Metal conduit?

If you do, then the circuit is grounded. You can run a pigtail from the box to the receptacle if you like.

 

What about metal conduit?? I'm sorry, I'm a newbie home owner. It is just on the other side of the wall right where the porch has an outlet so if there are some differences between an outdoor and indoor outlet that may be why?

 

Is the circuit run in metal conduit with metal boxes?
Is the circuit run in plastic cable with plastic boxes?

 

A metallic wiring method can provide a grounding means without a separate grounding conductor.

How old is the house?

 

I'll double check what the box is made out of when I get home.

It's a condo built in 1991. All the other plugs I looked at in the place have a grounding wire though. =/

 

Wiring from 1991 should have contained a grounding means.

 

So it's okay that there is no grounding wire visible to connect to the outlet?

 

No, there should be one.

 

If you have metal boxes, I would suggest using a neon test light and connecting one lead to the hot wire and the other lead to the box. If the tester lights. The box is grounded. If that is the case, run a bare piece of wire from the box to the green screw of the receptacle. I use the u shaped ground clamps that grab the edge of the metal box.

 

I just checked and it does have a metal box and I can see 4 of the 6 wires coming from metal conduit from above. 2 wires go out the back and I couldn't tell if it was metal or plastic. Looked like plastic but not 100% sure.

 

I will get the test light tomorrow! Thank you!

 

I'm confused. You say the box is metal and then say you can't tell if it's plastic or metal. Please clarify.

 

A picture might help greatly.

 

Perhaps you have a metal box with metal conduit with continuity all the way back to the panel, AND the receptacles you removed in that box are self grounding receptacles - with a brass color clip to bond the receptacle to the metal box?

 

Sorry! Probably should have posted photos to begin with but didn't think about it. Now that I looked at it again it's definitely all metal.

 

The last two pictures are upside down.

 

Conduit system. The conduit is the ground.

 

So I don't need to attach anything to the ground screw?

 

Unless you have receptacle specifically designed to self ground you need a wire from the box the ground screw.

 

Don't you guys mention correcting backstabbed recepts ? :vs_worry:

 

Just looked up what that means and the old one doesn't have that but the new one I'm trying to install has screws that tighten down to keep the wires in place.

 

Good to hear .. So it's a spec grade receptacle.

Backstabbing with push in type is just scary :surprise:

 

I think all the ones that were originally installed in my place are that push in type with no screws =/ so maybe I'll just change them all out...

 

Okay!! Thank you everyone for your help!