Zing wrote:
My neighbor is selling his house in NJ and was told by a house
inspector that he has to have a GFCI by the stove and by the sink in
his 50 year old Cape Cod house.

Might be true. I believe U.S. code requires GFCI for all kitchen
outlets in *new* construction or reno's. In theory "current code"
doesn't apply to older homes but some localities have passed vague laws
requiring updating old places to code when sold (if they're serious
about this, it's a huge burden) and some inspectors selectively look
for key things that provide big value easily. GFCI's are in that
category, like smoke alarms, stair handrails etc.

The house has NO ground wire on the Romex since it was built.

Not surprising.

I was always led to believe that even if you have a GFCI with NO GROUND
WIRE that you have SOME PROTECTION.
In other words, ONLY 2 WIRES - BLACK AND WHITE are connected to the
GFCI.

Quite right. Full protection from ground-faults is provided regardless
of whether the gfci outlet has a ground connection or not. In fact,
gfci outlets are the recommended upgrade to un-grounded circuits, where
you don't want to bother replacing the old cable with grounded stuff.
They provide significant protection against electrocution in the event
of wiring faults within the appliance, which is what the ground wire is
supposed to do. (Installing grounded outlets on ungrounded circuits is
prohibited. Connecting the ground pin to neutral is a big mistake.)

The GFCI outlet will come with a little sticker that says "no equipment
ground" (probably also ones in French and Spanish). To meet code this
sticker must be on the outlet faceplate when the inspector looks at it.

However, plug-in gfci testers won't work (they won't trip the outlet).
The outlet's built-in test button should work fine.

Would this hookup - only 2 wires and NO ground - meet a NJ home
inspection requirement ??

Nobody can answer this better than the inspector that you spoke with.
Localities (not just states, but counties and cities) can set rules
over and above national codes, and inspectors can have their own
"interpretations". Having said all that, I would say that I would
certainly expect it to pass and I'd presume that it's exactly what the
inspector had in mind when he spoke to your neighbour.

What about a GFCI BREAKER for the entire circuit ???

I believe it would provide equivalent protection, but ...

Pass inspection ???

Dunno. Some inspectors prefer outlets, presumably for convenience of
resetting. And the breaker will likely cost more than two outlets, *if*
you can even get one for a 50-year-old panel.

And if these outlets are on the same circuit, then they could be
protected by one outlet, if the wires are fed from one to the other.
You need the same sticker on both outlets, and the downstream one
should get the sticker that says "protected by GFCI". (Can the
downstream outlet be replaced by a three-prong one? Hmmm. Dunno.)

The only case where I'd go to any trouble to avoid installing GFCI
outlets is if the old plug boxes were too small for a GFCI *and* it was
going to be really difficult to replace them. Like they were in solid
masonry walls or something.

Chip C
Toronto