How To Replace An Old 2 Prong Outlet Using 3 Prong GFCI

How's it going ?

You guys , it's Scott with everyday home repairs .

And today I wanna quickly show you how to solve an issue that's probably been plaguing you for a while .

And that is if you live in an older house , you might have two prong receptacles which are just a pain in the butt and unsafe uh to work with .

To solve that .

You might be using one of these adapters that takes the three prong and gives you that two prong and it has an additional small strap here that actually some people screw in .

So the screw for the face plate right in the center here , then screw that in .

Now , that's not creating a ground because there is no equipment ground coming to this spot .

So it's just an unsafe way to do it .

So let's get you upgraded to a three prong and do that safely .

It says call down in N E C and down in the description , I'll put a link there for your reference .

But all we're gonna do is install a G F C I receptor co which is the safe solution on how to upgrade this two prong receptacle .

So let's jump in and get you upgraded .

So you're not fumbling around with these unsafe adapters and you have a safe three prong receptacle to use in your house .

So the way we start off any of these electrical projects is to make sure we can safely work on this receptacle and there's no power going to that to do that .

I'm gonna use a noncontact voltage tester .

I'm gonna turn it on and I'm gonna test this receptacle to know that my voltage tester is working and power is still going to this receptacle .

Once I've confirmed that , then I'll go hit my breaker to turn off power to the circuit .

Then I'll come back in and with the same voltage tester , I will test it again , confirming there is no power going to this receptor .

And once you do that , now we're ready to install the G F C I outlet .

I always start off with these old face plates by scoring the surface between the paint and the face plate .

Then I undo the screw and carefully remove it to reduce any paint damage .

Just double checking here to make sure that no power is going to the box .

Then I'm removing the two mounting screws so I can pull the old two prime receptacle out .

I will take a look at what we're dealing with and here you really only expect to see a neutral and a hot side .

So I am gonna take my micro side cutters and then just cut that off clean .

So we can strip new copper for the G F C I G F C I and all receptible really have a strip gauge that will show you how much copper you need to strip to properly install .

You can use the strip gauge like this to reference your line .

Or what I do is I actually take my strippers and just get a reference on the strippers .

So I know I need to strip to the 14 gauge mark on my strippers take that mark pit strippers and then strip that amount of insulation off .

So I'll do that on the neutral and on the hot side .

So we're ready to start wiring .

Now you'll see we're only using the line portion of the G F C I .

The load portions underneath this label for this instance will not be used .

Gold goes to black which is hot and then white or the neutral line will go to the silver screw terminal .

Now you'll put the straight strand of copper underneath the plate .

You do not need to make AJ hook and then you'll tighten down the plate to make a secure connection .

So we did that for the hot side and now we'll just do the same thing for the neutral side underneath the plate , making sure no exposed copper is going past the housing and then you're done .

Now , before placing a G F C I outlet in the metal box because it's so tight , actually gonna wrap with three M super 33 plus electrical tape that's tape on the market .

And you can see the link in the description which will show you exactly what I use .

I'll do two wraps stretching electoral tape as I go on the outside and that will help bond the tape and also contour to the receptacle housing and then at the end instead of stretching it , uh I will just cut that off with some micro side cutters because at the tail end of the tape , you don't want to stretch it , you actually just want to lay it back down and adhere it to the wrap .

There's a couple more screws and we'll be done .

So we'll reinstall the mounting screws .

I work back and forth and then also make sure that the receptacle is centered so you don't get done tightened and it's kind of cock eyed in the box .

Now , once you have that tightened down , we'll do a standard Decor face plate and then tighten down both of the screws , then we'll test it out .

So go hit your breaker back to the on position and we'll press the reset button testing with our voltage tester .

Everything looks good .

Also use an outlet tester where I only have the center led on which does mean open ground , which is expected because of that N E C does call out that we need to label a no equipment , ground sticker on the faceplate and the sticker will be found in the G F C I box .

So you can use it .

So , not too bad , right ?

Something you knock out pretty quickly and it's just so much more functional to have and save to have this G F C I Three Pro .

So if there is a fault there , this will actually trip , it doesn't have the ground return path , which is ideal .

But if there is a fault , it will trip because of the design of the G F C I outlets .

Now , this was a very straightforward , right ?

Two strands coming in neutral and hot into the box if that solved your problem .

Awesome .

Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe before you take off .

Now , if you opened your electrical box , um and you just saw way more wires than what we showed here , which were really just those two .

It's about as simple as it gets .

Don't worry for one .

If you feel unsafe and you're uncertain , call in a professional , at least you know what you need now .

So you can walk them through exactly what you're looking for .

Hopefully get that done in a timely manner and for a reasonable cost .

But I will mention that if you have multiple receptors in a room and their days , you chained together one after another , there is a possibility where you can install one G F C I at the start and then you can take the load lines from the G F C I which we talked about what we did not use , right ?

And then connect a normal receptacle down stream of the G F C I .

And it still is protected by the G F C I .

And it's still following N E C code even though it will look like a normal receptacle opposed to a G F C I .

Now again , getting a little more complex , but I just want to let you know that if you have three or four receptacles in a room , there is a possibility if you install a G F C I at the starting receptacle that you could just install standard receptacles at the other two or three and you wouldn't be covered .

Now , you still will need to label that there's no equipment ground on that face plate to follow any seat .

Now , if you have any questions jump in down in the comments and myself or many of the viewers uh who are very active would be happy to help you and at least give our two cents but be safe and we'll catch you on the next video .

Take care .