Grounding outlet

[NinjaMonkey2017]

So right now my outlet in not grounded and when ever im playing game or on discord my mic is going crazy. i was seeing if there was a way to either ground everything without having to ground the outlet or rewire it any help would be appreciated 

[KarathKasun]

You can get a 3 prong to two prong outlet adapter and connect the ground tab to a wire that connects to earth ground anywhere to get a ground.  Metal wter pipes or a metal stake in the ground outside will work for a ground connection.

[mr moose]

14 minutes ago, KarathKasun said:

You can get a 3 prong to two prong outlet adapter and connect the ground tab to a wire that connects to earth ground anywhere to get a ground.  Metal wter pipes or a metal stake in the ground outside will work for a ground connection.

 

I assume you are talking about the mains power outlet?  In which case before you start connecting earths to your system you try and move your entire PC etc to an outlet that is grounded and see if that fixes the issue. 

 

Without knowing what your house wiring is like, playing around with earths (some connected and some not) is what kills people (mainly plumbers but it happens). 

 

 

 

[NinjaMonkey2017]

2 minutes ago, mr moose said:

 

I assume you are talking about the mains power outlet?  In which case before you start connecting earths to your system you try and move your entire PC etc to an outlet that is grounded and see if that fixes the issue. 

 

Without knowing what your house wiring is like, playing around with earths (some connected and some not) is what kills people (mainly plumbers but it happens). 

 

 

 

yeah i know its just the grounding when i use it on my laptop it works perfectly fine but when i put it in my pc it just goes nuts i have moved to a grounded outlet and it works fine 

[mr moose]

1 minute ago, NinjaMonkey2017 said:

yeah i know its just the grounding when i use it on my laptop it works perfectly fine but when i put it in my pc it just goes nuts i have moved to a grounded outlet and it works fine 

I suggest you get an electrician to earth that socket.  Without the ground there any safety switches you have are useless.

 

if that is not an option can you run an extension lead from a good socket and just avoid the dodgy one?

[NinjaMonkey2017]

yeah but its in a different room

 

[Kisai]

5 minutes ago, NinjaMonkey2017 said:

yeah but its in a different room

 

Not the point.

 

If an outlet's ground is not functioning, it needs to be repaired because it's lacking a safety feature that is required of all three-pronged devices. Have it fixed, or upgraded to a GFCI so that if there is a fault it trips at the outlet. 

 

The microphone noise is probably ground-loop. In which that's really your setup. Rarely is it the actual grounding of the outlet, and rather it's the power supply of the device (eg the PC.) At any rate, have someone test it. A lot of surge protectors have ground-fault/wiring-fault detection on them.

[mr moose]

2 minutes ago, Kisai said:

The microphone noise is probably ground-loop. In which that's really your setup. Rarely is it the actual grounding of the outlet, and rather it's the power supply of the device (eg the PC.) At any rate, have someone test it. A lot of surge protectors have ground-fault/wiring-fault detection on them.

My thoughts were that not having a ground should eliminate a ground loop problem not make it worse,  I think the issue is more likely to be interference noise from lack of grounding/shielding.  Either way you are right about getting the plug fixed.  Having some points earthed and not others is the start of bigger issues.

[NinjaMonkey2017]

1 minute ago, mr moose said:

My thoughts were that not having a ground should eliminate a ground loop problem not make it worse,  I think the issue is more likely to be interference noise from lack of grounding/shielding.  Either way you are right about getting the plug fixed.  Having some points earthed and not others is the start of bigger issues.

yeah my outlet was grounded at first but the landlord came around and replaced them with a 2 prong outlet now i started getting that noise and it suck that i dont have any grounded outlets in my room

 

[mr moose]

6 minutes ago, NinjaMonkey2017 said:

yeah my outlet was grounded at first but the landlord came around and replaced them with a 2 prong outlet now i started getting that noise and it suck that i dont have any grounded outlets in my room

 

 

Surely that is not legal?  where do you live?

[NinjaMonkey2017]

minnesota

 

[TheKDub]

4 minutes ago, mr moose said:

 

Surely that is not legal?  where do you live?

According to the national electric code, two prong outlets are allowed in homes as long as they're working.

 

I can't see a reason for them to come through and replace it with a two prong if previously three prong though.

[mr moose]

3 minutes ago, NinjaMonkey2017 said:

minnesota

 

From what I can tell it is illegal to replace a 3 prong with a 2 prong outlet. 

 

Besides all that, without the ground, a lot of surge protection circuits won't work.  you need a ground to protect you PC.r

[NinjaMonkey2017]

2 minutes ago, TheKDub said:

According to the national electric code, two prong outlets are allowed in homes as long as they're working.

 

I can't see a reason for them to come through and replace it with a two prong if previously three prong though.

neither can i im just trying to figure out how to make my mic not sound terrible 

[NinjaMonkey2017]

1 minute ago, mr moose said:

From what I can tell it is illegal to replace a 3 prong with a 2 prong outlet. 

 

Besides all that, without the ground, a lot of surge protection circuits won't work.  you need a ground to protect you PC.r

ive been running my pc for bout a year like this 

 

[mr moose]

3 minutes ago, TheKDub said:

I can't see a reason for them to come through and replace it with a two prong if previously three prong though.

that's the bit that looks illegal.  not being in the US it isn't easy to find the code.  It just doesn't seem right.

 

[mr moose]

1 minute ago, NinjaMonkey2017 said:

ive been running my pc for bout a year like this 

 

The situations I refer to are really once or twice a life time events.  Still for the cost of a $7 socket it might save your $2000 PC if not your life.

 

 

[NinjaMonkey2017]

1 minute ago, mr moose said:

The situations I refer to are really once or twice a life time events.  Still for the cost of a $7 socket it might save your $2000 PC if not your life.

 

 

so what kind of socket would i use right now i have a 2prong to 3 prong adapter to an extension cord with 6 sockets

 

[Kisai]

4 minutes ago, NinjaMonkey2017 said:

so what kind of socket would i use right now i have a 2prong to 3 prong adapter to an extension cord with 6 sockets

 

Holy crap, please unplug all that stuff immediately. That's a fire hazard right there.

 

Read about GFCI please.

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/construction/electrical_incidents/gfci.html

 

[NinjaMonkey2017]

Just now, Kisai said:

Holy crap, please unplug all that stuff immediately. That's a fire hazard right there.

 

yup

 

[mr moose]

1 minute ago, NinjaMonkey2017 said:

so what kind of socket would i use right now i have a 2prong to 3 prong adapter to an extension cord with 6 sockets

 

If i were you I would be running the extension lead from the other room until you had the socket replaced with a grounded 3 prong.  I'd also check the electrical code where you are because to me it sounds like the landlord cheaped out and did something illegal.  If so, get him to replace the socket and do it properly. If not consider getting a sparky in to do it and just wear the cost.  Anything else you do (trying to run an earth from somewhere else) will just invite grounding issues and in a fire you might lose any insurance you have or worse have the landlords insurance come after you for the damages.

 

The reverse of course is also true, if he broke code and you told him to replace the socket and the house burns down, then his ass is grass with no insurance and your insurance company after him for everything you lost.

[circeseye]

every state is different. i know here in california going from a 3 prong to a 2 prong in a rental is a HUGE no no. illegal as hell. unsafe even. id complain, and if he didnt fix it right raise hell. big code violation

[NinjaMonkey2017]

7 minutes ago, circeseye said:

every state is different. i know here in california going from a 3 prong to a 2 prong in a rental is a HUGE no no. illegal as hell. unsafe even. id complain, and if he didnt fix it right raise hell. big code violation

ok so i plugged into a different outlet seems to have gotten better still alot of static

EDIT: i figured out what the major problem with my mic was i had the volume set all the way up turned it down to about 50% now it sound perfect

[Guest]

9 hours ago, NinjaMonkey2017 said:

yeah my outlet was grounded at first but the landlord came around and replaced them with a 2 prong outlet now i started getting that noise and it suck that i dont have any grounded outlets in my room

 

That means the ground is probably still in the wall somewhere.

 

Before even posting on the Interwebs and getting a million opinions, I would have at least popped open the wall outlet (breaker off, of course).