Electricians get in here before I blow myself (and my lizard) up

[Zeemex]

Okay so, first off thank you for concern of mine and Mojo's safety.

Right, in my room I have 3x double plug sockets (Bear in mind I'm from the UK, so 3-pin).

One socket near my door at one end of the room, one on the wall halfway through the room, and one on the wall near my bed at the other end of the room, so also literally laid out like a 3-pin plug.

The other day I got hold of a mains tester plug, as I was curious for reasons as to why I occasionally got shocks off my guitar, feedback/static noises in my amp, and whenever my arm hairs touch my iPhone 4S in a certain way it feels like my hairs are burning. So I went ahead and tested all the sockets in the room. The sockets near my door and bed are both showing as missing Earth. The socket under my desk in the middle of the room (has my computer, xbox, speakers and MacBook plugged in) is earthed.

Strange.

Now, if you guys told me the reason I was getting static in my amp and weird shocks off my phone and guitar was because they were all plugged into the socket near my bed (not earthed), I would agree completely.

Both the plugs on the socket that is earthed have extensions coming off, which accommodate my electricals as already listed. So not really space for things to be moved to there, aside from my phone charger.

Now, the far more concerning part is that the plug over near my door is running a 10m (don't bust my balls over this guess at length) extension cable which is running to under my window which has all my lizard's electricals plugged in (24hr thermostat with spotlight, UV light 12 hrs a day).

My question to you guys is, are the un-earthed sockets actually okay to be used? If not, then how do I make them usable without having to win the lottery and have my house rewired?

Cheers in advance.

 

[Ubrales]

All electrical outlets must be grounded (earthed). No exceptions! Then you and Mojo will be safe! If not, no!

 

[Zeemex]

So what solution do I have? Having the house rewired isn't an option 🙁

 

[Spectre694]

So what solution do I have? Having the house rewired isn't an option 🙁

Are they metal or plastic boxes and are there ground wires in the boxes at all?

 

[Zeemex]

Plastic boxes, and I can't get the face off the socket to see inside, there's no screws holding it on, only way to get it off I'd say is to somehow pull it, which I can't do right now whilst everyone's asleep

 

[Ubrales]

So what solution do I have? Having the house rewired isn't an option 🙁

The green 'ground' lead must be grounded. Not doing this because repairs are cost prohibitive is not an option.

 

[thx1138v2]

First turn off the power to the sockets. If you don't know which breaker turns off those specific plugs you can do some testing with someone at the breaker box and someone in the room to identify which breaker needs to be off. You might need cell phones to communicate dpending on breaker box location.

Then pull the covers from the plugs that show no grounding. Check that you have a ground wire in the plug box and all the wires are securely connected. If not well connected, correct that problem. If there is no ground wire you'll probably need an electrician.

Put the covers back on and turn the breaker on again and re-test.

 

[USAFRet]

So what solution do I have? Having the house rewired isn't an option 🙁

If the house burns down due to improper wiring, your insurance will probably not cover it.

 

[Spectre694]

Plastic boxes, and I can't get the face off the socket to see inside, there's no screws holding it on, only way to get it off I'd say is to somehow pull it, which I can't do right now whilst everyone's asleep

That's weird there are usually screws but then again I'm over here in the US.
Either way though I am willing to bet that with one grounded and two not in the same room that they are on the same circuit and grounded but that one of the ground wires is loose so it isn't making contact.

 

[Zeemex]

Thanks for all your answers, will get the covers off tomorrow and take a look.

The reason rewiring isn't an option is because I am not the homeowner and still living with my parents (21, student, lol)

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks for all your answers, will get the covers off tomorrow and take a look.

The reason rewiring isn't an option is because I am not the homeowner and still living with my parents (21, student, lol)

Then it is on the homeowners.

 

[Zeemex]

So there's no extension leads I can get as substitutes for now? I intend to move out in a few months

 

[USAFRet]

sniff sniff....I smell smoke.

 

[Ubrales]

So there's no extension leads I can get as substitutes for now? I intend to move out in a few months

Extension cards are OK for short lengths; like 10 feet max - after that it becomes a risk factor. I do occasionally use a 100-foot ext. cord OUTDOORS. Never recommended for indoor use. Too risky; fire hazard!

 

[Zeemex]

As I said the only things that are currently in use in an unearthed socket is the lizard's 2 lights, purely because there is no other power source for them. The only things that would be used in the other unearthed socket is my phone and tablet charges.

Is this okay?

 

[Ubrales]

As I said the only things that are currently in use in an unearthed socket is the lizard's 2 lights, purely because there is no other power source for them. The only things that would be used in the other unearthed socket is my phone and tablet charges.

Is this okay?

Outlets without a ground (earth) are never OK.

 

[makkem]

Hi
Uk electrical guy here,the 3 sockets in the room will all be connected together either by a ring or a ring and a spur,since you have an earth on one then it is very likely that the earth wire has become disconnected on one of the other two and this in turn is disconnecting the other one as you will find that there are two earth wires (green/yellow stripes) into the connection.
The socket covers you will be able to pry off with a screwdriver and you will find the screws underneath that hold the socket in place to the backing box.