Alternative ground techniques?

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Faisal_Almalki223

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Hello, fellow Tom's hardware forum members!

This is a big issue that I have been facing for a long time, I've always feared ESD and tried to find alternative ways to ground myself and my computers before working inside or when operating them.

Not a single human being here understands how important is grounding your receptacles, yet they complain why do their computer psus die out quickly, and I also noticed this but too late after killing two computers slowly through the pain of electrical interference and losing what equals a lifetime of hard earned money on those machines.

I just can't work inside those machines without the fear of frying them with ESD since grounding/earthing is non-existant in this building, I also can't use them without the fear and dread of impending doom, since grounding is necessary with the excellently stable and not so bumpy electricity as well as interference caused by the aforementioned fantastically stable and totally not shaky and unstable electricity in the region...

The apartment complex I live in is extremely neglected, there is no hope to get the parent company to do anything to fix my issue.

The issue is that the main circuit breaker of the apartment I live in is incorrectly installed.
All of my outlets are two-prong ungrounded outlets, there is no earth wire in any outlet casing.

But what really burns my blood and makes me pull my hair out is the fact that the circuit breaker of my apartment lacks a functional earth bus.

The bus is not connected like the neutral bus, it is left vacant and therefore couldn't be wired to any outlet to serve as a functional earth...

I called an electrician three years ago and he just kept trying to understand what kind of creature tried to wire this building up...

Now, I have the sufficient tools to at least try to fix the issue, but the problem is that Im not quite educated about alternative ways to earth my outlets...

What can I do to earth at least the outlet I use for my PC? I can't just use GCFI fault breakers since I require true grounding when working on the insides of those machines and when operating them to insure everything works in order.

What kind of electrical interference? I use a big-arse APC 2350 VA UPS to protect my PCs from blackouts, but it requires grounding to filter out electrical faults.

When I went to a 20 day LAN party with my friends, the building had grounding, and the anomalies that happen here with this failure of an electrical system don't manifest at all any shape and form when I was at the LAN party.

But somehow, it only manifests and causes mental instability to me when I return to my apartment. Notice how it only happens here, since it happened before going to the LAN party and when coming back from there.

The issues manifest as flickering with the monitors, alarms popping off everywhere in the fan controller, and of course the obvious LED flickering.

And no, it is not the UPS, this also happens when plugging the PC and monitor straight into the outlet without any surge protectors or extension cables.

Thank you very very much for reading this, I greatly appreciate your help, you will get me rid of many mental problems arising from the constant fear of burning out the rest of my computers and studio components..
 
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You'd be able to use it as that, but I still get the feeling you want to leave it hooked up like that all the time. Again, bad/horrible idea.
You have a couple of choices. (I suspect you aren't in the USA, so some might not be possible.) First, look for any code violations and if you can find some, rat out your landlord. This will make you a problem tenant so don't be surprised for illegal "feedback". It will however (eventually) get the problem fixed. Second, if you are on the ground floor you can wire up an earth ground yourself. Get a 6-10FT copper pole and drive it into the ground so you only have about 6-12" sticking out. Connect it to an outlet's ground with probably 12-16gauge wire. This will give you one plug with a good ground. Third, move. I know it sucks, but if you can't get them to give you good plugs, then just move to where you can.

None of these are really ideal, but they will eventually get you what you want.
 

Faisal_Almalki223

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Thanks for the reply!
Well, the landlord is effectively the government, since this apartment complex is now owned by the government hospital "housing for hospital employees" so the first option is simply unfeasible.

I heard somewhere about the pole technique, but I don't know if it actually serves as a proper grounding/earth, please let me know if it dissipates static and faults just like proper outlet earthing.

I live in the sixth floor "the building is not as tall as it sounds like, It is really not that long" and I already have a hole drilled into the wall under the window to get the 40 Megabit fibre optic cable plugged into my modem from the ground floor, so the idea of the ground rod seems like the best way.

Thank you very much for your suggestions, I feel that a solution is feasible now.
 

Faisal_Almalki223

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Well, getting a copper rod here is extremely hard, especially for me since i live in an isolated area.

What could be the closest thing to a copper rod? I thought it would be the railing for my apartment's stairs.....

I know that this solution is 100% ghetto, it should be the last resort for getting some sort of grounding.

**DISCLAIMER**
I have the proper tools, so don't worry. If you aren't used to working with high voltage, please don't try this.

Safety shoes! That is actually very good pair of boots for working on HV equipment! Quite comfy too :D
tf4L3Ml.jpg


First of all, this is the railing, as well as an extension to get 220V power from my room. The multimeter is a cheap but quite versatile DT-830B.
ZfnvItJ.jpg


Got it set on 700V AC, just to be safe.
AHb9f7S.jpg


I got one electrode into the phase pole of one of the extension's outlets, and the other on a sanded bare-metal portion of the railing.
8pUWV1G.jpg


And it appears that the value averages from 128-140V AC.
Tai3ld2.jpg


And just to make sure everything is safe, i had to check the painted portion of the railing, and it is well insulated by the heavy paint layer.
JzlYCbC.jpg


So, for a 220V outlet, is 140V ground effective at all? or is it better than nothing?
 
We are going beyond what I know. I wouldn't remove a railing to sink it into the ground. The stairs are now unsafe, and you ruined a part of a Gov run home. Not a good idea. You are probably betting off calling in an electrician to see what they say.
 

Faisal_Almalki223

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Jul 12, 2015
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Well, the railing wasn't there when i came, so i had to install it. I had a small company install it due to safety reasons "that drop would spell certain death, the basement /bonus living room is really deep down there"

The thing is, it is inside my apartment, so no one is exposed to it, i barely go down to the basement/bonus living room unless i wanted to store stuff or retrieve stuff from there.
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And I didn't really install it, I only tested the concept of using it as ground just like copper water piping, which the building doesn't have.

No electrician here knows what earth/ground means, they barely know how to differentiate between Phase and Neutral, that is another issue.

I guess it would make a pretty crappy ground non the less, but i guess it is better than nothing if someone can prove that it would actually function as a grounding point to dissipate static and electrical failures.

 

Faisal_Almalki223

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Jul 12, 2015
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Well, does the metal railing method work for anti-esd/static dissipation purpose? One alligator clip to the ground pin of my PSU and another to my anti static wrist strap, this is my plan...
But the question remains, is that enough grounding for static dissipation?
 
If you mean to just attach the wire to the railing then no. All that would happen is you'd get a shock if you touch the railing. It needs to be IN the ground so the electricity has a place to go. I thought you meant cut it and use it as the rod. I wouldn't electrify it.
 

Faisal_Almalki223

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Jul 12, 2015
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Well, i must have misinterpreted what i exactly meant in the last post.
I dropped the idea of using the railing as a continuous ground for the outlet, i'l have to use the copper rod method.
What i'm planning to do now is use the railing as a static dissipation ground, by connecting my anti-static wrist strap to a sanded portion of the railing, and also connecting the same ground to the ground port of the PC's PSU.

Would that act as an active static dissipating ground? for only when working inside the machine.
 

Faisal_Almalki223

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Jul 12, 2015
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Well, i couldn't actually wire-up the ground to the railing efficiently, and seeing how ineffective of an electrical ground it is (140V for 220V), it is simply not worth it. I'll have to wire-up a grounding rod.

But if i use it as ESD ground, to only ground myself when working on the innards of my PC, only this time it would make sense.

Thank you very much for your time and effort, as well as your willingness to help me.
 
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