Man-wai Chang ToDie (33.6k) wrote:
> Bought a Belkin MasterCube Surge Protector. It has an orange LED
> for "Earthed". It's not on. Does it mean anything?
>
Sounds like no ground connection in outlet..
Look out here comes wtom.
Man-wai Chang ToDie (33.6k) wrote:
> Bought a Belkin MasterCube Surge Protector. It has an orange LED
> for "Earthed". It's not on. Does it mean anything?
>
On Apr 28, 12:24*pm, Paul <nos...@needed.com> wrote:
> * * "Illuminated LEDs indicate your devices are ground and protected"
They forget to define 'protected'. Safety ground is required so
that three wire appliances are "protected" from killing humans. That
is not earth ground AND does not claim to provide appliance
protection. "Protected" is human life.
A three prong device must provide 'safety ground'. However, a
missing safety ground can be 'corrected' by installing a GFCI. GFCI
provides human safety (as defined by code) even though the Belkin will
still say human safety is not provided.
> On Apr 28, 12:24ÿpm, Paul <nos... needed.com> wrote:
>> "Illuminated LEDs indicate your devices are ground and protected"
>
> They forget to define 'protected'. Safety ground is required so
> that three wire appliances are "protected" from killing humans.
> That is not earth ground AND does not claim to provide appliance
> protection. "Protected" is human life.
Do you search the archives for "surge suppressor" at a specific time
during the day, w_tom?
I doubt that inviting lightning into the room with an "earth ground"
is a good idea. The ground required by a surge suppressor is most
likely to provide just enough current flow through the metal oxide
varistor so that it effectively clamps the voltage at your circuits
input and output terminals, not so that it attempts to shunt a
lightning bolt. Don't get confused thinking that engineers might
agree with you with respect to anything relating to grounding a
circuit, w_tom.
> A three prong device must provide 'safety ground'. However, a
> missing safety ground can be 'corrected' by installing a GFCI. GFCI
> provides human safety (as defined by code) even though the Belkin will
> still say human safety is not provided.
>
>
> Path: newsdbm02.news.prodigy.net!newsdst02.news.prodigy. net!prodigy.com!newscon02.news.prodigy.net!prodigy .net!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.c om!postnews.google.com!e39g2000hsf.googlegroups.co m!not-for-mail
> From: w_tom <w_tom1 usa.net>
> Newsgroups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
> Subject: Re: Surge protector's earth detection
> Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:49:30 -0700 (PDT)
> Organization: http://groups.google.com
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>
> "Illuminated LEDs indicate your devices are ground and protected"
> The device has a three pronged interface. For the LED to light up,
> there must be a connection to safety ground (lowest prong).
> For houses which only have two prong outlets, the LED will not
> light up, and the device will not work right.
My building is an old one. And there were thieves that stole
copper wires. I suspected that my building's ground line
was missing...
How could I find out whether it's my home or the building?
And how reliable is that earth detection by SurgeMaster?
John Doe wrote:
> w_tom <w_tom1 usa.net> wrote:
>
>> On Apr 28, 12:24ÿpm, Paul <nos... needed.com> wrote:
>
>>> "Illuminated LEDs indicate your devices are ground and protected"
>> They forget to define 'protected'. Safety ground is required so
>> that three wire appliances are "protected" from killing humans.
>> That is not earth ground AND does not claim to provide appliance
>> protection. "Protected" is human life.
>
> Do you search the archives for "surge suppressor" at a specific time
> during the day, w_tom?
>
It is worse than that. Google has an alerter service, that will tell
you when a keyword or topic is being discussed. It doesn't matter which
of hundreds of groups are discussing "surge suppressors", W_ will be
on it, thanks to Google's fine services. It is pretty bad, when you have
to warn people not to say "certain words"...
Man-wai Chang ToDie (33.6k) wrote:
>> "Illuminated LEDs indicate your devices are ground and protected"
>> The device has a three pronged interface. For the LED to light up,
>> there must be a connection to safety ground (lowest prong).
>> For houses which only have two prong outlets, the LED will not
>> light up, and the device will not work right.
>
> My building is an old one. And there were thieves that stole
> copper wires. I suspected that my building's ground line
> was missing...
>
> How could I find out whether it's my home or the building?
>
> And how reliable is that earth detection by SurgeMaster?
>
I would say pretty believable. The conducting path, is the same
one the protective elements use to shunt dangerous potentials
away from your equipment. If the light does not function,
then no protection is possible.
Over here, we can get these at a hardware store. This is an outlet
tester. It has three lights on one end. There is a table of values
printed on the device. You plug it in, and notice which lights
come on. The device can tell you if the safety ground is missing,
if neutral and live are switched and so on. I notice the latest
innovation on these, is a GFCI test button, for testing that a
bathroom ground fault interrupter circuit can detect leakage
current. By using this device, you may be able to confirm that
safety ground is missing. (If you don't have any GFCI circuits,
then you don't need to press the button.)
There are several reasons to fix a missing safety ground:
1) The safety ground is there for your protection. In the event that the
live wire makes contact with the chassis of an appliance (like your
automatic washer), the safety ground will cause the circuit breaker
to trip. The idea, is to prevent you from getting a shock, by touching
an electrically "hot" chassis. By having the chassis grounded by the
safety ground, it is supposed to prevent the metal from ever becoming
"hot".
2) The safety ground is necessary to allow your surge protector to work.
3) On computers with three prong plugs, the computer deliberately places
a small amount of leakage current on the safety ground pin. It does this,
as part of the design of the EMI (interference) filter inside the ATX
power supply. If you disconnect the safety ground, then the metal on the
computer will present a weak shock hazard. It won't kill you, but it
will annoy you, every time you come in contact with metal on the computer.
The safety ground is there to protect the landlord as well. You may want
to check with your local city office, about what rules or ordinances apply
to residences with bad wiring. If the landlord refuses to act, maybe there
is some ruling that could be applied to him or her.
In some jurisdictions, it is illegal for non-trade people to do electrical
repair work. In others, a homeowner can do repair work, but must get the
work inspected. You can check with your city, to see what the rules are.
Back were I used to live, it is now illegal to do your own electrical work.
And electricians down there, will work for a bottle of rum :-) Personally,
I'd rather do my own repair, while "sober as a judge".
Surge protector's earth detection 
Linear Mode
