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First outlet in a branch?

So a while ago I asked how to make my friend's house more safe, it's an older house in Northern California, that isn't grounded, but does have circuit breakers and not a fuse panel. I got lots of good suggestions, like replacing the breakers with GFCI breakers, and replacing all the two-prong outlets with GFCI outlets, but the suggestion that made most sense to me was to just replace the first outlet in a branch circuit with a GFCI outlet.

I know that GFCI breakers are expensive, and that I wouldn't want to mess with the older wiring unless I have to cause the older insulation may be going bad.

So just replacing the first outlet in a branch is the way I want to go.

I was talking with my friend about this, and he asked me, how do you identify which outlet is the first in a branch? I don't know the answer to that.

He also mentioned that if we can't identify which outlet it is, that to just replace key outlets with GFCIs. Like the kitchen, the entertainment center, etc.

Reply to
Anthony Guzzi
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Just another reason to consider a GFCI in the box. Wire from breaker box to first outlet would not be protected with a wall receptacle GFCI. The GFCI in box has one additional advantage. It will detect any short from neutral to water pipes in that long run from breaker box to 1st wall receptacle.

Finding that 1st receptacle means disconnecting and reconnection wires, or getting a $20+ circuit tracer (Radio Shack, Home Depot, etc). If wiring inside walls is that old or worries you, then better to GFCI at the breaker box so that the longest wire in the walls - from breaker box to 1st wall receptacle - is also included.

Meanwhile, do you know of AGFIs that address a most dangerous type of electrical house fire - bedroom and Christmas tree fires?

Anth> So a while ago I asked how to make my friend's house more safe, it's an

Reply to
w_tom

In most cases, the first receptacle on a branch circuit is the one, on that branch, that is physically closest to the service panel.

The way to know for sure is to shut off the breaker for the branch and disconnect, at the receptacle location, the black wire(s) that go "downstream". Upon restoring power, if that receptacle is the *only* receptacle on the branch that is live, then it is the first one on the branch. If you restore power and the receptacle is dead, you disconnected the wrong wire(s). To follow this procedure, you first need to know which breakers control *each* receptacle. It is worth the time to make a circuit "map" so you know what breaker controls what receptacles, lights, appliances etc for the whole house - even if you have no plans to change anything.

In almost every case it is preferable not to use a GFI breaker when a GFCI receptacle can be used. GFI breakers have several disadvantages: they cost more; each one uses up a neutral position in the panel and adds a wire inside the panel; they are "out of sight - out of mind" and are therefore far less likely to be tested once a month as they should be; they are not at the location that has the ground fault and so are inconvient and confusing to reset; they don't offer any better ground fault protection than a GFCI receptacle; and they can't protect single locations selectively. With a GFI breaker, the entire branch is protected even when you don't want some location (say for a freezer or a sump pump) protected.

Ed

Reply to
ehsjr

That covers it:

The closests to the panel is usually the first receptacle .... as far as testing it., I just put a plug-in tester on the adjacent then take the suspect out and disconnect the load wire and see if it (adj) goes out, then test the rest just for fun and pull it (susp) out and wire in the GFCI.

All with live wires [so I don't have to be going back & forth to the panel] until I've indentified the first guy & am ready to install the new device. =AEoy

Reply to
Roy Q.T.

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