Replace 2 Prong w/ 3 prong Receptacles

[mindless06795]

Hello,
I recently bought a 50 year old house. All of the Outlets in the house were 2 wire - 2 prong outlets. No Ground existed. Now I went and replaced every outlet with 3 prong receptacles. Being that there is no groud will this cause a problem? Most everything today is 3 prong, so I wanted to change everything.
Thanks

[Dejan]

Also - does one need to have a GFCI receptical if they are doing this. And if so, are there different ones for using computers? I am in the same situation as the OP.

[mindless06795]

good point. I just used regular Receptacles.

[Snoonyb]

mindless06795 Hello,
"Being that there is no ground will this cause a problem?"

As a homeowner, for your private use, NO!
However, it creates a false sense of security, and the honest thing to do would have been to purchase and use adaptors.

Dejan
"Also - does one need to have a GFCI receptacle if they are doing this. And if so, are there different ones for using computers? "

A GFCI receptacle uses the difference in potential between the hot and neutral as a control and will safely fail in a two wire circuit.
If your expensive electronics equipment are protected by a "good" surge suppressor, which uses the ground as the shunt, it will not be protected.

[HayZee518]

regular two prong receptacles can't just be outfitted with regular three prong reeptacles. the absence of a ground doesn't make them safe.
GFCI outlets are listed as a safe replacement for any two prong receptacles.

[scorrpio]

Depends how your house is wired. If it's armored BX cable, in older houses ground usually goes along the armor. In fact, the outlets you just installed might actually be grounded already. Easy way to check - see if there is voltage between hot and ground in those outlets. Or, you can check for continuity between ground an neutral.

[kactuskid]

As already stated, you are not allowed to replace a 2 prong receptacle with a 3 prong one unless there is a ground in your box. Once the precense of a ground has been verified then you also need to properly ground this 3 prong receptacle.

This is done by either pigtailing a ground wire between the receptacle and the box or by installing a UL approved self grounding receptacle.

If no ground is present then you can always install a GFCI type receptacle to supply you with a ground prong, otherwise code dictates a 2 prong receptacle must remain installed. Here's a link that'll show you how to test for a ground and what your options are.

http://www.codecheck.com/250_50_commentary.html

A GFCI does not protect your computer from surges. You'll need a surge suppressor installed for this. And if you don't have a ground in your system then you can buy a Mode 1 surge suppressor to protect your computer