Grounding yourself

[A-JAY]

Hello so I was gonna build my pc today however I’m trying to find a solution to a problem. I’m worried about ESD in the USA you do not have switches to turn your outlets on and off however in the U.K. we do so when plugging my power supply in and using my wrist strap do I turn the outlet on or off and then turn the power supply off 

[Arttu89]

The earth terminal on a UK socket is always connected to ground, it's a safety feature. Earth wire in the power supply is also always connected to the earth of the cable you're using, so basically you can just plug the power supply in without turning anything on and the case of the PSU will be grounded.

[Bombastinator]

27 minutes ago, A-JAY said:

Hello so I was gonna build my pc today however I’m trying to find a solution to a problem. I’m worried about ESD in the USA you do not have switches to turn your outlets on and off however in the U.K. we do so when plugging my power supply in and using my wrist strap do I turn the outlet on or off and then turn the power supply off 

Only the hot connector is switched. Ground is always on.

[PianoPlayer88Key]

What about if your outlet looks like this?

That's in my bedroom   I'm in southern California, the house was built in 1962.  (Parents moved here in Nov 1978.)  Most other outlets in the house are 3 prong, but some show "open ground" when I connect a tester.  (The tester can also show reverse polarity - none in the house are like that afaik but what would the consequences be?)

 

We're thinking of adding a HVAC system, and would also likely be upgrading the electrical (we currently have 100 amp service), including properly grounding all outlets, etc.

 

But in the meantime, should we avoid running computers off outlets like the one pictured, or could it be done if necessary?  Or if I want to run my laptop or desktop in my room (before we upgrade the electrical), would running an extension cord from a known grounded outlet elsewhere in the house be better than a "cheater" plug (which I have used with my Clevo P750DM-G but don't like to)?

 

 

Also in our house we do have switches to turn off outlets.  It's called the circuit breaker panel.  (Some breakers do have multiple terminals on each one.)

[Whiro]

On 1/11/2020 at 10:48 AM, A-JAY said:

Hello so I was gonna build my pc today however I’m trying to find a solution to a problem. I’m worried about ESD in the USA you do not have switches to turn your outlets on and off however in the U.K. we do so when plugging my power supply in and using my wrist strap do I turn the outlet on or off and then turn the power supply off 

I build plenty of pc’s and newer connected myself .Don’t do it on the carpet and run around with fluffy sock, rubbing balloons same time and you should be fine but if you want than yes you can connect to psu, UK is grounded

12 hours ago, PianoPlayer88Key said:

What about if your outlet looks like this?

If I had sockets like that I wouldn’t connect even air freshener into that

[Spotty]

12 hours ago, PianoPlayer88Key said:

That's in my bedroom 

You need to clean.

 

12 hours ago, PianoPlayer88Key said:

Also in our house we do have switches to turn off outlets.  It's called the circuit breaker panel.

I'm not sure how common it is in America, but in Australia power outlets have switches for each outlet.

 

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Spotty said:

I'm not sure how common it is in America, but in Australia power outlets have switches for each outlet.

 

It's not only uncommon, but it's non-existent.

 

American outlets do not have switches.

 

I will say that seeing an ungrounded outlet like the one PianoPlayer88Key is showing is only common is buildings built before the late 60's.

 

In 1975, grounded outlets became mandatory everywhere.  But even as far back as 1956, grounds were required for rooms like garages, kitchens, bathrooms, porches, etc.  Pretty much anywhere you would see a GFCI outlet today.

[Arttu89]

13 hours ago, PianoPlayer88Key said:

What about if your outlet looks like this?

(...)

That's in my bedroom   I'm in southern California, the house was built in 1962.  (Parents moved here in Nov 1978.)  Most other outlets in the house are 3 prong, but some show "open ground" when I connect a tester.  (The tester can also show reverse polarity - none in the house are like that afaik but what would the consequences be?)

 

We're thinking of adding a HVAC system, and would also likely be upgrading the electrical (we currently have 100 amp service), including properly grounding all outlets, etc.

 

But in the meantime, should we avoid running computers off outlets like the one pictured, or could it be done if necessary?  Or if I want to run my laptop or desktop in my room (before we upgrade the electrical), would running an extension cord from a known grounded outlet elsewhere in the house be better than a "cheater" plug (which I have used with my Clevo P750DM-G but don't like to)?

 

 

Also in our house we do have switches to turn off outlets.  It's called the circuit breaker panel.  (Some breakers do have multiple terminals on each one.)

For peace of mind I would run a decent quality extension from the closest properly grounded outlet and run your computer of that extension, it's definitely a lot safer than "cheater" plugs. It's also good practice to try to keep in mind how many other sockets might be on the same ring as the socket you connected to and what other equipment is connected to the ring, so you don't overload the breaker it's all on.

 

Even if you don't end up getting an HVAC system put in, it's still a good idea to get an electrician to go through the electrical installation in the house and give you a quote for getting it all up to modern standards.

 

To answer your question, it's still possible to run electrical equipment off of sockets like that if necessary, but it's always more risky and it's healthy to take some precautions when you do, for example: don't connect devices that have a damaged power cord, don't connect to sockets like that if you're in an area where your device might get wet while you're using it etc. - unearthed sockets used to be a normal thing a long time ago and somehow our parents/grandparents didn't mass electrocute themselves, so as long as you're smart about it, you'll be safe(r), that said if you're unsure or don't feel comfortable about how to safely use a socket like that, just don't.

[Whiro]

1 hour ago, Spotty said:

I'm not sure how common it is in America, but in Australia power outlets have switches for each outlet

Im UK almost all power outlets have individual switches 

 

[Bombastinator]

2 hours ago, Spotty said:

You need to clean.

 

I'm not sure how common it is in America, but in Australia power outlets have switches for each outlet.

 

Somewhere between extremely rare and nearly unheard of.  Some outlets are switched, but the switch is usually somewhere else not on the outlet.

 

14 hours ago, PianoPlayer88Key said:

What about if your outlet looks like this?

That's in my bedroom   I'm in southern California, the house was built in 1962.  (Parents moved here in Nov 1978.)  Most other outlets in the house are 3 prong, but some show "open ground" when I connect a tester.  (The tester can also show reverse polarity - none in the house are like that afaik but what would the consequences be?)

 

We're thinking of adding a HVAC system, and would also likely be upgrading the electrical (we currently have 100 amp service), including properly grounding all outlets, etc.

 

But in the meantime, should we avoid running computers off outlets like the one pictured, or could it be done if necessary?  Or if I want to run my laptop or desktop in my room (before we upgrade the electrical), would running an extension cord from a known grounded outlet elsewhere in the house be better than a "cheater" plug (which I have used with my Clevo P750DM-G but don't like to)?

 

 

Also in our house we do have switches to turn off outlets.  It's called the circuit breaker panel.  (Some breakers do have multiple terminals on each one.)

There’s no ground on that outlet.  I think it’s unlikely that the house is actually 1962.  Two prong outlets like that are knob and tube, and it became illegal to install most places in the 1950s, or earlier.  California May be an exception.  Perhaps those house was moved in 1962. It was a common time to move houses instead of building new.  There is no ground on that outlet.  The outlet next to it is princess phone rj4 I think.  If it has a ground (I don’t recall) it will be a low voltage ground and could well be just a wire wrapped a water pipe somewhere.  It is not impossible, depending on when and where the house was built, that the central box for the outlet is grounded so the central screw that holds the faceplate on May or may not be a ground.  It would need to be tested.  In either case  Therefore the PSU is not a ground, and a computer shouldn’t be plugged into that outlet at all.

IF the central screw is a ground there are grounded two prong adaptors that exist which turn a non grounded outlet into a grounded one.  They exist some places in the US, but not others.  Test the central faceplate screw for ground.  IF it is grounded there is grounding wire (unless some electrician merely pulled the water pipe trick) and the receptacle can merely be replaced with a grounded one.  Very cheap. It can even be done by a homeowner.  IF there is a decent ground.

 

To do a full electrical update a contractor will be needed.  There’s too much that can go wrong.  The magic worlds you are looking for are “licensed, bonded, and insured”. Check the licenses and stuff independently.  Fly-by-night contractors are known to lie about having them.  I fell for that one recently and it’s going to cost me something like 11k.  Possibly more.

[Alan G]

Our house was built in 1955 and we moved in about 30 years later.  Every single interior outlet was two pronged.  I installed a lot of properly grounded three prong outlets over the years and electricians did the job in the bathrooms and kitchens when they were remodeled.  I've never seen any switched outlets here in the US.  We do have Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter outlets that will automatically switch off if there is a current discrepancy.  Most of the installations of these that I've seen are in kitchens and bathrooms.  The phone jack in the picture looks like the standard jack used for landlines (we still have a landline in our house because cell phone reception is spotty.  As others have said, don't run a PC on an ungrounded outlet.

 

[Bombastinator]

15 minutes ago, Alan G said:

Our house was built in 1955 and we moved in about 30 years later.  Every single interior outlet was two pronged.  I installed a lot of properly grounded three prong outlets over the years and electricians did the job in the bathrooms and kitchens when they were remodeled.  I've never seen any switched outlets here in the US.  We do have Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter outlets that will automatically switch off if there is a current discrepancy.  Most of the installations of these that I've seen are in kitchens and bathrooms.  The phone jack in the picture looks like the standard jack used for landlines (we still have a landline in our house because cell phone reception is spotty.  As others have said, don't run a PC on an ungrounded outlet.

 

That’s a GFI receptacle.  They can be installed in non grounded outlets to provide many of the safety features of a grounded outlet but not all of them.  If a short is detected the breaker between the two receptacle ports will trip, shutting off the outlet and preventing a fire.  It won’t work for using the PSU as a static ground when it is installed in a non grounded outlet though though because there still is no actual ground.

 

switched outlets exist but they’re quite rare in housing.  Mostly they’re an industrial thing.  They are occasionally seen in hotels.

[Bombastinator]

I have an additional thought for EST.  IF the house has hot water radiators AND the house has not been updated with plastic plumbing the metal water pipes will serve as a usable ground.  Water faucets can also be used the same way, but have the same issues and plastic pipe fittings are more common in those situations which ruin the whole thing.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

I have an additional thought for EST.  IF the house has hot water radiators AND the house has not been updated with plastic plumbing the metal water pipes will serve as a usable ground.  Water faucets can also be used the same way, but have the same issues and plastic pipe fittings are more common in those situations which ruin the whole thing.

If the house is new enough to have PVC plumbing, the house is new enough to have grounded outlets. 

 

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, jonnyGURU said:

If the house is new enough to have PVC plumbing, the house is new enough to have grounded outlets. 

 

There is retrofitting though.  Particularly with sinks. You can have an old house with knob and tube and galvanized plumbing where a drum Trap gave way and was replaced with a plastic j bend, or a single plastic fitting unde a sink.  It’s not reliable.