Any electricians out there?!

[rpearson]

During the installation of a UPS system for my small office,I encountered a electrical fault notification by the UPS system.I decided to test the outlets with a three prong,three light LED outlet tester(A.W Sperry).What I found was "SHOCKING" to me as most of my home outlets contained open grounds,and hot nuetral reversals.Is this a major problem with the pwr system.Just moved here and its a rental,and well over 50 years old.Any advice from someone qualified would be much appreciated!

Thanks.

 

[Servamatic]

Since your home is well over 50 YO, this is not surprising.
Most likely you do NOT have a 3 wire grounded system.
Do you have fuses or breakers?
If you look inside the panel (Look but don't touch) do you have bare copper wires as well as black and white wires? Are there as many bare copper as there are white?
Let me know what you find.
What area are you in?


Richard S. Anderson, RCDD

http://www.servamatic.net

 

[rpearson]

Thanks Serv,

I am in the Milwaukee area.I do have breakers(They also seem to pop under average load,damn that blow dryer).I will get back to you on the other things.I also have a mixture of the older 2 prong outlets as well as the 3 prong outlets(Probably 50\50).

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Servamatic]

Well, by code, if you have a 2 wire system, it is illegal to have 3 wire receptacles installed.
But we can talk more about that after you find out about the wiring in the panel.

Richard S. Anderson, RCDD

http://www.servamatic.net

 

[Mongo5150]

I am also in the Milwaukee area, and used to be an electrician. It is possible that if there are 2 prong receptacles, that there may be junction boxes somewhere that the grounds are not connected.
How big of a service do you have? (amperage)

 

[daronwilson]

You may end up putting GFCI repectacles in if you have 2 conductor wire in the house, I think I remember that being an option in the code, but I'd have to look.

Good advice thus far!

It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com

 

[Servamatic]

You are correct daron
That is the only option short of re-wiring to install 3 wire receptacles.

Richard S. Anderson, RCDD

http://www.servamatic.net

 

[rpearson]

Thanks ALOT guys...What I really need to know at this point is if there is an immediate safety(network or human) concern or fire hazard based on what I found.I will look at the breaker box tomorrow and fill you in on what I find.

Thanks again.

 

[franklin97355]

Hot/neutral reversals should be fixed as soon as possible as that can be a safety hazard. The missing grounds are not as big an issue as the existing two wire outlets don't have grounds, but the outlets without grounds should be with GFCI or two wire receptacles.

 

[Bobg1]

cablepuller
Since it is a rental, there are certain minimum requirements that it must meet as defined by the state.
It is the landlords responsibility that they are met.
I suspect from what you describe that this is a cobble job that does not meet the requirements.