Karen



I purchased a decent digital test meter today at the store. I decided
to test an outlet I have in the kitchen because it's already a
grounded type with three prongs.

I inserted one lead into the hot side and one into the ground opening
(the 3rd hole at the bottom), and the meter reads about 115ish. It
sort of fluctuates as I move the leads around. The instructions on
the tester say that it should read 120 V. Are there variations in the
normal voltage of a standard 120 V outlet, and is this normal that it
is only reading 115 not 120?

Yes there are variations in the voltage. Also, your meter may not give
you an exact reading. What you have is normal.

Since I am getting a reading at all, I am assuming that this means
that the outlet is indeed grounded. Am I correct that if the outlet
were not properly grounded, then the meter would not read anything at
all? In other words, it would read 000?

Essentially yes, More likely the meter would read close to 0 than
actually reading 0. So your outlet is grounded at least as far as the
breaker box. But you still need to be sure that the house is grounded at the
breaker box. You'll also want to confirm that the neutral at your outlet is
hooked up so measure the voltage between the two outlet slots. It should be
around 120 V AC

I do believe that my house is grounded because I have found what I
believe is the grounding rod near one of the front corners of my house
right by the electrical panel. It's a copperish looking rod stuck in
the ground and extending about 9-12 inches out of the ground. The
cable TV cable is attached to it and it looks like a wire that comes
from the electrical panel is also connected to it. Do you think I am
correct, that this is most likely the grounding rod for my house?

Yes, that's must likely the grounding rod though I'm surprised it looks
copperish. It's often an 8ft steel rod. Your house may also have another
ground rod for lightning rods and one for the telephone, Some houses have a
ground connected to the plumbing, too.

If
so, generally, does this mean that all the fuses/outlets for the
entire house are then grounded, regardless if they have a 3 prong
outlet in them? In other words, is the electrical panel itself with
all it's circuit breakers the thing that is grounded? Or is grounding
specific to just one or two outlets or one circuit in the house?

If you have three prong outlets it is likely that they are grounded and
you can check the grounding by using your meter, just as you did above. If
the outlet has 2 prongs it is not grounded.
Your panel is grounded and your neutrals are connected to ground at the
panel but it is unsafe to think that the outlets are grounded unless they
have 3 prongs and the ground prong is wired.

Dave M.