Anyone else live in an ungrounded house?

[Coma Larkin]

I live in an old apt. w/ fuses instead of breakers--it's a nice place, but the wiring is scary and I get BAD radio signals when I plug in guitar amps and mics and whatnot. I've lived w/ it for a while when I play guitar, but I'm trying to record stuff now and it's just driving me nuts.

 

So I talk to the maintenance guy, and he says, "Just run a 14-gauge wire from the plug to one of the pipes in the building--they're all the ground anyway." So I say, "OK."

 

But now I'm not sure HOW to do this. 14-gauge seems BIG, like the size of an extension cord. Anyone know HOW I can do this? Do I need to wrap the wire around the actual ground prong on a surge protector and then attach the other end to a pipe? Do I need +/- leads? Is there a premade ground wire kit w/ a clamp or sth so that I can attach it safely to the pipe?

 

Of course, I'm definitely open to any other reasonable ideas--just keep in mind that I don't own this place, and that the agreement w/ the landlords is basically a hands-off/don't ask-don't tell policy (ie, I can't really get them to fix this).

[SUPER VELCROBOY]

do you want 120 volts to run through your heart?

[amp_surgeon]

First, you need a three wire outlet in order to do this. Where is the ground prong on your surge protector going now? Are you using a two wire to three wire adapter plug?

 

Any hardware store will carry ground clamps for plumbing pipes. These are two piece clamps that bolt around a water pipe, and have a lug for attaching a ground wire. You could also use a hose clamp from any automotive store, and slip the ground wire under the clamp before tightening it. Just make sure the pipe is clean (wire brush or sandpaper) before attaching the clamp to make sure you get a good contact. Also, only attach to the COLD water pipe. The hot water and drain pipes will probably NOT be grounded.

 

Also, don't try to attach the clamp to the flexible pipe leading to a toilet or sink. You might crush the pipe.

[!i!i!i!i!i!]

[YOUTUBE]HN5cWuwHreQ&hl=en[/YOUTUBE]

[melx]

you must be joking, it would be illigal over here!

 

I think it was made illigal in the early 70's if I remember correctly, two pin plug sockets were banned and we made the switch over to grounded 3 pin.

 

it might have been back in the 60's even although I seem to remember our first black and white TV having a round 2 pin plug...but I could be mistaken.

[Coma Larkin]

 

First, you need a three wire outlet in order to do this. Where is the ground prong on your surge protector going now? Are you using a two wire to three wire adapter plug? Any hardware store will carry ground clamps for plumbing pipes. These are two piece clamps that bolt around a water pipe, and have a lug for attaching a ground wire. You could also use a hose clamp from any automotive store, and slip the ground wire under the clamp before tightening it. Just make sure the pipe is clean (wire brush or sandpaper) before attaching the clamp to make sure you get a good contact. Also, only attach to the COLD water pipe. The hot water and drain pipes will probably NOT be grounded. Also, don't try to attach the clamp to the flexible pipe leading to a toilet or sink. You might crush the pipe.

 

 

The outlets are technically 3 prong, but if you take the cover off, there's no ground for the 3rd prong to ground to. I think they just switched the outlets w/o upgrading the wiring. So the ground prong is basically floating, I believe.

 

I thought ground clamps existed, thank you. I think I understand how that will attach, but how do I attach the wire at the plug end? I was thinking of stripping it to bare wire and then wrapping that bare wire around the ground prong and plugging the surge protector in (making sure that there's as little bare wire exposed as possible). Is that what you'd recommend?

[dap99]

[zwtyo]

 

I never would've thought to do this to an intruder at age 6. Hollywood, you're so wacky!

[amp_surgeon]

 

The outlets are technically 3 prong, but if you take the cover off, there's no ground for the 3rd prong to ground to. I think they just switched the outlets w/o upgrading the wiring. So the ground prong is basically floating, I believe. I thought ground clamps existed, thank you. I think I understand how that will attach, but how do I attach the wire at the plug end? I was thinking of stripping it to bare wire and then wrapping that bare wire around the ground prong and plugging the surge protector in (making sure that there's as little bare wire exposed as possible). Is that what you'd recommend?

 

 

If you were going to do this according to code, you'd need to tear out the walls and rewire the entire building with 3-wire Romex or BX armored wire. I don't think your landlord is going to let you do this, and I don't think you want to assume the cost.

 

Note to melx: Most homes and apartments in the US were built after electricity became widely available, so the wiring is generally inside the walls. In many homes in Europe electrical wiring was added after the home was built, so it runs inside conduits mounted on the surface of the walls. Upgrading a typical European home means tearing out the conduit, while upgrading an older America home generally means tearing out the walls. The new building codes in the US didn't require homeowners to tear their houses apart in order to upgrade.

 

Ok, back to the problem at hand.

 

I would NOT just wrap the ground wire around the round ground prong on the surge suppressor or extension outlet box. This is inherently dangerous. If the ground wire accidently touched one of the other two prongs then you'd have a fire on your hands.

 

First, pull the fuses or breakers for the circuits in the room, and verify that the outlets are no longer live with a tester or meter.

 

Next, get some replacement plastic cover plates for ALL of the outlets you plan to upgrade. Cut a notch at the bottom of each cover plate large enough to pass TWO #14 AWG solid copper wires with green PVC insulation.

 

Wire up all of the outlets you plan to upgrade in a daisy chain using the above mentioned wire. Be sure to ground the third prong on each outlet. The screw for the ground prong is usually tinted green. You can use stake down clips (available at the hardware store) to stake the wires to the baseboard. The outlet closest to the water pipe should be grounded to the pipe.

 

This is NOT in accordance with building codes, and an electrical inspector would shoot it down in a heartbeat, but it will solve your grounding problems in a safe and effective manner.

[Coma Larkin]

Thanks much!!