Just Stand There While I Plug This In

There is a persistent urban myth about the invention of the GFCI involving skeptical investors and industry officials, a bathtub, a toaster, the inventor's beloved only daughter and a Ground Fault prototype, but it never happened. There is some truth to the idea that the early "Residual Current Protective Device" encountered some resistance from a conservative building industry following its invention in 1961 by Charles Dalziel, an engineering professor at UC Berkeley. Similarly persistent rumors about his use of graduate students to test human shock tolerance, sadly, are confirmed.

Gradually since the early 70's the GFCI has conquered the building trades until by now its use is required in new houses and remodeling projects to protect bathrooms, kitchens, garages, basements, swimming pools, outdoor receptacles and hot tubs. If you don't see these rather official-looking plugs with buttons on around your house, it probably means you haven't had your wiring updated by a professional for many years.

I get shocked about half a dozen times a year; usually I deserve it. I'm a professional electrician, among other things, and the risks I take are deliberate and, hopefully, warranted. Once in a while I simply stumble upon a live wire left by some amateur or careless professional. Then I get all high and mighty and throw things and shout, "Somebody oughta do something about these nitwits!" I've acquired the habit of wearing basic gloves when in "terror incognita" wiring situations full of unknowns and hidden dangers.

If you have at least one GFCI or a prime suspect in the house, and a group of other receptacles suddenly and mysteriously goes silent, you must suspect that they are connected downstream of the device, a cost-cutting measure sanctioned by the Code but avoided by curmudgeons like me who hate charging to show up and push a button. Reset your GFCI, and the dining room plugs will probably wake up and smile.

Last tip: go to the home center and buy a plug tester, pictured at the head of the post. Following the simple instructions you can test any three prong outlet for a number of conditions, and test GFCIs for proper function, without taking any risk at all. Then you can say to me, on the phone, "The tester says 'open neutral,' and I heard a humming from inside the box. I found the breaker and turned it off. Can you get here tomorrow?" That never fails to impress.