Next lame electric question

[Kali]

See my thread from yesterday for background.

So I went and got a gfci receptacle and put it together and it all works fine. The original box is metal and I just stayed with that because I am cheap and lazy. The bare ground wire was attached securly to a green screw in the back of the box.

Reading the instruction sheet a little more closely, it seems to say to have a jump wire from that spot to the ground screw on the receptacle itself. Oops. Do I really need to do that? There seems to be plenty of contact where the receptacle is attached to the box.

Of course if that had been done to the original receptacle it would have stayed grounded when the screws fell out or were removed.

[soothsayer]

1. Here's a happy little video (60 seconds?)

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMexcYpCM/

[CentralMass]

7. Nice but that is not GFI outlet.

[soothsayer]

8. Well I only promised happy. (I'll show myself out)

[CentralMass]

9. :-) well it was happy so no need for that.

[bobalew]

2. IT CAN'T BE A GROUND FAULT INTERRUPTER,

WITHOUT THE GROUND AS PART OF THE CIRCUIT, SO YES, IT HAS TO BE CONNECTED TO THE DETECTION PART OF THE DEVICE, AS GROUND...

[Hugh_Lebowski]

4. Easy now ...

It's going to be alright

[Kali]

5. OK I WILL ADD IT

YOU WOULD THINK MAYBE IT WOULD DETECT THAT AND NOT RESET AFTER A TEST, BUT NO BIG DEAL TO ADD.

[PoliticAverse]

10. Actually GFCIs do work without a ground connection...

That's part of the safety in the design.

http://wiringdevicesupport.eaton.com/GFCI/66712665/Does-a-GFCI-receptacle-work-without-a-grounded-wired.htm

Does a GFCI receptacle work without a grounded wired?

A GFCI receptacle will work without a ground wire attached and can be tested on the device face but not on an external testing device. The GFCI receptacle will provide ground fault protection when installed in a 2-wire (hot and neutral) branch circuit where no grounding conductor is present.

Note: Most GFCI testing devices will not trip the GFCI receptacle when installed without a ground conductor attached.

In answer to the original question - yes you should run a ground wire to the receptacle itself.

[sanatanadharma]

3. I go with read the instructions

I understand the thought that the receptacle mounting brackets seem grounded.
I do not know; I may be wrong.
However, for the little work and short-wire investment as advised, Kali may avoid meeting Agni.

I am not an electrician but have played one on car forums (Simply a reader of schematics).

[soothsayer]

6. Agni. Perfect!

Agni (English: /ˈæɡni/ AG-nee, Sanskrit: अग्नि, romanized: Agní) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the fire god of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples.

[MyOwnPeace]

11. IF I'm reading your original post correctly.....

you have a 'bare copper' wire coming into the box and it is grounded in the box - correct?

IF that is so, just 'undo' that wire and attach it to the 'ground' screw on the GFCI.

If there is more than 1 'bare copper' - tie them all together and add a short piece - leaving you 1 wire to attach to that same ground screw.

You WILL have to be certain which is the "hot" line coming in (if there is more than 1 'set' of wires in the box). As stated on another post here - the instructions are usually good with the GFCI - just understand you would have a "hot" line coming in and if there is another 'set' of wires in there - it is a continuation of that circuit.

Good luck - stay away from water!!!!!!! (well, at least while working on that!).

[Kali]

12. Got it. Thanks so much. Hot and neutral understood.

Strange working condition, no garage FULL of scraps and parts. LOL

Nice that the wiring was the right colors even!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

13. If the box is grounded and it's metal, you don't need to fuss with the ground.

You can if you want or you are in doubt of good contact of the new receptacle “yoke” to the junction box.

But fussing with wires deep in those “handy boxes” sucks.

The receptacle will ground when mounted to the box. Assuming the box is set at the correct depth and not caked in paint.

I’m in Chicago. We don’t use ground wires at all as all our wire is in grounded EMT conduit/boxes. The conduit is the path to ground.

So that green screw gets automatically screwed down out of my way. You should remove the little cardboard squares that hold the screws in while in the package as that can interfere with ground - but it really doesn’t. I think code says at least one needs to be removed

Buy yourself a little receptacle tester. They are like $8 bucks. It will tell you the receptacle is wired properly and whether the receptacle is grounded or not.


Better yet, get a multimeter at check AC Voltage between hot to ground.


Here is a quick video

[Kali]

14. Of course there are at least 2 multimeters at home.

Took the little squares off right away since I figured it might interfere with contact. and when I went to move the bare ground wire from box to receptacle, I saw it had been left untrimmed, so it had several inches of "tail" after the box's green screw so I just put that end on the receptacle green screw.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

15. As long as the box is still bonded

Either way you are good once everything is screwed down together you are safe.

Still doesn’t hurt to check the receptacle with the tester and/or the multimeter. This place I just bought had a few reverse polarized receptacles.

I like to give the receptacle a wrap of electrical tape to cover the screw terminals. Especially in those tiny handy boxes. The GFCIs barely fit in those boxes. You don’t want arcing in the box.

That’s why I prefer a 4 inch metal box with a single device mud ring. More room for fat fingers.

[Kali]

16. yeah I thought of covering them with tape or something

not much room to spare, but I tightened the screws pretty good, so it shouldn't shift. hope if it arcs something will trip off.