Question For You Electricians Out There?!

[Steve H]

I have seen a lot of older units use surface raceway (Wiremold) for receptacles and smoke alarms.

I hate that stuff!

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

My first house was built in 1955 . 2 prong system . Painted over by the previous owner . I replaced them all with 3 prong .
Mistake .
When I sold the house I had to replace them all with 2 prong as it was built , to bring it back to code for the system .
Personally , I would replace with 2 prong if you need to change them .
Not to go against profesional advice , but something to think about .

My Mom turned 91 today . Just got home from her house . That place needs some work .
Went there to celebrate her birthday , and ended up fixing 2 doors that wouldn't close .

Thanks for chiming in Rich! Hoping your Mom had a Happy 91st!

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

I just read the electrical portion of your question. The meters have been explained well enough. If this is going to be a rental property. Then it should be brought to code. Which means new panel, if required, edison based panels should get replaced with a breaker panel. The service entrance cable will need to get replaced as well. If you're handy. Just have the service entrance cable and panel replaced by a qualified electrician. They'll land the existing runs. And you can replace them as you wish. Is this a single or two story structure? Crawl space or basement?

Two story, with basement.

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Does the house have circuits or fuses?

I’ll have to check Chris.

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Thanks to all who took the time to reply, appreciate it.

 

[Rick in AZ]

As a side note, retiring it will make it easier to insure, and will get you a discount. The same goes for re-plumbing.

 

[zwiller]

Stringing a separate ground wire is nice electrically (if done properly) but still does not meet code.
Code requires all wires in the same sheath

This is my Dad's method. We've done this a TON of times and never had an issue. Anymore, I am sorta rogue/anti code these days as it's clearly a money making scam now and not about safety.

I've done this type of work on 3 houses including the panels. 2 story with attic and basement is the easiest. Might be a few places you need to make small holes to run stuff but with a multi tool it's pretty painless and neat. $20-30k is completely outrageous.

 

[hoity toit]

So, first off sorry I have threads I have started and need to respond to… my apologies! Life has just been crazy busy as of late!

So, on to my question if you electrician folks would not mind chiming in… I’d be so appreciative!

My in laws passed as some of you know and we have had some struggles on deciding what to do with the house. My wife’s heart was broken and she shut down for a couple years… no judgement as I am fortunate to still have my parents… I just tried to be there for her, to say I understand would be unfair. Though they were my second parents… and miss them very much.

We decided to not sell and use the house as a rental. So, this house was built back in 1955. So naturally the wiring is good and sturdy I believe… but popping a wall plate this morning… there is no ground on the two prong outlets.

So, I’ll include some pics… but my question is… if I change the outlets to three prong and use the shielded ground wire to the new outlet and attach to the metal housing of the outlet… is that a proper ground?? This is where I am hoping to get some pro advice as I don’t want to assume and end up making a mistake.

One of the outlets…

View attachment 732733

View attachment 732734View attachment 732735

View attachment 732736

If it’s a go to ground to the new outlet and the screw in the back of the metal casing… I’d be using this type of ground wire.

View attachment 732737

Thanks in advance for any help, appreciate you all so much! Thanks again!

No. Install a gfci receptacle with a label stating no ground present.
HT - 40 yr retired master electrician Texas.

 

[hoity toit]

Thanks Steve, I didn’t pay much attention to the sheathing… but headed back over in the morning and I can check. What exactly am I looking for? I don’t mean to be dumb, but what do you mean by GFIC level? Sounds good, any tester you’d recommend? Thank you!

GFCI = ground fault circuit interrupter.