Changing outlets
- Thread starter JohnnyM
- Start date
GFCI would make sense....if there were any installed. Thus me doing this myself.
horn4life - obviously it's that way b/c that's how the electrician wired it...my question was why would an electrician do such a thing. i think i'm figuring out it's because, for the most part, people like to get the job done without actually thinking sometimes what makes sense and/or what the right way to do something is. granted, that might not be the case HERE, but it's a common theme. like when i take off the faceplate to the outlet and there is all the wallboard debris in the hole....why not just clean that out when you install the outlet?
horn4life - obviously it's that way b/c that's how the electrician wired it...my question was why would an electrician do such a thing. i think i'm figuring out it's because, for the most part, people like to get the job done without actually thinking sometimes what makes sense and/or what the right way to do something is. granted, that might not be the case HERE, but it's a common theme. like when i take off the faceplate to the outlet and there is all the wallboard debris in the hole....why not just clean that out when you install the outlet?
i guess it's not directly gfci related, but i think its part of the national electrical code - something like a single 20 amp circuit dedicated to bathroom receptacles only, unless that circuit supplies only one bathroom. i don't know why that would be exactly, but my guess is because of big amp draw of hairdryers.
washparkhorn
2,500+ Posts
210.11(C)(3) of the NEC is still confusing electricians. It basically states a dedicated circuit must be provided for your bathroom outlets and no other outlet can be placed on that circuit. This can be read many ways - for instance, all of the outlets in all of your bathrooms could be placed on the same circuit, if there are no other uses of that circuit. Or, it could be read as only bathroom outlets allowed on that circuit - and since a light is not an outlet, it must be placed on another. Some feel like you do - that all electricity to a bathroom can be put on the same circuit, since that is logical.
Bottom line - the guy who was wiring your house either was lazy and just pulled a wire from the bedroom for the light or he was following the code and believed he could not place the light on the bathroom outlet circuit. If you have another bathroom nearby, I would guess the outlets in both bathrooms share the same circuit.
BTW, don't you hate the feeling of being shocked? I do - it makes my teeth hurt just to think about it.
Good luck. You should think about installing GFCI outlets iin all of the outlets of your bathrooms, if you haven't already. They could save someone's life. Or could take yours if you get buzzed again trying to install one.
Bottom line - the guy who was wiring your house either was lazy and just pulled a wire from the bedroom for the light or he was following the code and believed he could not place the light on the bathroom outlet circuit. If you have another bathroom nearby, I would guess the outlets in both bathrooms share the same circuit.
BTW, don't you hate the feeling of being shocked? I do - it makes my teeth hurt just to think about it.
Good luck. You should think about installing GFCI outlets iin all of the outlets of your bathrooms, if you haven't already. They could save someone's life. Or could take yours if you get buzzed again trying to install one.
GhostOfTomJoad
500+ Posts
I spent 1/2 of a Saturday last winter tracing the circuits in our house. I knew I was going to have to do this when we bought the place & I looked inside the circuit breaker box & the circuits were labeled as:
1: Furnace
2: Refrigerator
3: Kitchen
4 - 16: Lights & Plugs (w/ no description of where any of these might be!!)
Nice. It was a mess. But I would have traced them myself anyway because I've been told by many electricians to never trust a circuit you haven't tested yourself.
1: Furnace
2: Refrigerator
3: Kitchen
4 - 16: Lights & Plugs (w/ no description of where any of these might be!!)
Nice. It was a mess. But I would have traced them myself anyway because I've been told by many electricians to never trust a circuit you haven't tested yourself.
yeah I bought some GFCI outlets to put in the kitchen, laundry, and bathrooms. I'd like to find the first outlet in the string so I only have to install one, but I don't want to buy a voltmeter (or whatever I need, I just know I don't want it) so I'll just go with trial and error...which will give me good practice and replacing outlets!
as for being shocked...i didn't intially think i was shocked b/c i thought i had flipped the right breaker. so i grabbed the nearest plug-in device, my iron, and sure enough the light came on. that was a somewhat sobering moment
(not that i was drinking nor do i suggest doing any drinking and wiring)
as for being shocked...i didn't intially think i was shocked b/c i thought i had flipped the right breaker. so i grabbed the nearest plug-in device, my iron, and sure enough the light came on. that was a somewhat sobering moment
GhostOfTomJoad
500+ Posts
The best $20 you may ever spend is right here
The Link
You just plug it into an outlet & you instantly know if it's hot, if it's wired properly (or if not, what's wrong/reversed), & it has a handy GFCI test trip button.
I noticed our home inspector carrying one when we did the walk through & he tested every outlet in the place. I picked one up at Lowe's the next day.
The Link
You just plug it into an outlet & you instantly know if it's hot, if it's wired properly (or if not, what's wrong/reversed), & it has a handy GFCI test trip button.
I noticed our home inspector carrying one when we did the walk through & he tested every outlet in the place. I picked one up at Lowe's the next day.
R
ReyDelSol
Guest
Same thing happened to me once. Now, I turn off the whole house just to be safe.
stupidgringo
100+ Posts
OK, I'm not an electrician, but this is how my house (1984 construction) is wired and yours may be the same. I have only one GFCI outlet, but it protects the entire circuit on which my bathroom (3) and outdoor (1) outlets reside. That one GFCI plug is in my garage.
Depending on when your house was built, it may be wired simarly. Older houses are probably not protected, newer probably have a GFCI on every outlet for convenience sake.
If the bathroom outlet is on a different circuit that the lights, then I would guess it's on a circuit with other bathroom, outdoor or kitchen outlets. That circuit may already be protected, as is the case with mine.
Depending on when your house was built, it may be wired simarly. Older houses are probably not protected, newer probably have a GFCI on every outlet for convenience sake.
If the bathroom outlet is on a different circuit that the lights, then I would guess it's on a circuit with other bathroom, outdoor or kitchen outlets. That circuit may already be protected, as is the case with mine.
I don't think it's fair to use some sort of electrician's "contraption" to let you know if the circuit is on or off.
Such a device would prevent the "family bonding" of this dailogue with the husband at the fuse box and the observer wife inside helping:
"Is it off?
"Is what off?"
"Is the light off?"
"Which light?"
"The one I am trying to replace in the bathroom!"
You don't have to yell at me!"
"I didn't mean to yell honey, but I am having a hard time hearing you. So is the light off?
"The light in the bathroom...?"
"Yes the light in the bathroom! (with muttered cursing)"
"No, it's still on...."
Such a device would prevent the "family bonding" of this dailogue with the husband at the fuse box and the observer wife inside helping:
"Is it off?
"Is what off?"
"Is the light off?"
"Which light?"
"The one I am trying to replace in the bathroom!"
You don't have to yell at me!"
"I didn't mean to yell honey, but I am having a hard time hearing you. So is the light off?
"The light in the bathroom...?"
"Yes the light in the bathroom! (with muttered cursing)"
"No, it's still on...."
Apostle7550
100+ Posts
I called out an electrician to fix a couple of outlets in my house.... He plugged a circuit tester in and the plug didn't work.... He then went to the downstairs bathroom and hit the little reset button (I now know that it's a GFCI) and everything worked again... It was a great ******* use for a $50 bill.
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