The Most Common Outlet Issues Handled by an Electrician in North Scottsdale, AZ

January 20, 2017 10:01 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Electricians are called out to homes for a wide variety of reasons, including very frequently for problems with electrical outlets. These problems come in many different shapes and sizes, and pose different levels of challenges and frustrations to homeowners.

Here are a few of the most common outlet issues handled by an electrician in North Scottsdale, AZ:

  • Reverse polarity: If the wires in an outlet that go to neutral and hot terminals somehow are switched, this is what’s known as reverse polarity. While this does not necessarily affect how simple appliances plugged into the outlet will operate, it can make them quite a bit more dangerous. The hot wire should always be connected to the button on the bottom of the socket, with the neutral wire connected to the socket threads. In reverse polarity, you will be more likely to be shocked while changing a light bulb.
  • Two-slot receptacles: These days, three-prong grounded receptacles are standard throughout the United States, and homeowners are expected to update their outlets if they still have two-slot receptacles. Rather than doing this, many people instead use three-prong to two-prong conversion gadgets. To truly have the utmost electrical safety in your home, however, you should have three-prong outlets everywhere in your home. This is most likely to be an issue if your home was built before 1960.
  • No ground: A “false ground” is typically used as a way to work around a lack of three-slot receptacles in an older home. The ground slot might be connected to the receptacle’s neutral terminal, in which case there is not a ground connection.
  • High ground resistance: If the ground will work properly to provide electrical safety, there must be a low resistance to the flow of the electrical current, so your breakers will trip quickly as soon as electricity starts flowing to the ground. You should have a maximum resistance of 1.0 Ohms. Anything over that is too high.
  • Non-functional GFCI devices: GFCI outlets are most commonly used in kitchens, bathrooms and outdoor outlets, all of which are much more susceptible to water and the elements. If your GFCI device is non-functional, we reset the receptacles and breakers to test them before determining if they need to be replaced. They will start to fail after a certain amount of time.
  • Lack of outlets: If you simply do not have an outlet in a room, or do not have enough outlets for your needs, you can work with an electrician to get new outlets installed. This tends to be a much more in-depth job, as it will require new wiring and probably some wall destruction.

These are just a few examples of some of the most common types of services we provide just dealing with electrical outlets. For more information about the full range of services we provide as an electrician in North Scottsdale, AZ, feel free to contact us any time at Eavenson Electric Co., and we will be happy to speak with you.

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