"surf" wrote in message
ups.com...

We have an admiral AC unit. It's pluged into a 3 prong wall socket
plug. I assumed the wall socket was grounded as it is 3 prong, but the
manual says have an electrician very that. My mother is an old widow
and doesn't have alot of money. Is there a way I can determine this ?
The unit resets itself after a couple of days, that is it shuts off,
the green light on the plug turns off and you have to hit the test and
reset switch if I recall correctly, then it makes a noise and the green
light is back on and you can run the unit. The test and reset switchs
are on the plug that goes into the wall socket. It seems to trip when
it's not running. She has been using it since last summer and it seems
to work fine otherwise. The manual however seems to indicate it
shouldn't trip.

From the description, you have a GFCI receptacle. It is needed for certain
uses, normally outdoor, kitchen, bathrooms where electric appliances are
used near water. They sometimes trip out with appliances, even if there is
not a ground fault.

To answer your first question, if it is that type of receptacle, yes, it is
grounded. You can buy inexpensive plug in test unit that will tell you that
it is grounded.

The tripping you are getting my be from another receptacle, downstream, on
the same circuit. In my house, the bathrooms and an outside receptacle were
all protected by the same GFCI, If you have a similar situation, the
problem may well be at another location. With a little investigation on
your part, you may be able to find the problem and eliminate it without an
electrician. First, find out what all is on that circuit. With a helper,
plug a light in and have someone shut the breaker off to see if the light
goes out. Then find out what other receptacles are on that circuit the same
way. Could be mom has a defective hair dryer plugged in someplace and it
tripping it.