Aloha, OR
Will a gfci protect my stern pinball if I don’t have a ground? Long story short my house was built in 1909 and most rooms are not grounded. I know I can hook up a gfci without a ground but will it protect my games?
(Topic ID: 247704)
By code, a GFCI can replace a non-grounded outlet to provide personnel protection against shocks. It won't protect the game against surges, but neither will a grounded outlet. You will need a surge protector for that. For a surge protector to work you do need a grounded system.
If you can't establish a good ground and run an equipment grounding conductor to all your receptacles, a GFCI is an acceptable alternative for personnel protection only, not equipment protection.
Quoted from schudel5:By code, a GFCI can replace a non-grounded outlet to provide personnel protection against shocks. It won't protect the game against surges, but neither will a grounded outlet.
This,
Even old wiring from the era of your house are "grounded" through the neutral wire, running back through your service (alternating current). "Grounding" connectors (green wire) were established to protect against a fault in a device that passed current to earth ground (potentially you or your equipment in between) that wasn't connected to service ground. Electricity always looks for the shortest, quickest way to dissipate.
A surge/ spike protector doesn't function on a 2 wire system (no way to route the short straight to earth ground ). Your service will need to be changed to a 3 wire system...standard code for quite some time.
I'd be more worried about life safety than the pins, honestly.
Quoted from MK6PIN:I'd be more worried about life safety than the pins, honestly.
Thank you for your concern, but life safety is not really an issue as a gfci still trips without a ground. I would love to convert my over 100 year old house to have grounds on all outlets but that would require digging into most of the walls which by the way are lath and plaster so not a cheap option by far. So for now I’m looking at doing what I needed to to get by. I’ll probably tap into the closest outlet that has ground to borrow a ground for this outlet. I believe that this is okay now per NEC 2014
Also looking at Zerosurge surge protectors that claim to not need a ground to function.
Quoted from Awalls:Thank you for your concern, but life safety is not really an issue as a gfci still trips without a ground. I would love to convert my over 100 year old house to have grounds on all outlets but that would require digging into most of the walls which by the way are lath and plaster so not a cheap option by far. So for now I’m looking at doing what I needed to to get by. I’ll probably tap into the closest outlet that has ground to borrow a ground for this outlet. I believe that this is okay now per NEC 2014
Also looking at Zerosurge surge protectors that claim to not need a ground to function.
If your house is a raised foundation home adding a few plugs can be done without damage to your walls with the right electrician, but if it’s a standard foundation home then that’s a little bit trickier.
A gfci will not protect any device. It will only protect YOU from getting shocked, or worse. The device has to be shorting in some way for the gfci to trip. Your house circuit fuse protects your house, not you or the device.
If I were you, upgrading my electric with a proper ground would be a first priority.
Quoted from Awalls:Thank you for your concern, but life safety is not really an issue as a gfci still trips without a ground. I would love to convert my over 100 year old house to have grounds on all outlets but that would require digging into most of the walls which by the way are lath and plaster so not a cheap option by far. So for now I’m looking at doing what I needed to to get by. I’ll probably tap into the closest outlet that has ground to borrow a ground for this outlet. I believe that this is okay now per NEC 2014
Also looking at Zerosurge surge protectors that claim to not need a ground to function.
I get it...Owned a house with similar challenges years ago. My life safety comment was more related to fire than electrocution.
Sounds like you got it..Good luck ( we're using NEC2017 currently, btw, so you may want to reference that version)...
Quoted from Lermods:A gfci will not protect any device. It will only protect YOU from getting shocked, or worse. The device has to be shorting in some way for the gfci to trip. Your house circuit fuse protects your house, not you or the device.
If I were you, upgrading my electric with a proper ground would be a first priority.
Yep ( though structure still at risk...many houses burned prior to grounding system change)...And where I live, I couldn't sell my house ( pass home inspection by the city) until I converted. PITA, but I had a crawl space, so got it done. Plaster walls...Nightmares on many levels.. ugh
Reply
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!
Donate to PinsideGreat to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
