Floating ground ?

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by maxhifi

I am not sure what he meant by that. The utility feed will certainly have the neutral and ground bonded together at both the transformer and the service entrance at
The house. Check voltage between hot and a water pipe or radiator pipe to check it, should be about 120 to ground. If you get any other value either the pipe
Isn't grounded or there's a problem with your electrical system.

Get the electric utility to come and check it out.
The owner might be mistaken about the service entrance. I don't know of any homes that still have a two wire 120 volt service. They only were good for 30 amps, max.
The 1959 code required a minimum 120/240 volt, 100 amp, three wire service, for residential applications. It didn't make any difference, how many circuits were used. I've seen 100 amp services, that only had, two 15 amp 120 volt branch circuits. They owner did it to satisfy the insurance company.

[oldtvsandtoy]

No you can have more then 30a on a two wire system. You just need to use bigger wire. A dryer can run on two wire 40a and a stove on two wire 60a

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

Get the electric utility to come and check it out.
The owner might be mistaken about the service entrance. I don't know of any homes that still have a two wire 120 volt service. They only were good for 30 amps, max.
The 1959 code required a minimum 120/240 volt, 100 amp, three wire service, for residential applications. It didn't make any difference, how many circuits were used. I've seen 100 amp services, that only had, two 15 amp 120 volt branch circuits. They owner did it to satisfy the insurance company.

[Kevin Kuehn]

What scares me more than the old two wire system's, is the modern code approved twisted(wire nut) connections, and those crazy push in terminals on the back of duplex receptacles.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Kevin Kuehn

What scares me more than the old two wire system's, is the modern code approved twisted(wire nut) connections, and those crazy push in terminals on the back of duplex receptacles.

There's two types of wiring devices. Back wired and back stabbed. Back wired devices are the better quality devices. They have pressure terminals, that when using the back holes, you have to tighten the terminal screws to retain the connection.
The back stab devices, just have the holes to insert the wires. There's just a string type retainer to hold the lead. The screws are just there to connect the leads, if side wiring is desired. That is the best and preferred method. They're only listed for # 14 solid. The better back wired devices are listed for #12 or #14 solid or stranded.
Regarding wire nuts, they're only as good as the care used to install them. I've seen them burn up, from excessive load. That generally can be traced to improper installation.
Regarding K&T wiring: They claim that any K&T wiring, that remains unmolested, from the original installation is as safe as any other wiring system. The only negative is there's no ground available.