DIYbanter - View Single Post - 2-prong outlet, 3-prong power strip

Rich123

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speedy Jim

wrote:

In the time it took you to type your message, you could have replaced
the outlet with a 3 prong one. They cost about One Dollar. Just be
sure the outlet (green screw) is grounded to the box with a short
piece of green or bare wire. A home built in the 60's should have a
ground in the box. Just be sure you follow the same wiring that was
used. The black or red wires go to the BRASS colored screws, the
White wires go to the SILVER colored screws, and the green screw is
the ground. Not too dificult to do. Be sure to shut off the power
when you do the job.

Don't just bet on the box being grounded! Grounding recepts were
just being phased in during the mid 60's. And not every section
of this great land adopted grounding simultaneously. The box ground
path needs to be checked and verified before replacing any 2-prong
recept.

Jim

On 17 Nov 2004 20:36:52 GMT, (Surfwospam) wrote:

I'm trying to help a neighbor set up a computer and printer that her
out-of-state son shipped to her.

My neighbor's house was build in the 1960s and only has two-prong outlets. In
the past, whenever she wanted to use a 3-prong plug device, she just used an
adapter.

I'm wondering if it would be okay to plug in the surge protector/power strip
her son sent into a 3-prong adapter and then plug that into the 2-prong wall
outlet. There would be three devices plugged into the power strip/surge
protector: a CPU, monitor, and printer.

Specifically, I want to make sure we're not risking starting an electrical fire
(or some other calamity).

If she does need to get an outlet turned into a 3-prong outlet, what elements
would the electrician take into account in his price (e.g., distance from
switch box) and what's your best guess on what that might cost?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.

Surf

NEC says you can simply change rec to gfci marked as no equiptment ground