How To Ground Old Two-Wire Outlets
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Can I run a line from the panel to one location then bring all of the grounds from the outlets on one circuit to that location and tie them all together there, or do I have to run the ground to each outlet and splice each one in there? Attaching a Ground Wire For Old 2Wire Outlets: Electrical Grounding Methods and Requirements. |
Installing Ground Wiring for Old 2-Wire Outlets
[ad#block]Electrical Question: Can I run a line from the panel to one location then bring all of the grounds from the outlets on one circuit to that location and tie them all together there, or do I have to run the ground to each outlet and splice each one in there?
I am running ground to outlets in an older house with only black and white wires. I have been told that I need to run one “home run” ground from each circuit.
I have run one ground wire from the receptacle box to the crawl space under the house. I have left a lot of slack on the wires and would like to bring each one from the circuit to one location rather than splice each one in. I intended to make the connections inside a plastic one gang box. Is this acceptable per code?
Background: Ryan, a Homeowner from Smyrna, Georgia.
Dave’s Reply:
Thanks for your electrical wiring question Ryan.
Attaching a Ground Wire For Old 2-Wire Outlets
Application: Wiring a 120 Volt Circuit.
Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced – Best installed by a Licensed Electrical Contractor or Certified Electrician.
Tools Required: Basic Electricians Pouch Hand Tools and a Voltage Tester.
Estimated Time: Depends on personal level experience, ability to work with tools and install electrical circuit wiring.
Precaution: Identify the panel circuit, turn it OFF and Tag it with a Note before working with the wiring.
Notice: Installing additional electrical circuit wiring should be done according to local and national electrical codes with a permit and be inspected.
Grounding Old 2-Wire Outlets
Ryan, as long as the ground wires will be spliced together and the junction box has the cubic inch capacity for all the wires then this should be OK. The concern is to bond the new ground wires together but not exceed the box-fill capacity.
The Following will assist you with your electrical question:
Electrical Junction Boxes
Electrical Code for How Many Wires in Junction Boxes
For more information about Grounding
Electrical Grounding
Electrical Grounding Methods and Requirements
With a listing of electrical codes for grounding with examples of electrical grounding codes for home electrical wiring.
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