Are single-ground wall outlets okay?

[kent]

I'm moving into an older house at the end of the week and in the master bedroom there aren't the 3 plug electrical outlets I'm used to, they're all 2 plug (hot/ground not hot/ground/ground) and I've never lived in a place this old.

Are the 2 pin to 3 pin electrical adapters REALLY safe? Do surge protector warranties cover through an adapter??

TIA!

 

[Sinclair]

Did you happen to open one of the sockets up and see if there might be a ground wire on the box already? I moved into a house built in the 60s recently that had 2-prong plugs. Luckily the wire they ran also included a ground wire that was hooked up to the box, pretty easy swap.

As far as the adapters, I wouldn't trust them for long periods of time myself. I doubt most warranties for strips with 3-prong plugs will cover if an adapter is used (tho I have no basis for that other than an opinion).

 

[BoogerBomb]

They way those three prong to two prong adapter are supposed to work is you remove the screw holding the face plate in place and run the screw through the hole on the adapter. That is what could provide a ground as sometimes they grounded the box but not the plug.

 

[evilsofa]

Replace the two-prong receptacles with a GFCI. No other option (besides rewiring the house) is safe. Cheater plugs are not safe. The difference between the cheater plug with the tab and the cheater plug with the wire is that one is fucking dangerous and the other is really fucking dangerous.

Edit: I just noticed that you appear to say that the two-prong outlets are only in the master bedroom. If that is true, you need to check what the previous owners have done with the other sockets, and I quote from the wiki article:

"Replacing the receptacle with the three-prong type and leaving the ground screw unconnected is just as unsafe as using a cheater plug, but has the additional disadvantage that subsequent users of the outlet may not be aware that it is not properly grounded. However, if the ground screw of the receptacle is connected to the neutral side, electric shock is possible even if the appliance is properly functioning. This is called a "false" or "bootleg" ground and is a serious safety hazard often undetected by common receptacle testers."

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Don't mess with power man. Do it right or you'll be watching your belongings burn and/or you might seriously hurt yourself. As evilsofa said, I would check to see why the other receptacles.

 

[kent]

I've moved in and here's what I've got:

3 pin plugs in my room and the kitchen/dining room. Rest of the house, including living room has 2 pin plugs.

I plugged in my UPS in my room and it detected a building wiring fault. A surge protector indicates no or weak grounding throughout the house.

However, everything is functioning properly, although I've heard HORROR stories from friends. Luckily, I do have renters insurance up to $20,000. Plenty of coverage for my electronics, though the cost of replacement versus blah blah blah. I get it. I'm only about 60-75% covered, truthfully.

I don't really know what to do. I rent and this house was built in the 50s and everything seems to be functioning as expected.

 

[dandragonrage]

With the way you described "hot/ground/ground" and such, I'm not sure I'd trust you to do this, but it's sometimes the case that old houses are wired with metal-jacket Romex where the metal can act as ground. Or occasionally there is even a ground wire connected to the box but not an outlet due to NEMA 1 series outlets instead of 5 series... If there is ground to the box / through the cable, then the outlet can be replaced with a NEMA 5 series. P.S. reason I say "hot/ground/ground" is quite wrong is because neutral and ground are used somewhat differently, even though they are tied together at the box. The resistance in the wires before they are tied together DOES make quite a difference, and they MUST not be connected together at the outlet or at a junction box - ONLY at the distribution panel ("fuse/breaker box").

A 1950s house should not have used NEMA 1 series outlets at all. Whoever wired up that house was quite a f**king idiot and it should NOT have passed electrical inspection.

 

[m715]

Ah, being a rental you can't really mess with things. Take a look in your bathroom, my guess is it also has 3-prong outlets, being a rental usually codes require you to have GFCI in the bathrooms and kitchen. I would also be skeptical of the other 3-prong outlets and if they actually have a ground. It might be worth picking up a simple outlet tester, their cheap and it would give you a quick idea of what is happening with the wiring...

Here's one for example:
http://www.amazon.com/Triplett-9610-Plug-Bug-Receptacle-110-125/dp/B001UKLG4I