"TomR" wrote in message
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In ,
typed:
On Fri, 10 Oct 2014 11:31:22 -0400, "TomR" wrote:

"John G" wrote in message
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On Wednesday, October 8, 2014 9:39:45 AM UTC-4, TomR wrote:
This question was posted in another forum by someone that I know
and I thought that I would try posting it here to get some
feedback on his behalf:

He wrote,

"In a house that has ungrounded, 2 prong outlets, with wiring in
good condition, is it acceptable (and allowed by current
electrical code) to run
a separate ground wire from the outlets back to the ground at the
panel, in
order to be able to replace the 2 prong outlets with 3 prong
outlets? Existing wiring is in very good shape."

*Article 250.130(C) in the National Electrical Code gives the
options, but the short answer is yes.

Thanks John and all for your replies. I passed on the information.
I had also mentioned to him that depending on the location of the
outlets, it may be almost just as easy to run new NM wiring to the
outlets as it would to run separate ground wires to the same
outlets. And, I mentioned the option of replacing 2-prong outlets
with 3-prong GFCI outlets, without running any new ground wires
etc., as long as the GFCI had a sticker that said "No equipment
ground"

As it turned out, the outlets in question were first floor outlets
above an open ceiling basement. So, he ended up having an
electrician just run all new NM wiring to those outlets on the first
floor -- basically because the electrician said that it would take
almost the same amount of effort to do that as it would to run
separate ground wires.

That is pretty much true and even considering the cost of the wire, it
is the labor that will be the expensive part.

As another poster said, you really need to verify that there is not a
ground in the existing cable. There was a period of time in the 60s
when you were required to ground the boxes but you didn't need 3 prong
outlets. The grounded Romex was available in the 50s. The house I grew
up in, built in 53, had 2 prong outlets and 3 wire Romex. We
retrofitted the 3 prong outlets, pigtailing from the box. These days
it is much easier with self grounding receptacle.

Thanks. That's an interesting point, especially since the person who
originally had the question stated that the existing wiring was in good
shape. That does make me think that maybe it was the kind of wiring that
included a ground wire to metal outlet boxes. But, since he said that he
had an electrician rewire the boxes (I think he meant run new wire to the
boxes) instead of just running new ground wires, I am assuming that the
electrician would have noticed if the metal boxes were already grounded.
Of course, I don't know for sure, but that's my guess.

or he may have noticed, said nothing, and replaced the wire anyway.