GFCI Question

[ZYouL8R]

I'm in the process of replacing every single outlet and light switch in the house (going from off-white to white). In the master bathroom there are 2 outlets above the vanity; one is a GFCI outlet and one isn't. However, the one that isn't is tied into the other outlet so when the GFCI is tripped, both are inop. My question is, is there any reason to replace this outlet with a GFCI one or is it ok to just keep them as is? The house was built in '86 so I'm not sure of the code then versus the code now. Am I required to change the non-GFCI to a GFCI outlet now?

[Vertnut]

I'll preface this by saying I'm not an electrician. As long as they are on the same circuit, both are "protected". I would leave them the same.

[71chevellejohn]

If you are replacing them yourself then code really doesn't come into play. Meaning the city isn't going to come into your house and fine you for having the wrong outlet in the bathroom. Now if you were hiring an electrician to do it, they would probably insist on it because they are following code.

**Note I am not an electrician or code enforcement person

[black2002ls]

You will be fine, just wire it back in as it was

[Chas_svo]

You will be fine, just wire it back in as it was

This.

[crooner]

GFCI have a line and load on the back of them. That GFCI feed the other plug so it's also GFCI protected. Just installed a new regular and plate and install a new GFI. Put the little GFCI protected sticker in the box on the other outlet.


<----- is an electrician

[ZYouL8R]

Thanks for the help.

On a somewhat related note, I replaced my first GFCI outlet last week in another bathroom and it took me a lot longer than it should have. There was over 6" of 12ga wire in the outlet box per wire (4 wires total) and it was a bitch to try to shove that back into the box after I installed the new outlet. I ended up removing and reinstalling the outlet 3 times to stuff the wires better. Is there a special way to stuff the wire into the box so the outlet will fit right in there?

[crooner]

I always bend them into a z shape. That way it works like an accordion when you push it back in. But, GFI's can be tricky since there so fat. Also, make sure the white (neutral) is always on the silver screws and hot is on the gold.

[BERNIE MOSFET]

GFCI have a line and load on the back of them. That GFCI feed the other plug so it's also GFCI protected. Just installed a new regular and plate and install a new GFI. Put the little GFCI protected sticker in the box on the other outlet.


<----- is an electrician

Agreed. You only need one GFI per circuit.