Electricity and Home Theater Questions
06-24-02, 04:52 PM
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Electricity and Home Theater Questions
I recently moved into a new apartment. Ok, new to me. The apartment's electrical system is over 50 years old. All the outlets (except for one, not located in the living room) only have two prongs. All of my surge protecters have three prongs. No circuit breaker, only an old fuse panel that has been painted over, so I can't read the specs. I'm not very informed about electricity.
How dumb is it to use the two pronged outlets for home theater equipment? How dumb is it to use an extension cord to gain access to the three pronged outlet? Is it possible to rewire old outlets to add a grounding wire? Is it difficult? Anything I should find out about the fuses and the fuse panel (I don't trust the former residents or the super to use the right amp fuse)? Any other suggestions or questions?
Note to mods: I realize that this isn't strictly about Home Theater Hardware, but since hiding speaker wire is on topic this should be also.
How dumb is it to use the two pronged outlets for home theater equipment? How dumb is it to use an extension cord to gain access to the three pronged outlet? Is it possible to rewire old outlets to add a grounding wire? Is it difficult? Anything I should find out about the fuses and the fuse panel (I don't trust the former residents or the super to use the right amp fuse)? Any other suggestions or questions?
Note to mods: I realize that this isn't strictly about Home Theater Hardware, but since hiding speaker wire is on topic this should be also.
06-24-02, 05:28 PM
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similar situation to me. I got some of those adapters that connect to the screw that hold on the faceplate. that usually creates a ground (test with a circuit tester, if you get it to light up like it would on a normal 3 prong outlet you should be ok, not guaranteed, but it should be ok)
Last edited by mikehunt; 06-24-02 at 11:40 PM.
06-24-02, 07:42 PM
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skar,
If possible do what mike suggested and use the adapters with a ground that goes to the screw on the outlet. If at all possible avoid cheater plugs, which do away with the ground all together.
In a worse case scenario, the lack of a ground could cause noise to be added to your system. Maybe talk to your super about upgrading an outlet or two.
If you feel like causing a stink, it might even be code in your area for rental properties to have up to date wiring/outlets. Most areas at the minimum require GFI outlets in the bathroom. It is something to look into.
J
If possible do what mike suggested and use the adapters with a ground that goes to the screw on the outlet. If at all possible avoid cheater plugs, which do away with the ground all together.
In a worse case scenario, the lack of a ground could cause noise to be added to your system. Maybe talk to your super about upgrading an outlet or two.
If you feel like causing a stink, it might even be code in your area for rental properties to have up to date wiring/outlets. Most areas at the minimum require GFI outlets in the bathroom. It is something to look into.
J
06-25-02, 07:00 AM
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In a worse case scenario, the lack of a ground could cause noise to be added to your system. Maybe talk to your super about upgrading an outlet or two.
06-25-02, 08:13 AM
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If you can split the equipment between two circuits, that also would help quite a bit. When I had my subwoofer plugged into the same circuit as my TV and receiver, it would trip the safety switch on my receiver and shut off. Luckily, the plug in only 10 feet away was on another circuit.
