I'm converting my laundry room into a pantry, and I've run into an issue with the electrical outlet I want to use. It doesn't have a ground wire. Since I'm in Chicago, all the wiring is in metal conduit, but the ground wires I see are pulled so tight that I can't manage to splice into them. I'm wondering if it's dangerous to use appliances like a coffee pot or an air fryer on a 15 amp outlet that lacks a GFCI or any ground wires. On a scale from 0 to 1871 Chicago, how risky is this?
2 Answers
Have you checked if there's a ground wire somewhere in the box? I assume it’s also metal, right?
I'd say your bigger concern is electrocution over fire risk. Without a ground wire, if something goes wrong inside an appliance and the hot wire touches metal, it could get dangerous fast. If your wiring is in conduit, bringing in a ground wire shouldn’t be too hard for a pro. Personally, I wouldn't take any chances with safety—better safe than sorry!
I couldn't find any ground wire terminated there. All I see are tight pulls to another box, except for a black and a white wire attached to the outlet. There’s a GFCI outlet for the washer and dryer nearby, but it's on a different circuit. Seems like there had to be a reason for that setup.