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Apartment is not electrically grounded. Should I really worry?

Arcadio

Arcadio

Diamond Member
I just got a brand new 55' inch TV and while connecting it I realized that the electrical outlets in my rented apartment are not grounded. Therefore my surge protector is useless. I don't think the landlord is required to do anything about it. Should I worry about it?
 
Arcadio said:
I just got a brand new 55' inch TV and while connecting it I realized that the electrical outlets in my rented apartment are not grounded. Therefore my surge protector is useless. I don't think the landlord is required to do anything about it. Should I worry about it?
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Gunslinger08 said:
Any chance you have GFI breakers in your panel?
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Yes op, you should be concerned. The landlord is required to follow code. In regards to gfi breakers, they don't work if there's no ground.
 
I wouldn't live there but I wouldn't worry too much. My friend lived in a house that didn't have grounds.

Also unless he is doing a renovation, he's not required to bring it up to today's code. Otherwise, people would have to be constantly updating their homes.
 
nickbits said:
I wouldn't live there but I wouldn't worry too much. My friend lived in a house that didn't have grounds.

Also unless he is doing a renovation, he's not required to bring it up to today's code. Otherwise, people would have to be constantly updating their homes.
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Unless it's a hundred years old, it was code when it was built. It was code when wires were bare wrapped around ceramic resister posts. It constitutes hazardous living conditions.
 
Lived in house for 20+ years that didnt have grounded outlets. The apt I rent now has one gfci in the bathroom and one grounded outlet in the living room, rest are all ungrounded. I'm not worried about it.

If you're worried about damage to your TV, I would check with your renters insurance and see what they say. They may not care one way or another about a surge protector/grounded outlet.
 
How old is the building?

Ungrounded outlets are pretty common in Japan so you're probably safe. It's mainly for appliances with metal casings, so you don't get a shock touching them, or for wet environments. However, ungrounded outlets are against the building code here in North America.
 
MagnusTheBrewer said:
Yes op, you should be concerned. The landlord is required to follow code. In regards to gfi breakers, they don't work if there's no ground.
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So, if the landlord remodels, and the remodeling involves electrical work, then the landlord needs to install the new wiring to code. It doesn't require him to update the rest of the dwelling.

GFI outlets work without the ground. And, a GFI breaker would be in a panel which is grounded.
 
MagnusTheBrewer said:
Unless it's a hundred years old, it was code when it was built. It was code when wires were bare wrapped around ceramic resister posts. It constitutes hazardous living conditions.
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wrong. 3 wire was not code until the 60s, well into the days of romex. knob and tube systems were out of style sometime in the late 30s or early 40s i belive. Knob and tube systems were 2 wire systems and they are ceramic insulators, not resistors.
 
DrPizza said:
So, if the landlord remodels, and the remodeling involves electrical work, then the landlord needs to install the new wiring to code. It doesn't require him to update the rest of the dwelling.

GFI outlets work without the ground. And, a GFI breaker would be in a panel which is grounded.
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You're right. I was assuming that nothing was grounded including the panel.

herm0016 said:
wrong. 3 wire was not code until the 60s, well into the days of romex. knob and tube systems were out of style sometime in the late 30s or early 40s i belive. Knob and tube systems were 2 wire systems and they are ceramic insulators, not resistors.
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Literal ninny. By the way, your grammar sucks and your mother dresses you funny. 🙂
 
GFI is intended to protect people and monitor an imbalance of current between the hot and neutral. If there is any imbalance (which would be a person getting shocked) it trips. A ground is not required for them to do their job.

I would not install a GFI just because I don't have a ground. In a bathroom or kitchen it would be a good idea though.

From what I recall some or most surge suppressors have protection from Hot - Neutral, Hot - Ground. Yours might not be entirely useless.. You would have to do some research or buy a new one.

I grew up in a house without a ground, moved to an apartment with no ground and have never lost a piece of electronics dues to a surge. I had a brown out once and my computer still worked after.. I still run surge suppressors though..
 
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It's not really safe, but it's not a sudden danger either. I would run a separate ground cable under the baseboards and wire it to your power bar. Use a 12awg single conductor and clamp it around a water pipe. hopefully all the pipes are copper. If not, clamp it to the gas line. You can confirm your ground source by checking continuity between the source you find, and the neutral (long blade) of an outlet. Actually, check voltage before checking for continuity. If the voltage is not 0 then you don't have a proper ground.
 
Do you care about your electrical equipment and electronics? They are going to be exposed (as will any occupant in today's modern home) to all sorts of harmful electrical nasties. I personally would worry. I'd run from any contractor who says otherwise. I also recommend a whole house surge protector, while you are upgrading.
 
The house I live in used knob and tube up until a few years ago... I've been here long time.

I was more worried about my expensive shit being fried that me being fried.
 
Well, the fuses blow whenever I use too many appliances at once. That's gotta protect my expensive devices at least to some degree.
 
If your Box is grounded you can use these.

gndadapter.jpg
pic3_200.jpg


http://www.structuretech1.com/2009/01/converting-two-prong-outlets/

Scroll down to the part "What about two-prong to three-prong adapters"

.
 
I grew up in a home built in the late 1950s that didn't have grounded outlets. The electrical service, however, was grounded.
 
Arcadio said:
Well, the fuses blow whenever I use too many appliances at once. That's gotta protect my expensive devices at least to some degree.
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The fuses blow because you have too much current being used on one fuse. Excessive current on a breaker or fuse will not make your voltage spike to smoke a device.. You can easily overload a 15 amp fuse now a days..

Honestly in a old house a bad neutral splice is waaaay more dangerous to an appliance compared to a bad ground. Most electronics are double insulated also. A knob and tube system is a great system when its left alone. The splices are soldered no wirenuts or a weird crimp they used with aluminum wires back in the days that can go to crap..
 
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