electric upgrade

[Unregistered-Tom C]

I bought an older house which has/had a 60 amp service; I am upgrading to a 200 amp panel; all the outlets are two prong outlets, no ground. Old wire is in good shape. I will be adding additional circuits with 12/2 w grnd. Am I okay leaving the existing outlets as they are? The old circuits will be on 15 amp breakers. The existing outlets will be used primarily for lamps. New outlets will be added in same area as existing… I do have a permit and will be inspected before pwr company will re-connect pwr lines to new weatherhead and new meter box. Thanks in advance for any opinions…

[Bruno1949]

No matter what we say, no matter what is proper in our areas, YOUR area is controlled by YOUR electrical inspector and you have to keep him happy. He is the one that can answer your questions.

In my opinion it would be foolish and against code and logic to leave the old outlets in place. New outlets cost about $1 each in bulk and are ten times safer than using the 60 year old outlets.

You are upgrading everything else from the pole to the house, why suddenly cheap out on some of the old wiring? At the very least, depending on how the house is currently wired, have the existing wiring upgraded to a grounded system and install new outlets and switches. It makes little sense to install new outlets next to the old outlets. Just upgrade the existing stuff and don’t spend the money to piggyback the new on top of the old. You would be paying someone, or spending your own time and money, basically duplicating the old system anyway.

You have no idea how ‘over-stressed’ the old system might have been. There might be bad connections, melted wires, or any number of other problems hiding in the old boxes and outlets. For safety sake just spend the money to replace the old rather than having two separate systems in the house.

It sounds a bit like putting salvage yard tires on a new BMW.

Also, why 12/2 circuits? Unless you really need it they are a waste of money. Use 14/2 and 15 amp breakers for ‘normal’ stuff and reserve the 12/2 and 20 amp circuits for bathrooms, kitchens, and workshops.

[homebild]

“Am I okay leaving the existing outlets as they are?”

Yes.

[Unregistered-odessa]

As was said national code DOES NOT require removal of old wiring still in safe condition and to code at time of installation. This is due to some wiring being very difficult to change. Chandeliers between the first and second floor are bears as is wiring to front portry alcoves etc. That said you SHOULD replace all outlets. Worn outlets are the same as bad connections. And if you want the two wire circuits to be safer than modern 3 wire grounded ones run them off of GFI breakers. 90% of the time the ground lug is not used on 2 wire home electrical items. GFI is worlds safer than unused grounds.

[Author]

Posts