Electrical wiring in house

[guiltyspartan98]

So im moving with my girlfriend into her late great grandma's house, its an older house and all the outlets ive checked are two prong, i have not unscrewed them and checked if they have a grounding wire, but in the 90% chance they arnt sense the house is older, i was wondering what is a safe way i can have my electronics hooked up, can i just get a cheat plug and let my expensive trickle master surge protector do all the protecting and my power supply in my pc? or is there more to worry about? if im not mistaken both have over and under surge protection ( at least my pc has undersurge protection and oversurge). is there any way to get around this if it is not safe with out rewiring the whole house? thank you.

[Toxicknight79]

where you live? country  I mean.

 

 

[W-L]

4 minutes ago, guiltyspartan98 said:

-SNIP-

If the plugs are two pronged and you see a ground wire just hooked up to the metal basing or box you could get an electrician to replace the outlet with a grounded 3 prong one, as all the wires are already there the task isn't too hard. Depending on your electrical code and your know how some let you do it yourself if it's just a light fixture or plug since your not pulling new wire. 

 

The electronics need to be grounded it's more of a safety thing since an electrical charge can build up like on the metal case or something could do wrong and short to the metal of a PSU for example.

[guiltyspartan98]

3 minutes ago, Toxicknight79 said:

where you live? country  I mean.

 

 

usa, califonia

[Toxicknight79]

Agreeing with W-L That whole place is a firehazard right now.

[guiltyspartan98]

3 minutes ago, W-L said:

If the plugs are two pronged and you see a ground wire just hooked up to the metal basing or box you could get an electrician to replace the outlet with a grounded 3 prong one, as all the wires are already there the task isn't too hard. Depending on your electrical code and your know how some let you do it yourself if it's just a light fixture or plug since your not pulling new wire. 

 

The electronics need to be grounded it's more of a safety thing since an electrical charge can build up like on the metal case or something could do wrong and short to the metal of a PSU for example.

i know if there is a ground wire then i can just replace the sockets but in the very likely chance that there not, what can i do to ensure the safety of my devices

 

[Toxicknight79]

Just now, guiltyspartan98 said:

usa, califonia

ok in the states, that house would NEVER pass inspection, Calling an electrician  might wind up costing you  the cost  of rewiring the whole House. if  there are no  grounds wired in, that is. you need that ground for your safety with the electronics just as much as the electronics themselves.

[W-L]

Just now, guiltyspartan98 said:

i know if there is a ground wire then i can just replace the sockets but in the very likely chance that there not, what can i do to ensure the safety of my devices=

In that case if there is no ground wire at all, you will want to look for a 3 prong plug in the home that is properly grounded and use that need it be running a properly sized extension cord to that. The only other method would be to rewire the wall socket that is not grounded by bringing in a new ground line or replacing the old cables if it's really out of date. 

 

I would recommend getting a socket tester just to confirm that it's grounded and wired:

http://www.amazon.com/Sperry-Instruments-GFI6302-Outlet-Tester/dp/B000RUL2UU/ref=pd_sim_328_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51mLOd%2BDHqL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0E5K9E8J94XP9YBE38RR

[guiltyspartan98]

1 minute ago, Toxicknight79 said:

ok in the states, that house would NEVER pass inspection, Calling an electrician  might wind up costing you  the cost  of rewiring the whole House. if  there are no  grounds wired in, that is. you need that ground for your safety with the electronics just as much as the electronics themselves.

 

2 minutes ago, W-L said:

In that case if there is no ground wire at all, you will want to look for a 3 prong plug in the home that is properly grounded and use that need it be running a properly sized extension cord to that. The only other method would be to rewire the wall socket that is not grounded by bringing in a new ground line or replacing the old cables if it's really out of date. 

 

I would recommend getting a socket tester just to confirm that it's grounded and wired:

http://www.amazon.com/Sperry-Instruments-GFI6302-Outlet-Tester/dp/B000RUL2UU/ref=pd_sim_328_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51mLOd%2BDHqL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0E5K9E8J94XP9YBE38RR

ok and if i cant do those im just out of luck and need to rewire if i want my stuff safe? 

[Toxicknight79]

I'm going to assume  that house has a ground. as most do...... so 

 

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,20065922,00.html

 

that article will tell you how to replace the sockets , youll need to visit the home depot or lowes whatever and get then  sockets. 

[W-L]

7 minutes ago, Toxicknight79 said:

ok in the states, that house would NEVER pass inspection, Calling an electrician  might wind up costing you  the cost  of rewiring the whole House. if  there are no  grounds wired in, that is. you need that ground for your safety with the electronics just as much as the electronics themselves.

2 minutes ago, guiltyspartan98 said:

ok and if i cant do those im just out of luck and need to rewire if i want my stuff safe? 

Well I wouldn't say it's a fire hazard but more of a safety issue mainly with the grounding, back in the day it wasn't part of code or someone cut some corners sometimes certain things were done and sometimes not done. If the place has never been touched since the original wiring they would be grandfathered through all the years until work pr renovation is to be done on the home in most cases.

 

I would use the outlet tester to see if you have some other ones around the home that are grounded, those would be the best to use for your sensitive electronics. For the two prong one only use it with two prong items as they are double insulated without metal parts that you physically touch.

 

[guiltyspartan98]

6 minutes ago, W-L said:

Well I wouldn't say it's a fire hazard but more of a safety issue mainly with the grounding, back in the day it wasn't part of code or someone cut some corners sometimes certain things were done and sometimes not done. If the place has never been touched since the original wiring they would be grandfathered through all the years until work pr renovation is to be done on the home in most cases.

 

I would use the outlet tester to see if you have some other ones around the home that are grounded, those would be the best to use for your sensitive electronics. For the two prong one only use it with two prong items as they are double insulated without metal parts that you physically touch.

 

 

8 minutes ago, Toxicknight79 said:

I'm going to assume  that house has a ground. as most do...... so 

 

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,20065922,00.html

 

that article will tell you how to replace the sockets , youll need to visit the home depot or lowes whatever and get then  sockets. 

OK thank you guys, we won't be fully moving in for at latest a month, but in that time I will look at everything and see what I can do with your guys advice. Thank you so much I will update if I can in the future if I find out if it works or not. Thanks again