Hire a certified electrician to install outlet for new fridge

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/04/2020 (1993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Question: My fridge has chosen this to be the perfect time to die in my 1950’s home. We have a new one on the way, but it turns out that the outlet behind the old fridge wasn’t switched to three-prong, when the rest of the outlets were upgraded, and the house was switched from knob and tube to modern electrical. So, I have a two-prong outlet with a three-prong fridge on the way here, so I’m stumped. I’ve read online that using a grounded adaptor plug or installing a GFCI outlet could work, but I don’t know if these are reliable or safe options, even with a new fridge. If you have any knowledge, or resources on best practices, I would very much appreciate it.

It turns out, after looking at my old 1980’s fridge, that it had a three-prong plug and they just ripped out the bottom prong to fit it into the existing outlet! So, we’ve been using a fridge this whole time that was hazardous.

Thanks, Alicia D.

Answer: Installing an appliance with a modern, three-prong plug into an older, ungrounded duplex receptacle can not be done in the safest manner possible without changing the wiring. While a GFCI may be a viable option for some older receptacles, it will not be a good idea for your new refrigerator. The only choice is to call a licensed electrician to replace the wiring and install a proper, standard duplex receptacle.

Using an ungrounded receptacle, even with an adapter that accepts the grounding prong, will not provide the proper safety for your family or the new appliance. You could simply choose to change the receptacle to a new three-prong, and connect the grounding screw to the junction box. But, if the box is not connected to anything else it still won’t be grounded, even though it will accept the new fridge plug. The little adapter thing you want to buy will be the exact same scenario, and not recommended.

A ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) receptacle would be safer than your current situation, and may normally be an acceptable alternative if no other option is available. If it is all but impossible to run a new, grounded wire to the junction box, due to a sealed basement ceiling or an antiquated panel, a GFCI would often improve the safety of the receptacle for the time being. The problem with your situation is that GFCI’s should not be used with many different types of appliances, including yours. You don’t want to plug a fridge into a GFCI, as they are very sensitive to nuisance tripping. If this occurs, often when the fridge compressor comes on, all the food inside could spoil. If it tripped and you were away from your home for more than a few hours, it could cause a big problem. If you were out of town on vacation, or away for an extended period of time, all the food in the freezer portion would also thaw. There would be no way of you being aware of this power failure, or resetting the GFCI, if you were not home.

Without installing a properly grounded receptacle, your new refrigerator may not provide proper shock protection for users under several scenarios. Perhaps the most likely would be if the metal frame or cabinet of the appliance came in contact with a live electrical wire. This could occur if a connection came loose, or if plastic wire sheathing became damaged or loose. There may also be other times when this device becomes a further hazard, due to a malfunction or leak in the cooling or condensate system. So, preventing this with a grounded three-prong plug, inserted into a properly grounded receptacle, is the only safe option.

The other consideration is proper protection for the cooling components of the refrigerator. Many electrical components, which could include the compressor in your appliance, require proper grounding. Without a good ground, they may not function at peak efficiency and may have a more limited life expectancy. While this is less likely with a newer appliance, and secondary to the life-safety aspect, it should not be discounted.

So, the only acceptable solution to your dilemma is to get the receptacle professionally upgraded. You have stated that to your knowledge the rest of the home has had the knob and tube wiring remediated, so it should be possible to do the one circuit that was missed. It is possible that in a house of your vintage the old fridge receptacle was connected to other wires on the same circuit. This would also put the new appliance in jeopardy, depending on the overall load on the circuit, so upgrading may have an additional benefit. The new receptacle should be put on a dedicated circuit, which means it is the only component connected to a single, dedicated circuit breaker. That way there will be no chance of the breaker being overloaded by other items connected to other receptacles. The potential results of a situation like that is similar to the GFCI issue.

As far as I am concerned, your best bet, and the only completely safe alternative, is to remove the old two-prong receptacle and wiring and do a proper upgrade. Calling a red seal electrician, spending a few hundred bucks, and getting it properly upgraded is the only correct option in this case.

Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the past president of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors — Manitoba (cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be emailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at 204-291-5358 or check out his website at trainedeye.ca.

trainedeye@iname.com