Need Electrical Question answered

[extracheese]

I live in an tiny studio apt in a VERY old brownstone, with 4 old fashioned - 2 prong outlets. Since they are 2 prong they all have 2 to 3 prong adapters ( and no i dont connect that dangling wire to the screw). Then i have power strips in the converters and lots of plugs going into the strips.I even have a power strip plugged into another power strip ( gives me 5 + 4 plugs).

Anyway - I wanted to know if this degrades my power signals to TV, stereo and Computer? Is it safe? Its been working fine for a good while.
I would love to have it upgraded, but the landlord will not upgrade my 2 prongs to 3 prongs cause he is very cheap.

http://www.shoplet.com/office/limages/EFEL0714.JPG

http://emusician.com/mag/SQ1PtoP-Fig3.gif

[Don Stugots]

swapping out outlets is not hard if you wanted to do it yourself. give me 5 mins and i will ask an electrician for you.

[Don Stugots]

you need to ground it with the with wire and screw. again, changing the outlet is not hard or expensive. depending on where you live, it may be a safety violation. the internal wires should be grounded already.

[BoondockSaint]

Do I smell smoke?

[Midkiff]

It doesn't degrade the power, but it can certainly overload the wiring. Also, with that wire not connected, you have no grounding. You are looking at a real fire hazard.

[sailor]

you need to ground it with the with wire and screw. again, changing the outlet is not hard or expensive. depending on where you live, it may be a safety violation. the internal wires should be grounded already.

my last apartment (where i lived for like 16 years) also only had two-prong outlets. we also used a lot of power strips. never did the power strip into another. that doesn't seem safe to me, but i'm no expert in any way. fuckin' cheap-ass landlord. and people say it's easy, but trust me, if you're not skilled in that shit there's almost no way you're going to just try it. i'd look into if it's a safety violation. if it is (we always assumed it was, but were too lazy) send a notarized letter to your landlord (with proof of delivery) requesting the upgrade. if they fail to do the switch after a reasonable amount of time, hire an electrician and take it out of your rent.

[Don Stugots]

sorry, i misread the strips going into others. yeah, that is bad. it can over load the circuit and casue the breaker to go off, thus, crashing computers and burning out TVs. i would stop that at once.

As for the ease of changing an outlet:
turn the breaker off
unscrew face place
pull outlet out of jam box a bit
unscrew wire connectors
toss out old outlet
screw old wires to new outlet
push outlet into jam box
put cover plate back on
turn on breaker
plug in

[Bob Impact]

Yes, it is seriously degrading your stereo and television equipment, and yes it is very, very dangerous. Think of wiring like water pipes, each gauge of wire is only meant to have a certain amount of current run through it, much like a pipe has a specific burst pressure. Running thin wires is not only creating radiated noise in your systems (impairing performance) but its probably only a matter of time until you seriously damage your equipment or start a fire. My advice would be to get a large surge suppressor/power conditioner with separate banks, to at least minimize the risk. By the way, the Power strips you have now ( and most likely this goes for 75% of the people who will read this) do absolutely nothing.

[sailor]

sorry, i misread the strips going into others. yeah, that is bad. it can over load the circuit and casue the breaker to go off, thus, crashing computers and burning out TVs. i would stop that at once.

As for the ease of changing an outlet:
turn the breaker off
unscrew face place
pull outlet out of jam box a bit
unscrew wire connectors
toss out old outlet
screw old wires to new outlet
push outlet into jam box
put cover plate back on
turn on breaker
plug in

i cannot imagine even beginning to try that. i'm sure it's 2nd nature to you, but if you don't do stuff like this everyday, the fear of death is a bit strong. now, you'll say that's silly, but it doesn't make it any less true for a tyro.

[extracheese]

wow! im glad i asked! Thanks for all the info. I just got the Management company to agree to send someone over to at least look at the situation. When they are in my apt i will remind them that a "fire" to 7 apts is not worth it to THEM, so just swap out 4 outlets. There is 20 coats of paint over it but thats no bigee.
If they do it - i also have to take Bobs advice and invest in 1 or 2 better quality power strips so i get the best quality signal to my TV and Stereo...i guess its silly to pay for Digital cable and a Marantz CD player if it sounds like crap cuz of the power.

But there is no way to get around having only 4 outlets (8 recepticals) and 23...yes i counted 23 things to plug in.Ill bet you also have as many if you counted. (computer uses 7 plugs ALONE).

[Bob Impact]

wow! im glad i asked! Thanks for all the info. I just got the Management company to agree to send someone over to at least look at the situation. When they are in my apt i will remind them that a "fire" to 7 apts is not worth it to THEM, so just swap out 4 outlets. There is 20 coats of paint over it but thats no bigee.
If they do it - i also have to take Bobs advice and invest in 1 or 2 better quality power strips so i get the best quality signal to my TV and Stereo...i guess its silly to pay for Digital cable and a Marantz CD player if it sounds like crap cuz of the power.

But there is no way to get around having only 4 outlets (8 recepticals) and 23...yes i counted 23 things to plug in.Ill bet you also have as many if you counted. (computer uses 7 plugs ALONE).
Don't just get a strip, invest in a good component style surge suppressor, especially if you're running Marantz gear.
http://www.panamax.com/

[reeshy]

911......hello , fire depratment?????

[cupcakelove]

My apartment in college only had two prong outlets. I fixed it by removing the third prong from my power strips.

[Bob Impact]

My apartment in college only had two prong outlets. I fixed it by removing the third prong from my power strips.
It's amazing more people aren't dead because of you.

[sailor]

Don't just get a strip, invest in a good component style surge suppressor, especially if you're running Marantz gear.
http://www.panamax.com/

btw, when i was saying power strips before, i meant surge protectors.

[Don Stugots]

i cannot imagine even beginning to try that. i'm sure it's 2nd nature to you, but if you don't do stuff like this everyday, the fear of death is a bit strong. now, you'll say that's silly, but it doesn't make it any less true for a tyro.


very true Sailor but if it was hard i would have advised not to touch it. honest. if you need help, let me know and i will swing up to the Bronx.

My apartment in college only had two prong outlets. I fixed it by removing the third prong from my power strips.

NNNNNNOOOOOO!!

[sailor]

very true Sailor but if it was hard i would have advised not to touch it. honest. if you need help, let me know and i will swing up to the Bronx.


nah, like i said, that was our last place. now we're in a totally renovated place. thanks for the offer tho.

[JPMNICK]

Yes, it is seriously degrading your stereo and television equipment, and yes it is very, very dangerous. Think of wiring like water pipes, each gauge of wire is only meant to have a certain amount of current run through it, much like a pipe has a specific burst pressure. Running thin wires is not only creating radiated noise in your systems (impairing performance) but its probably only a matter of time until you seriously damage your equipment or start a fire. My advice would be to get a large surge suppressor/power conditioner with separate banks, to at least minimize the risk. By the way, the Power strips you have now ( and most likely this goes for 75% of the people who will read this) do absolutely nothing.

Bob, as usual, is right on with this. Your stereo and computer use a wide range of power, depending on how loud you are listening to your music or how much you are using the computer. The increased draw from these components can cause electrical damage to other components on the same circuit by reducing the amount of power available and in turn, damaging sensitive circuits internally. You run the risk of ruining everything in your current set up. I am an electrical Engineer and I have seen what spikes and shorts in power can do to equipment, and it is an expensive lesson to learn.

you basically have 3 options.

1) use less stuff
20 upgrade the electrical in your house, from the wall plugs to the ciruit box
3) get some really good surge protectors and supressors and try to only use 1 big power hungry item per circuit.

try not to have your microwave, Computer, and hairdryer all plugged into the same ciruit. also the AC.

[Bob Impact]

Bob, as usual, is right on with this. Your stereo and computer use a wide range of power, depending on how loud you are listening to your music or how much you are using the computer. The increased draw from these components can cause electrical damage to other components on the same circuit by reducing the amount of power available and in turn, damaging sensitive circuits internally. You run the risk of ruining everything in your current set up. I am an electrical Engineer and I have seen what spikes and shorts in power can do to equipment, and it is an expensive lesson to learn.

you basically have 3 options.

1) use less stuff
20 upgrade the electrical in your house, from the wall plugs to the ciruit box
3) get some really good surge protectors and supressors and try to only use 1 big power hungry item per circuit.

try not to have your microwave, Computer, and hairdryer all plugged into the same ciruit. also the AC.

There are some bigger setups that have separate banks for high current, high voltage, etc... in the same case.

[JPMNICK]

There are some bigger setups that have separate banks for high current, high voltage, etc... in the same case.

I worked with a guy at JPMorgan who was a nut with this stuff, and had 2 seperate circuit breakers in his basement for computers and other electrical devices. some people just go all out

[Bob Impact]

I worked with a guy at JPMorgan who was a nut with this stuff, and had 2 seperate circuit breakers in his basement for computers and other electrical devices. some people just go all out

I gotta say that I run a panamax M5100EX just for my computer, so I guess I fall into that category. :wink:

[JPMNICK]

I gotta say that I run a panamax M5100EX just for my computer, so I guess I fall into that category. :wink:

HAHA, that is worth almost as much as some peoples PC's.

got to keep all that porn safe somehow

[King Hippos Bandaid]

this is all a Foregin Language to this Jew.

I have surge protecter, I call it Ed.

:king:

[SatCam]

i cannot imagine even beginning to try that. i'm sure it's 2nd nature to you, but if you don't do stuff like this everyday, the fear of death is a bit strong. now, you'll say that's silly, but it doesn't make it any less true for a tyro.

there is not going to be any power running thru after you shut it off on the circuit breaker. just plug a light into the outlet you're shutting off, hit the breaker switch and the light will go out-- there is an open circuit at the breaker and no chance you can get shocked

[sailor]

there is not going to be any power running thru after you shut it off on the circuit breaker. just plug a light into the outlet you're shutting off, hit the breaker switch and the light will go out-- there is an open circuit at the breaker and no chance you can get shocked

yes, i know that, but if you screw something up couldn't there be a problem when you turn the juice back on? like what if you don't fasten things correctly? isn't there also a major problem if you mix up the two sides or something? what if you don't ground it correctly?

[JPMNICK]

yes, i know that, but if you screw something up couldn't there be a problem when you turn the juice back on? like what if you don't fasten things correctly? isn't there also a major problem if you mix up the two sides or something? what if you don't ground it correctly?

for the most part home wiring is pretty fool proof. if something is wrong, you will know it. just read up on the subject online and maybe at the library in some home improvement books.

[sailor]

for the most part home wiring is pretty fool proof. if something is wrong, you will know it. just read up on the subject online and maybe at the library in some home improvement books.

no matter what you say, i'm not going to start rooting around in my car engine or re-doing my home wiring. nuh-uh. :)

[JPMNICK]

no matter what you say, i'm not going to start rooting around in my car engine or re-doing my home wiring. nuh-uh. :)

I do not mess around with cars either. each one is different, but home wiring has a lot of standards, so it makes it easier to work on.

if you are not 100% comfortable, def do not do it. But the 1st time you do it yourself, you will wonder what you were so scared of.

[SatCam]

yes, i know that, but if you screw something up couldn't there be a problem when you turn the juice back on? like what if you don't fasten things correctly? isn't there also a major problem if you mix up the two sides or something? what if you don't ground it correctly?

Actually, if you confuse the two sides it's no huge deal. You should fix it but it's not going to cause any major problems.