# Question for resi old timers



## Mich drew (Mar 3, 2013)

Nobody likes changing how they have always done something,that worked fine and that was compliant with existing code. My guess is that the added ground wire was something new at the time that the electrician thought was useless and unneeded so just cut it off. When they added ground screws onto switches I thought it was stupid so I didn't adapt until an inspector , who I knew well, bounced my inspection and made go back and add grounds to every switch.
Discovered it was easier to do it the NEW right way to begin with.


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## zac (May 11, 2009)

btharmy said:


> I just replaces a 100a panel and sold the customer on replacing 2 wire receptacles with 3 wire devices. All of the cables (silver cloth nm cable) in the panel had ground wires, although they were under sized. None of the device boxes have ground wires in them. They all appear to be cut off? Why did you guys do this back then.


What I have noticed here is that the wire is not cut off, it's crimped outside the box. They may have done it to keep shorting a non event.
Harry any thoughts!


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## Black Dog (Oct 16, 2011)

Back then, those guys would twist the grounds together and rap them around the wire clamp screw, behind the clamp and cut off the slack.


The really old devices had the screws on the front of the device, they would drive the device in first with the wires sticking out, they would pull the wires tight and strip the wire and cut at the exact length and rap the wire around the screws, so there was no way the remove the device without cutting the wire off the device------man I hate that:laughing:


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## aftershockews (Dec 22, 2012)

There are houses here where the ground wire is wrapped several time around the romex jacket and the clamp to the box makes contact with it.


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## FlyingSparks (Dec 10, 2012)

aftershockews said:


> There are houses here where the ground wire is wrapped several time around the romex jacket and the clamp to the box makes contact with it.


Here ya go


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## Mshow1323 (Jun 9, 2012)

aftershockews said:


> There are houses here where the ground wire is wrapped several time around the romex jacket and the clamp to the box makes contact with it.


But that isn't typical of the cloth covered romex.

Sometimes there are just clamped under the connector flying in mid air outside the box, but you would still see a very small loop inside. They're often just snipped.


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## Mich drew (Mar 3, 2013)

Anyone remember the old bang on grounding clamps for metal resi boxes before there was plastic?


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Mich drew said:


> Anyone remember the old bang on grounding clamps for metal resi boxes before there was plastic?


The ones they still make?


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## papaotis (Jun 8, 2013)

have some in my 'evil neccessities' box:thumbup:


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## Mich drew (Mar 3, 2013)

480sparky said:


> The ones they still make?


Do people still use those?


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Mich drew said:


> Do people still use those?



I do.

Mostly on metal boxes that are installed and where it would be a bee-otch to install a screw.


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## Vintage Sounds (Oct 23, 2009)

480sparky said:


> The ones they still make?


Cool, I didn't even know that was a thing.


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## Bootss (Dec 30, 2011)

btharmy said:


> I just replaces a 100a panel and sold the customer on replacing 2 wire receptacles with 3 wire devices. All of the cables (silver cloth nm cable) in the panel had ground wires, although they were under sized. None of the device boxes have ground wires in them. They all appear to be cut off? Why did you guys do this back then.


maybe try testing from your hot to your metal box to see if you get 120v.

if you get voltage screw in 10/32 screw into the back of the metal box with a pigtail and tie that into your 3 prong

Or figure out the configuration of your home runs and install a GFI and then have your regular three prongs downstream from your gf I am worth stickers on all the receptacles saying the GF I protected I guess

either that or a rewire the whole house for $60,000 


what do you think Harry or 480Sparky


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## Black Dog (Oct 16, 2011)

Lep said:


> maybe try testing from your hot to your metal box to see if you get 120v.
> 
> if you get voltage screw in 10/32 screw into the back of the metal box with a pigtail and tie that into your 3 prong
> 
> ...


I'll take $30,000 up front....:laughing:


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

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480sparky said:


> I do.
> 
> Mostly on metal boxes that are installed and where it would be a bee-otch to install a screw.


It's never a bee-otch when you carry a 10-32 tap that can go into your cordless and you also have a few self tapping button screws in your pouch in order to make holes where there are none. So it takes the same amount of time to basically drive three or 4 sheetrock screws into a piece of ply. But this way I don't have to mess with those green monsters. I buy little 10-32 screws by the bag at H.D. or supply houses. I've become much more compliant with grounding existing metal stuff since I gave up the bang on's.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

macmikeman said:


> It's never a bee-otch when you carry a 10-32 tap that can go into your cordless and you also have a few self tapping button screws in your pouch in order to make holes where there are none. So it takes the same amount of time to basically drive three or 4 sheetrock screws into a piece of ply. But this way I don't have to mess with those green monsters. I buy little 10-32 screws by the bag at H.D. or supply houses. I've become much more compliant with grounding existing metal stuff since I gave up the bang on's.



Lemme know how that works in a masonry box embedded in a CMU wall or a 189 box (with no raised screw point) slap-anchored to a concrete wall..


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

480sparky said:


> Lemme know how that works in a masonry box embedded in a CMU wall or a 189 box (with no raised screw point) slap-anchored to a concrete wall..[/QUOTE
> 
> I'm glad you asked that question Ken, I also pack a tap con drill bit about. I send the tap con drill bit in to ream out a hole in the concrete. Still don't like the bang on's at all, but then I never really did.


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## Bootss (Dec 30, 2011)

Black Dog said:


> I'll take $30,000 up front....:laughing:


that's your salesman percentage

:laughing:


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## Bootss (Dec 30, 2011)

so there you go Op use a clip. (less headache then trying to tap a hole into the back of the metal box) to hit your ground on the box then tie in your three prong


or just call your local electrical inspector and ask him what he thinks heck with all the old timers Bologna:laughing:


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

It's called the Boston Backwrap, at least on this coast.....~CS~


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

Mich drew said:


> Do people still use those?


Many hacks do.


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## retiredsparktech (Mar 8, 2011)

Black Dog said:


> Back then, those guys would twist the grounds together and rap them around the wire clamp screw, behind the clamp and cut off the slack.
> 
> 
> The really old devices had the screws on the front of the device, they would drive the device in first with the wires sticking out, they would pull the wires tight and strip the wire and cut at the exact length and rap the wire around the screws, so there was no way the remove the device without cutting the wire off the device------man I hate that:laughing:


The last one I ran into like that, I just removed the screws from the device and straitened the loops. The leads are short enough, as it is.


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