Hi all,

I was helping out in my sister's house last night (just being a helpful lil' handyman brother :D), and while fixing something in one of the bathrooms, I noticed something very interesting: there is a vanity light above the mirrior that has a single receptactle built into the base of the fixture itself. Since bathroom receptacles have to be GFCI protected, and the light was [obviously] not, this got me wondering:

1) Would a non-GFCI receptacle like that be legal, sice technically it's not a "receptacle device" installed a box, but merely a separate feature of a larger, UL-listed device? After all, it's been installed since the house was built (sometime in the 1990s), so the inspector at the time obviously didn't complain too much about it. Still, it doesn't seem to likely to be allowed...
2) Upon removing the fixture and checking inside, I discovered that the receptacle was not actually connected; i.e. the electrician only connected the feed to the leads of the bulb sockets, but left the leads to the receptacle just sitting there, not attached to anything. Could that be the solution to the mystery: that it is actually is illegal, but the inspector did not complain because he saw it's not connected to anything and that it's only there to fill up the hole in the fixture body?

It was common for electricians to automatically not connect the cabinet receptacle because they knew it was illegal to use the outlet as a non GFI, and not conecting was a typical solution agreeable with the inspector. Beileve me , inspectors check this all the time.

However , there should be a standard wall GFI receptacle near the vanity/sink,so that there is the required GFI recpetacle in the bathroom.

Sometimes, if the owner requested the use of the vanity outlet, we could always install a GFI circuit breaker, whci has two downsides, breaker was always very expensive and the entire circuit was GFI protected. Back then, bathroom receptalces were allowed on lighting circuits, and did not require only bathroom receptacles on a separate circuit.

The practice was accepted and well known because when the code went into effect, they always allow manufactures to catch up and empty their inventories , sometimes for a few years. I don't find these outlets any longer.

Hope this answer your question.

Yes it does. Thank you very much.

One more thing, though: do they make any switches that are the same size as those receptacles? I would really like to swap out that receptacle and put in a switch instead (i.e. to be able to control the vanity fixture from a switch directly connected to it, instead of across the room).

I have not seen anyone make a switch that fits in the 1 inch x 1 inch hole for the outlet. You can blank up the hole and use one of many other switches that need a smaller hole.

I have not seen anyone make a switch that fits in the 1 inch x 1 inch hole for the outlet. You can blank up the hole and use one of many other switches that need a smaller hole.

That's what I originally planned on doing - I even purchased a pull-chain switch from Lowe's last week already. I was just hoping, when I saw the outlet, that I could neatly replace it with an identical-looking switch. Oh well, I guess I'll just drill a hole in it and put in the pull chain...