So I'm moving back to Upstate NY, specifically the Albany area. I'm moving into a house that was built in the very early 1900s (1901-1905, somewhere in there). It's in the downtown Albany area, so lots of old houses. I'm moving in with a few friends of mine, who are renting the house. As an older house, there is a (scary at times) mix of older and newer wiring. Supposedly all the old cloth covered wiring is capped and disabled But there are still some older wall outlets which are 2 prong, and some newer floor mounted ones which are 3 prong. The room I will be living in has only 1 2prong outlet.
I had originally planned on having an electrician come in and install a couple additional floor outlets in the room after attaining permission from the landlord. But after speaking with an electrician, they stated a permit would have to be pulled, and a city inspection to follow. The landlord does not want to go through that (for whatever reason), which means that idea is out.
I'm going to have to run an extension cord from the next room (yes, I know it's not really the preferred solution) to a UPS/Surge protector. That outlet, as far as I know, is grounded. My question is the outlet in the room, which is 2 prong. My understanding is in theory, the neutral should be connected to ground, so in theory if you use a 3-2 prong adapter, you will still get some protection through the neutral wire for ground, when using surge supressors. How much can I rely on this? I know I can also buy one with a tab, and according to what I've read on the internet, I can use the plate screw to ground it to the electrical box. My question on this is, wouldn't this be assuming the electrical box itself is grounded? Also, can I just run a ground wire directly outside and attach it to something metal that goes into the ground?
It's not an ideal situation all around as far as the electrical goes, but our hands are tied if the landlord doesn't want to deal with inspections and permits.
This isn't the only problem, but it is the one that concerns me the most about moving into a house this old. The floors are solid, as are the walls. The doors and windows have the beautiful wood trim typical of this era. But it has hot water radiant heat, with what I am about 95% sure is asbestos pipe wrap in the basement, which someone has come along and wrapped with duct tape. But noone goes down there and it doesn't get disturbed so I'm not too worried about that.
Mostly, just want to hear input from some of our resident electricians about what they suggest for keeping my computer equipment (as well as myself) safe in this situation
I had originally planned on having an electrician come in and install a couple additional floor outlets in the room after attaining permission from the landlord. But after speaking with an electrician, they stated a permit would have to be pulled, and a city inspection to follow. The landlord does not want to go through that (for whatever reason), which means that idea is out.
I'm going to have to run an extension cord from the next room (yes, I know it's not really the preferred solution) to a UPS/Surge protector. That outlet, as far as I know, is grounded. My question is the outlet in the room, which is 2 prong. My understanding is in theory, the neutral should be connected to ground, so in theory if you use a 3-2 prong adapter, you will still get some protection through the neutral wire for ground, when using surge supressors. How much can I rely on this? I know I can also buy one with a tab, and according to what I've read on the internet, I can use the plate screw to ground it to the electrical box. My question on this is, wouldn't this be assuming the electrical box itself is grounded? Also, can I just run a ground wire directly outside and attach it to something metal that goes into the ground?
It's not an ideal situation all around as far as the electrical goes, but our hands are tied if the landlord doesn't want to deal with inspections and permits.
This isn't the only problem, but it is the one that concerns me the most about moving into a house this old. The floors are solid, as are the walls. The doors and windows have the beautiful wood trim typical of this era. But it has hot water radiant heat, with what I am about 95% sure is asbestos pipe wrap in the basement, which someone has come along and wrapped with duct tape. But noone goes down there and it doesn't get disturbed so I'm not too worried about that.
Mostly, just want to hear input from some of our resident electricians about what they suggest for keeping my computer equipment (as well as myself) safe in this situation
