Adding ground to existing home wiring

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05-28-11, 02:02 PM

Eklmn

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Adding ground to existing home wiring

I want to add ground wires to all non-grounded circuits in my house. Wires are distributed to its locations in the basement in hard or flexible steel conduit.

1. Can I put a few ground wires next to the conduit in all directions or
the wires should run inside the conduit?
2. Can wires be bare without isolation, otherwise should they be green or not?
3. What do you recommend?

Thanks!
I live in MA

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05-28-11, 03:20 PM

CasualJoe

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Eklmn

Where you have hard steel conduit, you don't need additional ground wires, the hard metal conduit is an approved ground to the box. Just add grounding pigtails at each box to the device ground screw or use self grounding receptacles/devices. Where you have flexible metal conduit, I'd recommend pulling the grounding conductors through those existing conduits to ground each box and then again, use grounding pigtails or self grounding receptacles/devices.

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05-30-11, 12:31 PM

Eklmn

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Thanks Joe,

I opened electrical circuit box and found that all conduits include ground wires.
The problem still exists as some electrical distributing lines go via other old circuit box that does not provide ground wires to the end circuits.

I guess I have two options to bring ground to the ungrounded circuits:
1. use ground wire from lines (they deliver electricity to other areas) that run close to the ungrounded circuits
2. bring a separate ground line(s) from the circuit box to the ungrounded circuits

Not sure whether solution #1 is allowed by code, but it is easier.

What would you recommend. Thanks!

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05-30-11, 01:27 PM

tldoug

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#2 is permitted. #1 is not.

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05-31-11, 04:01 PM

Eklmn

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Got it. Going to pull ground from the box. Thanks!

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