if the OP has k&T things will get interesting here..........
Is the main fuses r circuit breakers?
You must have gotten knocked on the head with K&T as a child. The OP already said what he has and it ain't K&T
Ahah! Thanks. I thought I remembered reading something about that somewhere, but I wasn't sure. So, I was wondering if connecting the ground wire to the metal could actually end up creating a potential hazard rather than eliminating one.
Yes you are right. I didn't catch the problem even when you pointed it out the first time. The 2 wire circuit cannot be extended unless a ground is picked up for the new boxes. For an extension that can be a separate wire to permitted locations - usually anywhere on the grounding electrode system or the branch circuit panel ground bar. (250.130-C)
Nice catch.
What is a "pigtail socket and bulb"?
-- John
A lamp socket with two leads attached
.
.
Attach the bare wire to the box. That's what electricians have been doing for thousands of years. Caves in Egypt show bare wires in dinosaur days atached to the metal boxes.
That page says it's rated 660W and 240V. I assume the 660 is a typo for 60? But what about 240V, would that work for a regular household outlet?
Also, in another thread, you mentioned the plug in testers were not reliable for indicating the quality of the ground. What wattage bulb should I use to be clear I have a quality ground? And, if I understand, I put one wire in the receptacle's hot slot and the other in the ground slot for this? Can that trip the breaker?
-- John
OK, so it's not made as a "tester", you're just using it for that purpose?
It seems, though, that would be difficult to handle, since one hand would have to hold the bulb part without burning yourself, and then you have to manipulate 2 wires with one hand. Is there a tip you have for using it?
-- John
Don't worry about the wattage and voltage rating of the socket. Use a 100 watt lamp and touch one lead to the hot slot of the receptacle and the other to the metal box. If you get a good light, you got ground
The entire process will take about a second. The lamp won't have time to heat
.
om...
use a regular lamp with 100 watt bulb. plug lamp into a cheap extension cord, cut off plug of extension cord. install insulated alligator clips.
when you done put the lamp back to its normal home
put your cheater extension cord in tool bin for next time its needed:)
Not trying to really get on your nerves :)
I just want to clarify I am not the one with the metal boxes. I want to do this without opening up the outlet. It seems like you are describing touching the outlet screw and then the metal box. I want to put the wire in the hot hole and the ground hole (i.e. like plugging in something).
That picture didn't really show the wire ends, but I assumed they were just bare wire, which I would think would be hard to insert in outlet holes. But then you said the "leads" so maybe I misunderstood the way it is made. Is there some sort of metal "end" connected to the wires? I just picture a thin wire not making contact easily or maybe even arcing in a big hole. Thanks.
-- John
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