Open Ground Remedy?

gksmith6

In replacing a hot water dispenser at my sink I discovered that the outlet under the sink has an open ground. The house was built in the 20's, thus much wiring does not have a ground and it would be very difficult to install a ground wire at the sink. I understand that GFCI does not have to have a ground in order to still give good protection, thus am considering installing one. In addition, I am considering running a ground wire from the copper pipe to the sink to the outlet. Are these acceptable procedures for the situation?

Thanks in advance!

220/221

Yes...

junkcollector

What happens when you go to cut / repair that water pipe down the road? The grounding is lost and it could be a hazardous condition. You may run a ground wire of the same size as the branch circuit conductors back to the grounding electrode system, or the ground bar in the panel where the circuit comes from. NEC 250.130 (C)

According to NEC 406.3(D)(3), where no grounding (bonding) means exists in the outlet box, such as old 2-wire NM cable without a ground, nongrounding type receptacles can be replaced with: Another nongrounding type receptacle, A GFCI-receptacle if marked “No Equipment Ground.” Or a grounding-type receptacle, if GFCI protected and marked “GFCI Protected” and “No Equipment Ground.” So a GFCI is a safe alternative.

220/221

What if someone cuts THAT down the road?

Stubbie

He will not be code compliant if he connects under the sink but if he does he needs to do it on the cold water pipe not the hot water pipe and with the proper type grounding clamp. He should also check to make sure there are no plastic sections of water pipe between where he connects and the water pipe bond from the main panel. If he connects to the hot water pipe then he needs a bonding jumper at the hot water tank if it is a storage type otherwise he runs the risk of energizing his metal hot water pipes to line voltage on a fault and the breaker will not trip.

Andy in ATL

That made me laugh. A GFCI is an excellent idea here.

Andy