Bootleg Ground Outlets We have a 1949 house grounded via…
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Bootleg Ground Outlets
We have a 1949 house grounded via metal conduit and boxes. We are expecting a baby and decided to update all the outlets to tamper proof… lo and behold, they are almost all bootleg ground. Someone installed a jumper wire between the neutral and ground screws to trick a tester into passing.
This is obviously a safety issue. We’ve replaced a few with self-grounding outlets. It works for some outlets but not others so the conduit must not be continuous on a few runs. We are very handy and comfortable doing work ourselves but also have a great electrician we can bring in when needed. I’m going to chat with him too but I’m trying to get a feel for what direction to take and I’m making a map of runs and where the issues are first.
Due to the bootlegs and some aluminum wiring we found, I’m itching to do a full rewire but timing isn’t great with the baby coming and finances right now… what would you do if it was your house? Do we replace what we can with self-grounding outlets for now and no equipment ground GFCI’s where there isn’t a ground path? Is there a safer way to handle it temporarily before we can do a full rewire? Is it not as big of a safety issue as I’m imagining?
#home
We have a 1949 house grounded via metal conduit and boxes. We are expecting a baby and decided to update all the outlets to tamper proof… lo and behold, they are almost all bootleg ground. Someone installed a jumper wire between the neutral and ground screws to trick a tester into passing.
This is obviously a safety issue. We’ve replaced a few with self-grounding outlets. It works for some outlets but not others so the conduit must not be continuous on a few runs. We are very handy and comfortable doing work ourselves but also have a great electrician we can bring in when needed. I’m going to chat with him too but I’m trying to get a feel for what direction to take and I’m making a map of runs and where the issues are first.
Due to the bootlegs and some aluminum wiring we found, I’m itching to do a full rewire but timing isn’t great with the baby coming and finances right now… what would you do if it was your house? Do we replace what we can with self-grounding outlets for now and no equipment ground GFCI’s where there isn’t a ground path? Is there a safer way to handle it temporarily before we can do a full rewire? Is it not as big of a safety issue as I’m imagining?
#home
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