Old house, old outlets need advice
#1
Old house, old outlets need advice
I live in a wartime house and all the outlets are grounded except for the upstairs bedrooms (I board in one). I want to move my computer from the basement to my bedroom so where I want to plug it in I have replaced the old 2-prong oulet with a GFI receptacle. There is no ground wire so I don't have anything on the green screw of the receptacle. I plugged in a good surge protector and tried an older computer and monitor on it and tested that out for about a half hour and everything worked fine. What I want to know is if there is an easy way to ground this thing like to the metal box in the wall or something or do I have to make do with no equipment ground? Any advice is appreciated.
#2
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You do not have a proper ground for your circuit. The GFCI provides protection, but that is all. You may as well remove the surge suppressor, as it is likely useless with no ground (unless it is a very expensive one).
The only way to ground your circuit is to either redo the wiring or to add a separate ground wire that goes all the way back to the main panel and connects with the other circuit grounds.
Your computer will probably run with no ground. However, strange things may very well happen if you connect up certain types of printers or other peripherals, especially ones that use the ground for reference..
The only way to ground your circuit is to either redo the wiring or to add a separate ground wire that goes all the way back to the main panel and connects with the other circuit grounds.
Your computer will probably run with no ground. However, strange things may very well happen if you connect up certain types of printers or other peripherals, especially ones that use the ground for reference..
#5
Just one long shot: The metal outlet boxes upstairs may be grounded via the conduit that runs to them. The best way to check is with a simple circuit tester - with one probe placed in the smaller prong hole on the outlet, touch the other probe to the metal outlet box and see if the tester lights up. If it does, you simply need to run a jumper wire from the metal box to the ground screw on the outlet.
Doug M.
Doug M.
#9
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No, you cannot use the metal ductwork as a ground. You also cannot use a water pipe or anything else similar.
The only thing you can use is a wire that goes all the way back to the main panel or conduit that the wire is run in. However, using conduit is somewhat "iffy".
The only thing you can use is a wire that goes all the way back to the main panel or conduit that the wire is run in. However, using conduit is somewhat "iffy".
#10
You can get a simple tester at Lowes, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, K-Mart... Any where that sells hardware. No furnace pipe, no water pipe, no wire out the window to a ground rod, no using the ground from a cable or antenna wire, no running an extension cord all the way to a downstairs outlet, no jumping the ground screw to the neutral screw. Think that about covers all the wrong things we've seen people try. Please follow the advice given on this forum so far and stay safe.
Doug M.
Doug M.