Grateful Al Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 I'm considering moving into a 2/2 rental home in the Tampa Bay area. In the walk-through, I noticed half the outlets are 2-prong, and the rest are 3-prong. Only 1 faceplate / outlet pair per wall. In a 4-wall room, opposite walls have like outlets. The house was built in 1965. I presume half the outlets were updated to 3-prong, and pushed back upgrading the rest for another day. Here's my question: Would I be walking into an electrical nightmare vis–à–vis my audio and video gear and home office? My current setup is simple... Vizio 55-inch E-series smart TV, BrightHouse Samsung DVR, Yamaha 5.1 @ 105 WPC RMS, RC-52 II centerstage, Heresy mains, RB-61 II rears, RSW-12 sub, and a rug that really ties the room together. It's all protected with a CyberPower 1000VA/600 watt UPS /battery back-up. Also, out of curiosity and pure electrical naivete, any idea how much it would cost to upgrade a wall or two? I'm specifically thinking of my home office wall and the AV system wall. I welcome any and all comments, and thanks for stopping by. -Electric Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Until you test a 3-prong outlet, there's no guarantee they are grounded... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Be careful... Those ground testers can be fooled into passing even when things aren't right such as neutral shorted to ground. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 The rug , at least, should be fine. Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 You would be best and most safely served by calling in a qualified electrician to check if there is ground available at the boxes. It's easy to check, but only if one is truly familiar with how it all works. Cost ????? Maybe as little as $75 (if the boxes are grounded) up to ?? $300? if he needs to fish a ground to a few desired boxes. Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Well to give you an idea, all of the gear I have is on a non-grounded switch. The outlet I use on my system just recently got upgraded to a 3 prong, but it's still not grounded... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grateful Al Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) You would be best and most safely served by calling in a qualified electrician to check if there is ground available at the boxes. It's easy to check, but only if one is truly familiar with how it all works. Cost ????? Maybe as little as $75 (if the boxes are grounded) up to ?? $300? if he needs to fish a ground to a few desired boxes. Lars Sound advice, and do-able without breaking the bank. Thanks, Lars! Edited April 20, 2015 by Grateful Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) just for the record your audio equipment does not need ground to function properly in fact many audio related issues can be traced back to ground problems. Ground (U- ground) is a human safety feature should a wire break which is live and short to a chassis ground takes the voltage rater than you. Best regards Moray James. Edited April 20, 2015 by moray james Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhenry Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 It might be easier to pick a spot or two where you will be putting your equipment and running new, grounded circuits to those areas. There were many correct statements above such as HIRING A LICENSED ELECTRICIAN and being able to trick those plug-in testers by jumping a neutral to the ground screw in the device which is not a wise thing to do and should be corrected if that's what they did. Code also allows the use of grounded (3 wire) receptacles on ungrounded circuits when they are GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) protected. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Grateful Al - I'd be glad to walk you through this if you'd like to save some cash. If so, your next step is to take a closeup photo of the cables entering your breaker box. If they are exposed(the box is in an open wall, take a photo where the bulk of them enter, usually the top. If the wall is finished, IF you feel comfortable, take the cover off , and take a closup or two of where the wires enter into the box. I need to see the "cable clamps" holding the wire on the sheet metal of the box, either outside or inside. That will tell us alot. If you aren't able to post photos here, say so and we'll go from there. I'll keep an eye on this thread, and we MAY be able to cut your expense to $3. Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Rewiring a rental is "grounds" for eviction, unless pre-approved by the landlord AND performed by a licensed electrician. Not that the landlord would ever know the difference, but tread lightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 ya, I guess probably true, good point, but we're just looking. Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I just re read your initial post and realized you're not moved in yet. What you asked about is not relevant to the home you choose. It's gonna be no problem , no consideration, if you choose that home. Lars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grateful Al Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 Thanks everyone!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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