain relief bushing. I did not remove the outer covering and filler until it reached the GFCI breaker box. Nothing is underground and the installation is as dry as if I ran it inside the exterior wall IMO.  


The individual conductors had no markings and I have never seen marked conductors inside romex. This stuff came from Home Depot.


I may well not be to code here. It was the choice I made at the time and I don’t feel unsafe in making it. Someday down the road if we sell the place some home inspector might find issue with it.


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## Snoonyb (Nov 3, 2018)

hornetd said:


> You did, in fact use different language.  How can you say that you are not saying that the code doesn't matter given the phrase that I have added emphasis to; by underlining and making it bold type; in the quote of your reply above?
> 
> Tom Horne



So, you have "elected" to decide that your interpretation of what I specifically asked, "practicality", now for the 3rd time, equates to " the code does not matter", is at least, an interesting juxtaposition from reality.


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## Snoonyb (Nov 3, 2018)

slownsteady said:


> Before this thread gets any deeper into the deep weeds, let me ask: what's the other end of that green wire attached to? It's obvious that it is not a ground wire at this point, so connecting it as a ground (once the extra wire is added) will require that it be properly connected at the other end.



It's a switch leg and is probably connected to the black conductor of the light fixture.

I've asked the OP for a photo of the the "J" box connection.


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## Snoonyb (Nov 3, 2018)

bud16415 said:


> Mine was NMB rated for normally dry locations. I didn’t strip the outer covering and ran it into the conduit with a strain relief bushing. I did not remove the outer covering and filler until it reached the GFCI breaker box. Nothing is underground and the installation is as dry as if I ran it inside the exterior wall IMO.
> 
> 
> The individual conductors had no markings and I have never seen marked conductors inside romex. This stuff came from Home Depot.
> ...



Forsake thee!

It's not you intent to supplant metheusal or the medusa?


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## slownsteady (Nov 3, 2018)

I wouldn't be surprised if the OP has run away from this thread by now............

Hey guys, let's not get caught in the language here (or any other place for that matter). We have given the OP some options and a lesson on what _*should*_ be done.


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## slownsteady (Nov 3, 2018)

....and let's not stray on to someone else's past installation.


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## hornetd (Nov 4, 2018)

I had a customer who was referred by an architect I had done work for.  He called ahead and told me she was poor as  church mouse and asked that I do what I could for her.  The challenges were that it was after midnight, the wind was between 25 and 30 miles per hour, so the rain was coming down near sideways.  She called a half hour later and said that there was a light in her basement that would not go out and it was scaring her.  I drove the 15 miles to her home and went with her down to the basement.  The light that would not go out was the 16 gauge lamp cord that was held up by porcelain insulators to the sides and bottom of the joists glowing in the dark.  Underneath those wires was a plastic image of the wires overhead from the plastic insulation having melted off of the conductors.  Her then deceased husband had wired some living room outlets with the lamp cord and his work was neat as a pin.  There was no grounding conductor and the whole thing had been done just like some of the home's other circuits which were knob and tube.  Was that wiring practical?  It had served the couple well for 15+ years.  But a heat wave set in and the lady's daughter had bought her mother a window air conditioner to give her one cool room in her house.  Once that was plugged into one of those outlets the unavoidable happened.  13 ampere wiring extended from a 15 ampere circuit with a heavy constant load had badly overloaded the 16 gauge wire.  That wiring had worked for a very long time in the roll for which it was installed which was a few table lamps in the living room.  Even the regular use of a vacuum cleaner had not damaged that wiring.  I think it is fair to say that the lady's husband had never set out to injure his wife or burn down their home.  Our job as electrical workers isn't to build for the present load.  What we are supposed to be doing is building for any load which could be supplied by the circuit that we are building.  It is certainly possible that a window air conditioner could be plugged into any 15 ampere circuit.  Most modern window air conditioners do not require the entire ampacity of a 15 ampere circuit and I might never have been called if the living room had closable doors.  Without that one flaw in the units use it would have functioned as designed as an intermittent load.  But with a whole floor worth of hot air to work on it ran continuously until I yanked the meter.  Way over the top I might well have thought hearing that from someone else but her husband had also fancied himself as a plumber.  I mentioned it was raining very hard but that leaves out the fact that the city has the old combined drains and sewers which are so common in older cities.  Since her house was at the bottom of town and there were openings in the sewer piping in the basement there was a lot of methane flowing into that basement.  No liquid just the gas.  I called in the fire department and they could not get their combustible gas meter through it's pre-use test until they took it out to the back fence.  It then went into alarm before they were actually back in the basement with it.  Just a few steps down the outside steps and it was howling.  Have I mentioned how much I hate the sound of piezoelectric alarms.  I'm sure glad that I disconnected the power from outside.  Read back through this and you will see that the only thing physically wrong with the circuit was that the wire was 1 gauge too small.  The additional danger was created by something totally beyond an electricians control.  But had that installation been fully code compliant all that could have occurred was the opening of the Over Current Protective Device.  God must love retired teachers because the story has a very happy ending but that is enough to illustrate the basis of my concern. 

--
Tom Horne


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