OT: More Electrical

As long as we're talking about electricity:

We're selling our mobile home and a potential buyer had it inspected. One of the things he said should be done was to install GFCI outlets in the outlets near the kitchen sink. OK, that made sense. And I'd done it before in another room to make the model RR safer. So I anticipated no problems.

Boy, was I an optimist! First of all, mobile homes use (or did when mine was built) some strange outlets designed for quick installation. They look like:

(Click on the picture and look at the other views.)

In this case, the outlet with the line connection was in the middle of the string so there was a 3rd set of wires crammed into that fixture. I'm not sure that was kosher but it's many years too late to complain.

So now I'm trying to get 3 very old and stiff connection sets into one new box. There's not a lot of slack so I'm working very close to the wall. Trying to get 2 of those solid 10 or 12 gauge wires under a screw on the GFCI outlet is #$%! impossible - at least for me. I spent 3 or 4 hours yesterday and got nothing accomplished except frustration.

What I'm wondering about is getting a deeper box and wire nutting the two load circuits and the 3 ground wires together so that I only have one wire to go under each screw. I might even go to 14 gauge for that couple of inches of wire so it'd be more flexible. And maybe extend the line wires with the same stuff.

Would this meet code? Is it advisable? Or should I just call the electrician?

Reply to
Larry Blanchard
Loading thread data ...

It would be recommended and the proper way to do it. Receps should always be pigtailed from a wire nutted through connection. This is much preferred to using the recep as part of wire path. There can be exceptions to GFI circuits if you want the GFI to protect everything down stream.

Reply to
DanG

On 3/25/2012 11:50 AM, Larry Blanchard wrote: ...

The connections are definitely ok (and iiuc, and there were two conductors under a single screw that's not).

The 14 ga _isn't_ ok if it is a 20A circuit, though, despite the short length. The connection to the receptacle doesn't count as a device like a light fixture that may only have 16 or 18 internally connected to the

12 or 14 house wiring.

I hear your pain, though; the miniature stuff used in mobile and many prefab units is surely a sorry thing to have to work on/with... :(

I'd never had to deal with it until a few years ago got involved w/ a disaster long-term response team after some severe storms in the area. Many of those were old, old, old, trailers and I learned to hate them very quickly. :) (or, :( maybe???)

--

Reply to
dpb

[but the box gets VERY crowded]

For standard size electric boxes, you can get extensions (it'll add an inch of depth, so the box will stick out of the wall a bit). You can also trace the circuit back to the main breaker and put your GFI in the breaker box instead of next to the sink. It's not THAT far to walk to reset it, I trust. Either way, you aren't stuck fitting everything into the tight OEM box.

Reply to
whit3rd

That was my thought. I used ground Fault circuit breakers for my pool equipment in a former life. They get pricey for double pole like that, but for a kitchen outlet they are not so much, and MUCH cheaper than a house call by an electrician.

Reply to
Gerald Ross

Screw it. Leave the outlet alone and put in a GFCI circuit breaker.

Reply to
HeyBub

Might it not be easier to install GFCI breakers on the affected circuits? Not cheaper, easier. My folks had a mobile home and the bathroom and kitchen counter circuits were protected this way and if done properly it should meet code requirements. As you say, older mobile home wiring tends to be total crap and is not meant for repair or modification and changing a light or receptacle can be a nightmare let alone trying to install an extra-deep device in a shallow box.

Reply to
John McGaw

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.