Ungrounded vs Grounded Power Outlets

[RadiclDreamer]

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: jagec
The danger is that if there is a failure which causes the chassis of your electronics to become charged, you could get a shock if you touch them. With a ground they would simply blow a circuit when plugged in, with no danger to the user. Also, if lightning strikes a line there is more of a chance of getting a shock or blowing equipment.

That said, people have been dealing with ungrounded lines for ages. It's a risk, but it's unlikely that anything will happen. Get one of those 3->2 prong adaptors, use the screw in the middle of the socket to give yourself a "might-work" ground, and have fun.

You could also just buy 3-prong plates and replace the two-prong plates. That's what I did in my completely un-grounded apartment surrounded by concrete slabs and an inaccessible crawlspace. (meaning, impossible to wire a legit ground ).

I did this in my house but an electrician friend of mine said that is illegal and a big no no.

 

[Dorkenstein]

So a 3 prong outlet is not necessarily grounded? I live in an old house and my UPS is plugged into a 3 prong outlet. I wonder if it is really grounded. Could a UPS be plugged into one of those GFCI things? Sorry if it's a dumb question.

 

[SagaLore]

Extension cord?

I think you can buy an externally grounded outlet expansion, and run the wire to something that can ground it.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
So a 3 prong outlet is not necessarily grounded? I live in an old house and my UPS is plugged into a 3 prong outlet. I wonder if it is really grounded. Could a UPS be plugged into one of those GFCI things? Sorry if it's a dumb question.

Yes and yes.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: BigJ
.....
Without a ground, a surge protector will do nothing.

It might do something; they do have circuit breakers in them, and varistors, though the breakers probably just act against accidental overloads; not sure on that aspect. The surge protector itself may also act as a fuse - so instead of your entire computer blowing up, only 70% of it will die.

MOV devices depend exclusively on the ground to "drain" the extraneous voltage "into". Nearby lightning strikes always expose the circuits to 6.6kV as it's the flashover voltage at the load center. These spikes, un-arrested, will do heavy damage to solid state loads. They can also shock YOU and since an arc is essentially the equivalent of a wire if the power is still on from the generator (mister power company) this can connect YOU to the mains which is very unhealthy for YOU! Proper grounding takes care of this.

If you have two conductor sockets check to see if the ears are indeed at ground potential either by being bonded with a standard 6x32 screw to a metal box which will either be grounded with BX/Greenfield, etc. OR the ground (bare) wire in non metallic sheathed (NM-B etc.) cable. If the place is wired with just a black and white wire with NO ground whatsoever WATCH OUT! Using those gray adapters with the screw lug for the ground does NOTHING to protect you! A surge strip with a "wiring check" LED should glow brightly indicating a wiring fault. (floating ground) Using a metal chassis appliance particularly around a sink or on a concrete cellar floor is extremely dangerous! If the hot (black) wire should contact the chassis and you touch it - you could very well get the new look! :music: taps :music: :Q

 

[zzuupp]

Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
So a 3 prong outlet is not necessarily grounded? I live in an old house and my UPS is plugged into a 3 prong outlet. I wonder if it is really grounded. Could a UPS be plugged into one of those GFCI things? Sorry if it's a dumb question.

They usually are. Something like this: 3 prong GFI tester @ home depot can prove it.

Yes, your UPS could be plugged into one as well.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: Fear No Evil
[
Although if a house still has 2 prong outlets, it likely does have armored cable and metal boxes.. not guaranteed though.

No it doesn't mean jack shit. :|
As BigJ sez, "likely" is just going to get something or someone zapped.
PLEASE DO NOT SPREAD MISINFORMATION when it comes to AC power.
Burning down a house might be the least of your worries.

A GFCI installed AND LABELED as described is the only "approved" methodology for making the change the OP needs.
IMO, any landlord that doesn't do this before people move in, is asking for trouble by some tenant (with enough of a clue to be dangerous) gets in there and screws with things.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Wrap a copper wire around a gas line (near a joint is best), then attach it to the green ground screw on a 3 prong outlet.










Nonono...don't actually do this There was an incident in our neighborhood about 15 years ago that resulted in an explosion heheheh.

The cold water line is acceptable IIRC though.

It is, and usually how it's done in older houses. However, this idiot used a gas line, there was a leak and a spark, and..well...

But, this probably wasn't a result of having a ground wire attached to the gas line. This was the result of a gas leak and a spark in a house that coincidentally had a ground wire attached to the gas line. Unless the claim is that attaching the wire caused the gas line to develop the leak (dissimilar metals, galvonic action) If the wire was properly attached, then there shouldn't have been a spark due to that wire. Further, I really doubt the location of "the spark" can be traced back that accurately to say "it occurred here." Still, it's not up to code to attach a ground to the gas line.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

replace wall outlet with GFCI wall outlet. That will protect your goods.

 

[Dorkenstein]

Do I need something like a voltage regulator for all my electronics? I have a lot of them in my room, would be nice to extend their life span if that's the case. Maybe there's an all in one device that does all this? Sorry if I am de-railing.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: SunnyD
Portable GFCI outlets. No rewiring/replacing necessary.

Those use three prong plugs.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
So a 3 prong outlet is not necessarily grounded? I live in an old house and my UPS is plugged into a 3 prong outlet. I wonder if it is really grounded. Could a UPS be plugged into one of those GFCI things? Sorry if it's a dumb question.

It shouuld be unless someone did it wrong.

 

[cw42]

Some people have mentioned that the electrocution issue occurs if something is encased in metal. I believe my HTPC case is/has metal or is aluminum. What if a TV contains metal parts inside of it also?