[no subject]

Dan Lambert

> -----Original Message-----
&gt; From: ale-bounces at ale.org [<a  rel="nofollow" href="mailto:ale-bounces";>mailto:ale-bounces</a> at ale.org]On Behalf Of Greg
&gt; Freemyer
&gt; Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2004 12:29 PM
&gt; To: ale at ale.org
&gt; Subject: Re: [ale] OT: Running computers in an older home (read
&gt; oldercircuitry)
&gt;
&gt;
&gt; On Thu, 2004-02-19 at 11:36, John Wells wrote:
&gt; &gt; Guys,
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; My wife and I have found a house here in Greensboro we really
&gt; like, but I have a few concerns.  The house is approx. 54 years
&gt; old, with an addition on the back that's approx. 15-20 years old.
&gt;  The addition has grounded, three prong outlets, but the front
&gt; portion of the house, where my &quot;office&quot; would be, have the older
&gt; two pronged, non-grounded outlets.
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; On a given day, I run a 120 mhz firewall/router, a 900 mhz
&gt; Athlon, a 2200XP+ Athlon (1800mhz) with a lot of components, and
&gt; a 2.0 Ghz laptop pretty much 24/7.
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; What are the concerns with going into a house like this with my
&gt; power usage?  I do know that it's on a circuit breaker
&gt; system...not fuse box.  And I plan on having an electrician come
&gt; in a replace one outlet with a grounded, dedicated circuit so my
&gt; computers will all plug into this outlet.
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; Anything I'm missing or not considering?  I've never purchased
&gt; a home with old wiring so I'm a little wary, but we're probably
&gt; putting an offer in today.  I know that grounding all outlets in
&gt; the house will probably be pretty darned expensive, so if I don't
&gt; have to, I don't want to!
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; Let me know asap if you have any comments/suggestions.  Thanks guys!
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; John
&gt; &gt; _______________________________________________
&gt; &gt; Ale mailing list
&gt; &gt; Ale at ale.org
&gt; &gt; <a  rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale";>http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale</a>
&gt;
&gt; I don't know how much you know about electrical outlets, but it should
&gt; not be that bad.
&gt;
&gt; On a normal 3-prong outlet you have hot, neutral, and ground.
&gt;
&gt; Believe it or not, neutral and ground are normally tied together at the
&gt; circuit panel box, So they are really the same thing, although they may
&gt; vary by a couple of volts in a new house.
&gt;
&gt; ie. If you have current flowing thru the neutral conductor, the
&gt; resistence of the wire itself will give it a little voltage.  Since the
&gt; ground conductor does not have any current flowing, it will be at true
&gt; ground voltage.
&gt;
&gt; I would replace all of your 2-prong outlets with 3-prong throughout the
&gt; house..  Then connect your neutral wire (should be white) to both the
&gt; neutral and the ground prongs.
&gt;
&gt; I have forgotten which prong is hot, and which is nuetral.  You can
&gt; google for it.  I think it is also on the outlet instructions.
&gt;
&gt; The most important thing is to buy a $10 outlet tester from Radio
&gt; Shack.  It will tell you if you (or the electrician) have screwed up.
&gt;
&gt; You simply plug it into the outlet and it lights up if you have things
&gt; wrong.
&gt;
&gt; Also, do that testing yourself before the electrician leaves.
&gt;
&gt; Electricians often reverse the hot and neutral lines because they don't
&gt; realize how important it is for electronics to get it right.  And in
&gt; this case reversing them will put 120V on what you think is the ground
&gt; prong.
&gt;
&gt; Greg
&gt;
&gt; _______________________________________________
&gt; Ale mailing list
&gt; Ale at ale.org
&gt; <a  rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale";>http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale</a>



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<li><strong><a name="00669" href="msg00669.html">[ale] OT: Running computers in an older home (read oldercircuitry)</a></strong>
<ul><li><em>From:</em> danlambert at bellsouth.net (Dan Lambert)</li></ul></li>
<li><strong><a name="00675" href="msg00675.html">[ale] OT: Running computers in an older home (read oldercircuitry)</a></strong>
<ul><li><em>From:</em> freemyer-ml at NorcrossGroup.com (Greg Freemyer)</li></ul></li>
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<li><strong><a name="00662" href="msg00662.html">[ale] OT: Running computers in an older home (read older	circuitry)</a></strong>
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