In article ,
(known to some as BE) scribed...

bigsnip

I would love to be able to ground it properly, but this is not possible. I
figure it is better than running the computers themselves ungrounded and
subject to this house's "dirty" electricity. Since I lost a computer 7-8
years ago to the abuse this house's electricity inflicted upon its power
supply, I have made it a policy to have a UPS for everything I care about:

snippety-two

You really, REALLY need to run new wiring if you expect to be able
to safely run modern equipment. If I were in your situation, I wouldn't
run anything more modern than a desk lamp until I'd brought everything
up to current code.

No UPS was ever designed to run ungrounded. I won't be at all
surprised if the APC's 'Site Wiring Fault' warning light is on
continuously. At the very least, you need to run a proper ground for the
thing, and that will also have the effect of properly grounding
everything you attach to it.

With an eventual upgrade in mind: Many states allow homeowners to
do their own electrical work IF it is inspected after said work is done.
Honestly, it's not that hard. I replaced our entire breaker panel
(upgraded from 125-amp main to 200), and it passed inspection on the
first try.

Your biggest issues are to use approved wire (non-metallic sheath
cable, recommend #12 all around so you can do 20-amp outlets by
default), and to make sure whatever breaker panel replaces the fuse box
has enough spots for everything you want to do.

Do yourself a favor: Ground that APC now, and make upgrading the
house wiring a major priority.

Happy tweaking.

--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
http://www.bluefeathertech.com -- kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t calm
"Salvadore Dali's computer has surreal ports..."