I recently purchased a condo built in the 1930s. Inside, it is completely ungrounded. I also learned that all of the electrical in the home is pig-tailed, including lighting. I understand this configuration makes it so that GFCIs do not protect downstream outlets. I also found ungrounded normal 3-prong outlets throughout the home including behind the refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, and washing machine.
I wish to bring my home up to code as much as I possibly can, and as much as I'd like to do a complete rewire, that is out of the question. My goal is to bring this home up to code as much as I can with a limited budget of around $500. Right now, the existing plan is just to upgrade all of my outlets to tamper-resistant GFCI outlets, which parts & labor = $160. I have a little bit of buyer's remorse after learning about afci/gfci circuit breakers, which I'm thinking may have been a better solution, and might have gone that route instead.
What is the best solution to getting my ungrounded home up to code (as much as possible) on a limited budget? Would replacing all my breakers with afci/gfci and having tamper-resistant "no equipment ground", "GFCI protected" outlets throughout be enough to meet code? Would I still need tamper-resistant GFCI receptacles in certain areas of the house? What about behind the appliances where I'd have to pull them out to reset if they trip?
In terms of protecting my equipment, I've been looking into Zero Surge which states they can protect equipment in ungrounded homes. Any thoughts on that product?
Submitted October 16, 2015 at 04:38AM by ceomoses http://ift.tt/1Kc7QKb electricians
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