Earthing Solution For Renters

You might consider to move.
Oh well that's how you noticed....!

Where in this world are you?

There should be electrical codes where you are or not, the electrical system already should satisfy these codes?

Maybe there is real housing available that has proper installations.

The last thing you want to do is to install electrical safety devices yourself.

What did you use until now? Earthing rods?

The problem is the locality where I live. Most of the houses built here are not properly grounded i.e. electrical earthing system and by which I mean the process of transferring the immediate discharge of the electrical energy directly to the earth by the help of the low resistance wire. HOPE that this makes it clear that I'm not talking about some "spirituality and bonding with Mother Earth" like some of the other users here are assuming. NOT HELPFUL, perhaps I should have given more clarity to my question.

Look, whenever I'm using my computer I get shocked. I consulted the landlord and confirmed that there is no proper grounding for the building and they won't do anything about it. I'm not an electrician and not licensed to do anything related to it so I thought there might be a solution to my problem. Also, I can't make any permanent modifications to the property.

You need to find some common ground with your landlord.

...For the love of Cliff? Will you tell us WHY you need a permanent earthing solution in your temporary housing?

Similarly, for the love of Cliff, what makes you believe everywhere you rent from lacks "...a good permanent earthing solution.", and why is this such an urgent problem?

Waiting for the spammer solution to the stated problem.

Avoid liability....Contact the landlord, get a licensed electrical contractor to check your ground...But first, what are your claims based on, in other words what tests have you performed....? If the contractor and landlord disagree with you, and claim the ground is acceptable.....then your hands are tied....you can't make changes to the property without the landlords approval...If you are a licensed electrical contractor and can get corroborating statements from other contractors, and the situation is deemed unsafe, you can force action....

OK. The problem is the locality where I live. Most of the houses built here are not properly grounded i.e. electrical earthing system and by which I mean the process of transferring the immediate discharge of the electrical energy directly to the earth by the help of the low resistance wire. HOPE that this makes it clear that I'm not talking about some "spirituality and bonding with Mother Earth" like some of the other users here are assuming. NOT HELPFUL, perhaps I should have given more clarity to my question.

Look, whenever I'm using my computer I get shocked. I consulted the landlord and confirmed that there is no proper grounding for the building and they won't do anything about it. I'm not an electrician and not licensed to do anything related to it so I thought there might be a solution to my problem.

I notice this is under "General Discussions" instead of "Electrical Engineering". Please don't go into a misunderstood and misappropriated sales pitch about spirituality and bonding with Mother Earth. I remember the 60's.

If your landlord is preventing you from practicing your spiritual beliefs then they're wrong. Depending on your local government, your landlord may be legally justified or you may have legal recourse against your landlord. Regardless, you are not allowed to permanently modify anything of this rental property without the owner's permission.

90% earthed...

It might get better than that in a few hours if he's drinking salt water.

..that guy will do anything for a good ground..

Maybe he needs a rock solid faraday cage to protect his brainwaves from power lines?

WOW! This really works????? Hope you know I'm being sarcastic here.

Read my comment at the end (comment by the OP) for more clarity. If that still doesn't help, kindly ask.

We cannot read minds either. You still have not identified where you rent. Your landlord may be renting a building that does not meet local electrical codes. Then again your computer power supply may not comply with local electrical codes, too.

Go help yourself.

Normally adding an earth to a site which doesn't use the earth as part of the electrical protection scheme is not advised and can be dangerous, but there are exceptions. This is assuming the site is electrically compliant with the local electrical codes and regulations (are you saying the places you stay are not?).

What country is this in and what is the special equipment that requires earthing or grounding?

Are you actually talking about lightning protection of a ham radio tower or similar?

More information is required to help answer this question.

The problem is the locality where I live. Most of the houses built here are not properly grounded i.e. electrical earthing system and by which I mean the process of transferring the immediate discharge of the electrical energy directly to the earth by the help of the low resistance wire. HOPE that this makes it clear that I'm not talking about some "spirituality and bonding with Mother Earth" like some of the other users here are assuming. NOT HELPFUL, perhaps I should have given more clarity to my question.

Look, whenever I'm using my computer I get shocked. I consulted the landlord and confirmed that there is no proper grounding for the building and they won't do anything about it. I'm not an electrician and not licensed to do anything related to it so I thought there might be a solution to my problem. Also, I can't make any permanent modifications to the property.

The OP's question is concerning the following links:

https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/balanced-living/healthy-living/is-there-anything-to-earthing/

https://draxe.com/earthing/

https://heartmdinstitute.com/alternative-medicine/what-is-earthing-or-grounding/

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/11/21/grounding-effects.aspx

As for earthing solutions in an apartment, I suggest doing an Internet search to see if you can find a viable solution.

After the Op clarified his question, I found that it wasn't about "earthing" like I thought, after all.

A lot more needs to be UnEarthed before a Good Earthing can be established.

OK. The problem is the locality where I live. Most of the houses built here are not properly grounded i.e. electrical earthing system and by which I mean the process of transferring the immediate discharge of the electrical energy directly to the earth by the help of the low resistance wire. HOPE that this makes it clear that I'm not talking about some "spirituality and bonding with Mother Earth" like some of the other users here are assuming. NOT HELPFUL, perhaps I should have given more clarity to my question.

Look, whenever I'm using my computer I get shocked. I consulted the landlord and confirmed that there is no proper grounding for the building and they won't do anything about it. I'm not an electrician and not licensed to do anything related to it so I thought there might be a solution to my problem. Also, I can't make any permanent modifications to the property.

Are the receptacles properly wired with a ground or is it missing?

I replaced all receptacles and light switches before I moved in to our new house. Wife didn't like the original ones. I'm glad I did. I was surprised how many had loosened over the life of the (only) 30 year old home. Some actually sparked from the wire to the terminal screw as I pulled them from the wall.

Is the plumbing metal pipe? (shouldn't do this but it was done at one time)

Offer to pay some (help) to have a ground rod(s) installed? Money is probably an issue.

Obviously I'm NOT an electrician.

Are the receptacles properly wired with a ground or is it missing?

-Missing

Is the plumbing metal pipe?

-Yes, it's metal.

Ohhh! Not just improperly grounded; I'm guessing it's impossible to ground correctly! I can understand why he doesn't want to rewire the entire building. $$$ However unethical it may be. Might try replacing the receptacle for the computer and see if it helps. May be loose somewhere. Guessing.

I won't mention the plumbing again. It's probably causing some here to twitch.

Over my head, sorry!

Lots of great humor here, but please have some mercy on the OP. I assume he means electrical grounding when he says earthing.

I'm not an electrician, so can some of you with more expertise say whether it is OK to ground something by connecting it to the grounding wire of a three-prong outlet? Is that ever a problem and would it solve the problem? Maybe the OP could say whether there are three-pronged outlets in his apartment.

Thank you, kind soul.

Yes' there are three-pronged outlets in my apartment.

So, are there 3 prong outlets or is the ground receptacle missing? Can’t be both.

Where on earth are you? This has been asked a number of times, why do you not respond to a request for an important piece of information?

Do other appliances shock you?

The power cord for the computer: does it still have the 3 prongs? Have you tried the device in a different location in the apartment?

Have you acquired a plug-in receptacle tester? What does it tell you?

You aren’t really telling us much, will you at least answer direct questions?

Look it is a three prong electrical socket but the ground wire that runs inside conduit is missing. So I asked the landlord why is it missing. Believe me, I live in this shithole place and I'm sorry I can't be specific. Most of these landlords just reply by saying who cares. Iknow it pissed me off too.

Yes, other appliances shock me too.

Yes, the power chord of the computer has 3 prongs. I also tried different locations but the results were the same.

Look... I am unfamiliar with the energy supply parameters in Shithole, similarly unfamiliar with unspecified equipment of unknown age. I am unable to offer any constructive advice.

[unsubscribe]

Sorry but I cannot see anything that tells me what kind of electric power you have nor even which hemisphere of this planet you reside. What I do see is that you cannot answer simple requests. I also see you are not qualified to work on any wiring containing lethal voltages.

Contact and pay a local, licensed electrician to diagnosis the problem. Consult with your lawyer to see what if any legal recourses you have against your landlord.

Leave me alone.

Go help yourself.

Relax, Will Ya?

OK, I just want to go back to basics for a minute to make sure we really know the situation. I apologize for explaining things that are really obvious to most people in the forum.

Nowadays the normal way to ground something is to use the third prong of a 3-prong plug. If that is absent, the outlet might have two slots that differ in width, and appliances that have to be grounded also two prongs that differ in width, so that you can only put the plug in one way. If the outlets are really old, and only have two slots of the same width, you can use an adapter that has two prongs and a wire that is grounded by connecting it to the screw in the middle of the plate.

Do you have any reason to believe that the third prong is not grounded properly? Once upon a time, when I lived in an apartment with very old wiring and no 3-prong outlets, I had to ground things by connecting them to a metal radiator or the plumbing of a sink or something, but it is hard to imagine that you have to do that if your outlets actually have 3 prongs.

Please, if any of you notice anything incorrect in my post, please say so. As I said, I'm no expert on electricity.

A CEE 7/7 plug does not have rectangular prongs. CR4 has international visitors. Electric codes and standards vary greatly. The OP seems to think only one standard exists everywhere.

Good points.

OK. Look.

It's 230 Volts, 50 Hz alternating current as the power source. Plugs and sockets have either grounded/earthed 3 Pin connections (Type D) or ungrounded 2 pin connections (Type C). The three pin plug is rated at 6A / 250V. It has three round pins in a triangular pattern. The earth terminal is slightly larger than the live and neutral terminals. For Higher current, there is a 15 Amp version of the same 3 Pin plug, usually called the Power Plug or the M Plug. Live and neutral are 1 inch (25.4 mm) apart. Earth terminal is 1+¹⁄₈ in (28.58 mm) away from live and neutral terminals. Typically, refrigerators, heaters and other high power devices are connected to this 15 Amp socket.

Like this.

How about using an Isolation Transformer? 120vac to 120vac, (or 220-220 whatever the your local voltage is), would separate you from the house wiring and a transformer of enough wattage for your computer would not be too expensive, especially a used one.

Thank you for your advice. I'll ask the local electrician about it.

Thanks again.

You should be able to find a piggyback plug that plugs into your existing wall receptacle that has a ground terminal on it....

You run a wire from this to an outside ground rod, then your appliance plugs in to this piggyback plug, this effectively adds a ground for the appliance....

...or you can run the ground wire directly to the metal cabinet or enclosure of the appliance...

...or you can stand and/or sit on a rubber mat, that will isolate you from ground...remember you can only be shocked when you complete a circuit....although after listening to all this I tend to believe this is static discharge and not really dangerous, it's impossible to tell from here, and in any case even static discharge is annoying...but is usually only a problem in low(<30%) relative humidity environments...