Basically it bypass and probably violates a bunch of Saudi building codes (at least that is definitely true in the US). Doing something that is inherently wrong isn't going to make this safer for you, in fact it will likely make it more dangerous for you if something should happen where you do need a true ground fault protection, of course you won't know about that situation because you will already be dead.boot·leg
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adjective: bootleg
(especially of liquor, computer software, or recordings) made, distributed, or sold illegally.
Which indicator ? Do you mean the one in the drawing ? That drawing is did it myself to explain my idea about the problem.I think the "not grounded" indicator is to warn you the protection isn't going to work.
All 'surge protectors" and similar protection devices are filters and over-voltage traps that rely on a good earth being available. Without a 'ground zero' to send unwanted current to, they cannot possibly work and may make your situation considerably worse. Similarly, an RCD is unlikely to have much effect, they look for differences in the live current and neutral current. They should be the same because the current flows in a loop through the appliance (your PC) up one wire and down the other. They 'trip' if current leaks out somewhere and causes an imbalance but without an earth there is nowhere for the leaking current to flow to. The tiny current that gives the electric shocks is far less than 30mA!
My apartment is in the first floor, so I'm above the floor level.Question, is your room at or near ground level?
I thought about doing a dig near the building and install the crude oil and salt to establish earthing environment. It would be a bit expensive for me, I'm trying to find any solution before I go to that solution.I'm wondering if it is possible to add your own ground through an earthing rod in the ground.
No, I meant the one in the Belkin device in post #38.Which indicator ? Do you mean the one in the drawing ?
No, I meant the one in the Belkin device in post #38.
wow I didn't know that .. so that coil is also a suppressor for those EMI signals like the one come with a gaming controller.The filter is there because a PC PSU by the nature of it's operation, produces a considerable amount of interference and the cable would act as an antenna. It has the potential to wipe out nearby radio signals or interfere with TV or medical equipment.
The way the filter works is it contains components that are more conductive at higher frequencies and they are wired between the live and earth and the neutral and earth pins of the PC power inlet.
As the mains AC is 50Hz or 60Hz, very low frequency, the components are only slightly conductive. At higher frequencies used for communication they are much more conductive so they can 'dump' more of the signals to earth while at mains frequency the 'dumping' is much less.
The case is also wired to the earth pin.
Take a step back and see what happens when the earth connection is removed: both the live and the neutral have components connected to the earth pin, typically they are the same value so the earth pin adopts a voltage which is about half the mains AC. If you had a real earth connection and you measured the voltage from it to the PC chassis it would show about 230/2 = 115V.
However, those filter components are only slightly conductive at mains frequency so they are incapable of producing much current. There is enough to give an electric shock but by connecting a current meter to it, you are basically pulling the chassis to the same voltage as the other meter probe and you see almost no current at all.
There is no electrical way to get around this situation except to add a real 'planet Earth' connection.
If you remove the AC filter in the PSU the problem may be reduced but at the expense of causing interference to neighbors. It also doesn't overcome the other purpose of having an earth connection, for safety in case the PSU breaks down. Adding an isolation transformer will help because it removes the direct connection to the AC wall supply and therefore the amount of current that can flow directly out of it through your body but all attached devices have to be on the same or another isolated supply. Because their 'grounds' are linked together through the connecting cables (USB etc) if any of them is NOT on an isolated supply, it make the isolation useless.
Actually I'm overwhelmed by your rich information and explanation of this situation, you helped me a lot in other issues I came across in other threads. It's really an honor for me to learn from youI hope that makes sense to you, my apologies if I don't make it clear. Sometimes those of us who have been in industry for half a century take it for granted everybody else has the same amount of experience!
Brian.
regarding your video; the meter is so high impedance that the small amount of capacitance in the cable is able to provide a signal to the meter which it sees as 98V - as there is no earth pin on the plug you are certainly not measuring to earth - but rather from live and then through the cable capacitance to neutral ...
My firm advice is to move to another apartment with proper wiring ...
You can record as many videos as you like, and buy as many gadgets called "testers", but electrical installation in that apartment is UNSAFE!
I guess that I wrote that you should not use DVM rather ordinary AVO meter with needle and NO electronics inside.
You are just wasting your and ours time continuing this topic. You read all our opinions stating that the installation is UNSAFE and that somebody could be electrocuted.
That's Saudi ArabiaWhat is up with all that stuff in the bottom of this power closet?
Certainly it's :grin:Is that the Rub al-Khali in there?
Oh boy, it must be a major pain to clean up around there...<4 years and you've got dunes of the stuff sitting in there!
The N and Earth should be connected at your apartment disti board any way - this is MEN practice - it appears the wiring was done in a hurry and the neutral-earth link was never fitted ...
ha haJust be sure never to use reversible plugs or you will find out the hard way what happens when you connect the PC case to live instead!
I think the standard plug in Saudi is similar to the UK ones with an offset earth pin so it can't be fitted upside down but you can see the problem in countries where live an neutral can be swapped by rotating the plug 180 degrees.
Brian.
What devices are you talking about? Appliances with two pin connector are designed with safe insulation. If they involve metal cases or parts, the earth leakage current must be limited to safe values, no matter how the are connected. Indicated by the class II double square symbol, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appliance_classesBut the one with 2 prong has 202V floating on its case
What devices are you talking about? Appliances with two pin connector are designed with safe insulation. If they involve metal cases or parts, the earth leakage current must be limited to safe values, no matter how the are connected. Indicated by the class II double square symbol, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appliance_classes
Measuring a voltage with a high impedance DMM gives no useful information about leakage. But depending on the device design, the voltage may change if you turn the plug by 180 degree.
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