2 Prong Receptacles

[David Nasser]

I Inspected a house built in 1953, all receptacles were 2 prong .
I reccomended upgrading to 3 prong grounded receptacles. Is this
a serious red flag issue or can it be listed as a reccommeded upgrade.


David
Pyramid-Home-Inspections

[Speedy Petey]

This is not a serious safety issue. I would recommend having the electrical system evaluated.
I have heard it stated here, you should never recommend the repair or solution. Just point out the defect. In this case it is not a defect as much as an outdated system.

Problem is, it is rarely as easy as replacing the receptacles. Many systems do not have a grounding conductor. So merely replacing the devices actually adds a violation and safety concern.

[Paul W. Abernathy]

David,

It is important to note that it is not required by the NEC or really any locality to upgrade these receptacles....

It is important to note they are ungrounded as you have, most of the time we get to the inspection TOO late because they have done the upgrade already but they have done it improperly.....they simply keep the old 2 wire cable and stick in a 3 prong receptacle...and if we are REAL lucky they they AWARD us with the coveted BOOTLEG ground.

It is something I would say as a recommended upgrade but to be honest with you it is not required to be done.

My personaly opinion is they should upgrade the system...but what we dont want them to do is read that statement and go upgrade them without truly knowing how to do it...

You possibly also could have given them another option or " recommendation" in that they could simply replace the receptacles with 3 prong and protect them with a GFCI in the panel or the FIRST receptacle in the string....and offer a good level of protection...

I think it is important to know what the "EGC" does....I would prefer to call it a " Equipment BONDING Jumper "...because that is really what it is doing....the EGC offers a LOW IMP. path for FAULT current to return to the panel and in turn BACK to the source of its creation...the transformer.

Without a GOOD low Impedance fault current path.........it makes it VERY hard to clear any OCPD...effectively......

Hope this helps....if not let me know.......been a long day...

P.S.. I also agree that in an old 2 wire system....really should be evaluated anyway because chances are you already found other issues in the electrical also.........but it's always good to learn the options...

[Jae Williams]

Two-pronged receptacle in themselves are not a defect or a concern. The problem lies in how we use them. Using an adapter to plug a three-pronged appliance wire into a two-pronged receptacle can present a safety condition that needs to be considered. Remember, the three-pronged appliance wire has been engineered by a specialist for a particular reason of safety, and any deviation from that engineering may not be safe.

[Paul W. Abernathy]

Very nice Jae.....I will go along with that....

[whandley]

I include the following CPSC links in the inspection report when two hole outlets are present.

http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/524.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/afci.html