You Don’t Need an Electrician to Upgrade to Three-Prong Outlets

Unless there is a major security problem, you only have to upgrade things when inspections are necessary, generally during renovations or major repairs. It is therefore not too surprising that many older houses still have old-fashioned sales outlets (that is to say not put in the field.

If it’s your home, it’s a good idea to upgrade these points of sale to the modern three -scroll version. You might think that it requires hiring an electrician, but if you are moderately at hand, it is a project that you can do cheap enough and easily yourself.

And you should certainly upgrade – the bottom sockets are not lacking in a earth thread, which protects you against electric shocks in the event of a tension overvoltage, and protects the house and your devices from damage.

Materials you need

Here is what you will need to upgrade your points of sale:

GFCI points of sale. You might think that you can just enter any outing from the hardware store and exchange them, but you would be wrong. Unless there is a land thread that the two -component sockets do not use, you will have to replace the two -point sockets with the need for the ground (GFCI) (or reclassle the house). These sockets are designed with an integrated safety function which will disconnect from the power if a defect is detected (you generally see them in wetlands such as kitchens and bathrooms, where splashing water can cause defects). If there is East An earth thread, you can use a standard three -teeth socket, but if you are not sure, opt for the GFCI.

Make sure you get the right amp points. Most household points of sale are 15 amps, but some can be wired for 20 amps. An outlet of 20 amps will have a horizontal notch on the left side. Check your current outlets and buy the appropriate GFCI outlets to replace them. If you have a doubt, contact an electrician. Note that your GFCI output will be delivered with a small label that reads “no equipment field”. Do not throw that – you will need it.

A 20 amp socket with a “T” notch.
Credit: Zikg / Shutterstock

Black electric ribbon. A standard electric ribbon roll will be used to wrap the outside of the socket after connecting it.

Screwdriver. Armed up both with a flat head and a Phillips head screwdriver.

Strip in thread. A cutting and stripping tool may be necessary if existing wires are damaged or too short for the new plug.

Contactless tensioner. This device tests if the socket that you are about to touch is hot with electricity or not. Get one.

Cut power

Your first step each time you work with electrical sockets (or everything connected to the wiring of your home) is to disconnect the power supply. Assuming that you have meticulously mapped your circuit breaker panel, you should simply be able to return the circuit breaker that feeds the socket you are replacing. If you have never opened your circuit breaker panel before, you will have to do this mapping first to make sure which circuit breaker return.

Once you have cut the power, check the socket using your tension tester. Be absolutely certain that there is no power in this catch before making Nothing other.

Remove the old outing

You can now delete the old outing:

Unscrew and remove the front plate. If it is old, it is often a good idea to score on the edges with a razor or a knife to avoid removing the paint from the wall with the plate.

Unscrew the mounting screws. These are generally at the top and bottom of the socket and are inserted into the recessed box attached to your wall.

Pull the outing of the wall. The sons will come with it. Do not pull too hard – make sure that excess wiring in the wall if you can. Take it out just far enough to work with the connections.

Unscrew the wires. They will be attached to the sides. Most likely, you will see a black (or red) thread and a white wire. Simply loosen the screws enough to shoot the wires for free.

Inspect the sons. As long as the wires show no sign of fusion, burning or missing insulation, you are probably ready to leave. Make sure the ends exposed are long enough to use in your new outing; Otherwise, you may need to use your stripper to expose a little more.

Install the new plug

Then install your new shiny outing:

Attach the wires to the new plug. The fixing screws will be on the side, and they are coded by color: the gold is for the black or red thread (the “hot” wire which provides power at the outlet) and the silver is for the white wire (the “neutral” which returns the power to the panel). Some sockets (see photos) will have gold on one side and money on the other, others will have both on one side. Insert or hang the wires if necessary and tighten the screws.

Output showing a silver (neutral) connection.
Credit: Jeff Somers

Exit showing a gold connection (hot).
Credit: Jeff Somers

Release showing the silver and gold connections side by side.
Credit: Jeff Somers

With a few sockets, you “hang” the wires on the screws and tighten them. In others, you can insert the wire into a small hole then tighten the screws; This may require that you straighten the wires if they were shaped in hook when you removed them.

Wrap the socket with electric ribbon. Using your electric ribbon, roll up around the socket, covering the connections. Pull the tight ribbon for two complete output revolutions, then cut the last bit with scissors (do not stretch it and tear it) and press firmly in place. The band is an additional layer of protection against problems.

Insert the exit into the wallpushing the wires into the cavity. Visse it in place and replace the wall plate.

Turn on And test the socket with your tension tester. You can also connect something right away to make sure it works properly. If the GFCI “Pop” immediately (or the trips of trouble) and the taking does not provide power, you have done something wrong.

Take the “Equipment” label And fix it on the wall plate (if you have not obtained, for any reason, do yours). This allows anyone to work at the point of sale later knows that he is dealing with an unfounded point of sale, and this is necessary.

That’s it! It’s quite simple, and as long as you follow the basic safety protocols, you don’t need an electrician you charge you a little fortune to do it.